Aaliyah - Aaliyah
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CD Details
Artist: AaliyahEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2001-07-17
Music Label: Virgin Records Us
Soundtracks:
- We Need A Resolution (featuring Timbaland)
- Loose Rap (featuring Static from Playa)
- Rock The Boat
- More Than A Woman
- Never No More
- I Care 4 U
- Extra Smooth
- Read Between The Lines
- U Got Nerve
- I Refuse
- It's Whatever
- I Can Be
- Those Were The Days
- What If
Music reviews of Aaliyah
Music Review: No one comes close to her . . .
Rating: 5 Stars
Aaliyah (Self-Titled)
On August 25, 2001, we lost something very crucial in our music world. We lost an artist who left a gap and made us wonder what could have been had she not left. Some of us didn't know who she was before a plane crash took her life. Some only heard her name in passing. Others were very familiar with her, and were waiting for the rest of the world to catch up to discovering what they already knew.
I was one of those people who only knew who Aaliyah Dana Haughton was in passing. I had heard her name before, but had her mixed up with one of the many other young black artists who went only by one name. As I saw the accident footage being played, I was glued to the TV set. With her liquid hazel eyes, this dark beauty had looked at me from the other side of the screen and tugged at my heart. Once she reached out to me, I couldn't turn away from her. She was enchanting and she had me under a spell. The fact that so many mourned - not just her loving family, but her friends, fans, and her peers in the music business - I knew there was "something" about her. This raven had pulled at more than a few heart strings when she was alive, and she was continuing to do so from beyond this world.
When I become intrigued with a personality, I do my research. My research led me to many websites, articles, video clips and audio clips. Based upon that knowledge, I went out to add Aaliyah to my music collection. As a huge fan of all kinds of Rock N' Roll and Pop, I was in uncultivated territory. The only R&B roads I had traveled were ones of older school R&B (ex: Diana Ross). The Hip-Hop road was even less traveled and virtually unexplored. I was just poking my way down both of these roads after being introduced to the most fly girls to ever come out of Atlanta - TLC. I was just starting to enjoy this newly discovered music when Aaliyah came along. While TLC busted the door open, Aaliyah blew it off its hinges.
In an interview, Aaliyah said she kept the title of her album as a self-title because she wanted to let her name do the talking. She wanted us to know who Aaliyah was. No other explanation was necessary. The Aaliyah album dropped only mere months before she passed away. She would never, in human form, be able to enjoy the fruits of her labor with this masterpiece.
We Need A Resolution - This totally unique, edgy album starts with a signature stamp from Timbaland. With shifty, eerie clapping beats, Aaliyah's soft but strong voice tells the story of a relationship in limbo. The blame game and lack of trust is happening here, and the ending still evades a resolution of conflict. This is the first single to be released from this album and it is extremely infectious and bewitching.
Loose Rap - This next song features Static from Playa. With its staccato beats and smart lyrics, this song is dedicated to those who like to "talk smack". The subject tells the story of being too-faced, backstabbing, and jealous. It is about being phony and trying to impress. It tells a story from different viewpoints, whether it be from a woman who is fending off the phony lines from a man, to the jealous copycats who down Aaliyah's crew and then cop her moves. Truly brilliant and catchy.
Rock The Boat -- This undulating, hypnotic come-hither is a gem that shines with its own brightness, despite how overdone it has been reported to have played on R&B stations. Aaliyah's voice rolls gently and hypnotically over the waves of the beats, softly inviting her suitor to "rock her boat". This invitation is delivered with such class and poise - only proof you don't need to be brazen to come off as sexy and seductive. Sexy and classy all the way.
More Than A Woman - An optimistic Latin beat runs throughout this song about being a confident woman. The lyrics are catchy and upbeat, making the song brim with confident vigor.
Never No More - Aaliyah has said how important this song was to her. The music has a jazzy, mellow feel. The subject matter is about an abusive relationship and putting an end to the madness. I love the way the subject is dealt, but the music was a little more difficult to get used to initially.
I Care 4 U - This is a beautiful song. The music is flowing and soft, and Aaliyah's angelic voice tops it off like whipped cream on a sundae - it's a perfect marriage between artist and song. The subject deals with being a comfort to someone you love and care for.
Extra Smooth - This song isn't even in the same galaxy as the rest. With it's oompah-oompah underlying beats, coupled by some other strange sounds that add to the personality disorder of the song, this one was hard to swallow at first bite, but has become a favorite. The song is about an egotistical guy making a play for Ms. Haughton. He's not bad, but he's too in love with himself.
Read Between The Lines - Another Latin-beat infused song, this song is sung in clipped, smooth tones. The subject is seeing what isn't there in black and white. Lies are being told, and you sometimes have to look at what's not being said and done to find the proof.
U Got Nerve - This song was an immediate favorite. With its boomerang, space-aged beat, Aaliyah serves this delicious no-nonsense dish. Baby Girl may have been sweet, but she was no sucker. She believes in second chances, but once you start dragging her down with the same game, she starts showing you the door. The result: a woman who is free and relieved.
I Refuse - This is the "ballad" of the album. The intro starts with chiming pianos and the sound of a storm blowing outside your window. The song builds with each bar on the raw emotion of not letting a destructive person back into your life and heart. Enduring the searing pain as an end result is too great of a gamble. Sung beautifully and eloquently.
It's Whatever - I like this song the least out of the whole album. The beginning intro sounds like glass being scraped against a blackboard, killing my eardrums softly. I barely recover in time to be able to try to enjoy the rest of song.
I Can Be - Aaliyah has said this is one of her more controversial songs. The song is heavy with beats, with jagged edges poking at the bit. The subject matter is being the other woman - the mistress. The mistress says she's content to play her small role in the relationship, accepting its reality, but emoting unhappiness regarding her role nonetheless.
Those Were The Days - Piano chimes and a stop n' go beat throb throughout this song about two people growing apart in a relationship, at the same time looking back at how it was different back in the day.
What If - Aaliyah turns rocker chic in this number about a jealous man not being able to swallow his woman getting attention, while she has to tolerate woman flirting with him. The music is super cool and edgy, but its so busy and chaotic that Aaliyah's soft voice gets lost in the shuffle.
Overall, Aaliyah proves to be a unique effort that no one else has tried before or since. Listening to this and the small grab-bag of work she had left behind only makes it more difficult to realize we don't have a follow-up to look forward to. This woman left so much behind in her young life. She was truly a trend setter, and she was multi-talented. She was one of the best, and the R&B and Hip-Hop world will never be the same. The whole musical universe has a big gap in it that she left behind that will never be filled. She would have been BIG had she still been alive. The world would have been better with her in it but now, I guess, she'll have to help us from above. When she died, I had just gotten to know her. I wish I knew her sooner, but things happen for a reason. I feel blessed that she and her music touched my life when they did. I will always be a fan, and she will always be missed.
(c)Diane Trautweiler
Written February 15, 2006.
Description of Aaliyah
Seven years after her debut at just 15 years old, Aaliyah assembled a third studio album that was astonishingly mature. Sadly, her death just a little over a month after its release stilled a promising voice in R&B. At 22, when most artists would just be getting started, Aaliyah had already progressed from pop to street to an unconventional retro-modern, risk-taking version of R&B. While lead track "We Need a Resolution" is as mainstream as it gets, there are fewer hits on this album than on previous efforts. Instead, this collection is an extraordinary romantic exposition of passion and pain. While Missy Elliott is cranking out jams for all her "club freaks," Aaliyah is like a modern-day (if less vocally gifted) Minnie Riperton, exploring the pains of moving from child star to adult sex symbol. Tracks such as "Never No More" and "I Care 4 U" (featuring Missy) are slinky, twisted ballads imbued with film-noir sultriness, as diva Aaliyah steps catlike away from the bubblegum R&B of her contemporaries. There's also the obligatory rock track tacked on near the end ("I Can Be"), but even this excels above the standard hip-hop/rock/R&B crossover fare with its Prince-like influences coupled with Aaliyah's own instinct for seduction. Aaliyah also signaled a move away from her long-standing musical relationship with producer Timbaland, who contributes just three cuts. Having started out heavily supported by R. Kelly, it appeared that Aaliyah was more than able to go it alone. --Jake BarnesBlues CDs
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