Alicia Keys is a creature of habit when it comes to her music. With “Piano and I,” the first track on her hugely successful debut album Songs in A Minor, she started the tradition of opening her albums with a clearly marked intro. Although the format varied—wordless classical compositions, piano-backed spoken-word pieces, a short poem—these intros generally served two purposes: reminding us of her piano chops and elucidating her state of mind during the recording process. If you study a person’s habits enough, a picture of who they are should start to emerge. Yet HERE, Keys’ sixth studio album, does little to further our understanding of who Keys is. SOURCE>> pitchfork
