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“The Element of Freedom” is the fourth studio album by Alicia Keys, scheduled to be released on December 15, 2009 in the US. Interestingly, Alicia releases her studio albums on odd years of this decade (2000-2009).

First Impressions
All of Alicia’s albums tell a story and this release is marks no differece from that tradition. Upon listening to this album once through, this effort is Alicia’s most mainstream yet. Every song flows very well, doesn’t seem disconnected. Is it worth the 2 years wait from “As I Am“??? I’ll reply, “Yes, definitely”.

“As I Am” is catered more towards the old school sound (“Teenage Love Affair“, “Lesson Learned“), but on “Element“, it’s very current and contemporary with losing the signature Alicia vibe. Even though it’s contemporary R&B and Soul, it’s still a very personal record to her (and to me as well, I can feel the emotion that exudes on the album). This album literally tore my heartstrings apart. It’s so relatable.

Alicia explains the album’s title in a spoken intro track, which quotes the erotic diarist Anaïs Nin: “And the day came when the risk it took to remain tightly closed in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to bloom. This is the element of freedom.”

Standout Tracks

• Love Is Blind
  Indeed it is. A rather dark album opener track. Not a typical Alicia song, something ‘new’ from her in a way.
• Doesn’t Mean Anything
  First single. I just don’t get it why this song isn’t at least a Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. It’s pretty much “No One” Part 2, only miles better. A radio friendly track.
• Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart
  Second single. The title suggest that this could end up in a cheesy R&B track. It feels like alternative-pop btw. Very “Prince“. Brillant stuff.
• Wait Till You See Me Smile
  “They say things that they don’t know“. This song cause me to wet my tear ducts a little. Production of this song made it seems like it’s an Enya track. Has a world music vibe to it, an EPIC song.
• That’s How Strong My Love Is
  Quite a refine ballad. This song is beggin’ to get the “MTV Unplugged” treatment.
• Un-Thinkable (I’m Ready)
  Featuring Drake on backing vocals. Another lush R&B/Soul track. Loving the bridge that builds to the excellent chorus.
• Love is My Disease
  “I thought love would be my joy, but now it’s my disease”. Yeah, it results into that all the time. Has a jazzy carribean feel to this track.
• Like The Sea
  A power ballad. SOOO feeling this track. “Love is like the sea …first you’re floatin’ high, then it takes you under”. You can’t help but to agree. It’s irresistable.
• Put It In A Love Song
  Features Beyonce. It’s the sassiest track I’ve heard all year. Even though it feels a little outta place in the middle of the tracklist, it does has common elements that melds this song with the rest of the album (obviously, as it’s written by Alicia herself). A very cool song to sing along, if you manage to memorise everything without making any mistakes that is (I’m only 3/4 there). I’m just wondering if Beyonce’s a singles’ artist. Her singles are the ones that made her famous, not the other tracks in the album (FILLERS!!!). I’ll leave this topic to another post, another time. Oh, and Beysus didn’t manage to upstage Alicia on this track. A sign of respect. =) She usually upstage her collaboators, couldn’t really blame it as her presence is rather commanding.
• This Bed
  Another uptempo track. Rather unexpected. And it’s really good when in bed too. Brillant chorus!!!
• Distance And Time
  The song that causes me to weep badly. Reminds me of my ex. Those memories that I can’t erase. Hands down the best ballad of the album.
• Empire State Of Mind (Part II) Broken Down
  It’s basically adding new verses (removing the rap) to the already EPIC chorus. Could be a theme for a broadway play. Both version has pros, no cons at all. =)
• Through It All
  Bonus Track. An uptempo one. Quite a nice addition to have.

Final Verdict
Alicia certainly could write songs that’s for the soul and brings that out from everyone. The best R&B and Soul singer currently, she’s one of the rare artists nowadays that could be really versatile and have that consistency with every release. A multi-Grammy winner too, she doesn’t disappoint. A great album to end the year and one of the albums to have this year. I predict a number 1 in the Billboard 200 album chart.

This album scored a 5 out of 5.