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Common Sense Note

This easy-on-the-ears pop album displays Alicia Keys' vocal talents beautifully. There's a bit of heavy breathing and innuendo, but mostly there's a lot of very good singing. In the role model department, young girls could do a whole lot worse.

Families can talk about creating powerful music while keeping it clean. Do lyrics need to have swearing or sexual references to stand out?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Kathi Kamen Goldmark

Alicia Keys isn't above a gimmicky moment or two on THE DIARY OF ALICIA KEYS. The thing is, even the gimmicks work on this lovely album. There's a long spoken section on "You Don't Know My Name," for example, in which Ms. Keys plays the part of a waitress ("You know, the one with the braids?") taking a huge risk and calling one of her regular customers for a date. A silly conceit, but somehow it ends up sounding pretty real when she 'fesses up that even though the restaurant manager will "be trippin' talkin' about we gotta use water" she makes this guy's hot chocolate with milk and cream because she thinks he's sweet. We've all been there, in that heart-pounding rejection-risking moment, and there's nothing wrong with sharing feelings of vulnerability once in a while, right?

In "Slow Down," she urges her lover -- and perhaps herself, too -- to take things a little slower. A little contrived, with soft, sexy vocals playing against a classic makeout-room musical arrangement, but the message is there, loud and clear, for girls to hear.

This might not be the most exciting new album of the year, but Alicia Keys' stunning vocals, set against exquisite piano interludes and dramatic string arrangements, make this diary a true keepsake.

Fans of Keys' sound might also want to check out Corinne Bailey Rae; older kids might like Joss Stone.

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