Albums to watch

Girl on Fire

Alicia Keys

Girl on Fire

Dr Dre and Jamie Smith are among the producers drafted in to add hip hop, Latino and electro touches to the first album since 2009 from the Grammy-winning urban soul singer

ADM rating[?]

6.7

Label
RCA
UK Release date
26/11/2012
US Release date
27/11/2012
  1. 8.6 |   AltSounds

    Despite a few lulls Girl On Fire is among Alicia's very best work
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  2. 8.0 |   BBC

    Girl on Fire is a smart album, maintaining the high standards set on The Element of Freedom. It showcases her as a maturing performer and keeps her there or thereabouts alongside Beyoncé as the world’s leading contemporary stylist of mainstream RnB
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  3. 8.0 |   Rolling Stone

    Both her catchiest and subtlest album yet – and one of the best R&B records of 2012
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  4. 8.0 |   Daily Telegraph

    Keys doesn’t want to overhaul urban soul. She wants to deliver good, solid, heartfelt slabs of it. And on those terms, her fifth studio album is her best record in years
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  5. 8.0 |   Uncut

    Her technical brilliance remains stunning; it's now matched by her maturity and modernity. Print edition only

  6. 8.0 |   The Arts Desk

    Over a monolithic rhythm track, Keys belts out the stadium-sized arrangement with heroic gusto
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  7. 8.0 |   Entertainment.ie

    While experimentation is obviously lighting Alicia's fire these days, her signature piano melodies are still at the heart of this record
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  8. 7.5 |   Paste Magazine

    Ten years into her career, she’s still a musical haven for suburban moms, hipster boutiques and bohemians not ready for the wild side
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  9. 7.1 |   Pitchfork

    It never quite lives up to its theme of rebirth, but especially given the range and power she's showed in the past, it doesn't really need to
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  10. 7.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    A road frequently traveled for this singer, but it’s oh-so-entertaining to watch her set the road ablaze
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  11. 7.0 |   The Digital Fix

    The gloriously building choruses are invigorating, building notions of grandeur, only to drop back to that delicate serenade only few can manage - slow but never boring
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  12. 7.0 |   All Music

    The collaborative spirit continues all the way through Girl on Fire, an album sporting a list of around 20 co-composers and nearly a dozen co-producers
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  13. 6.0 |   The Guardian

    As a reinvention, the album doesn't go far enough, and there are some underwhelming tunes, but the best song here – Girl on Fire – wonderfully blends Keys old and new
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  14. 6.0 |   Slant Magazine

    Girl on Fire is less a portrait of Keys's womanhood at a crossroads as it is another extension of a career spent predominantly navigating straight down the middle of the road
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  15. 6.0 |   Evening Standard

    Always a calmer presence than most of her US R&B peers, Alicia Keys goes even deeper into the world of classic soul
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  16. 6.0 |   The Independent

    The mewling infant appearing for no discernible reason at the end of "When It's All Over" is a portent that the rest of Girl On Fire struggles to overcome
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  17. 6.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    Dominated by navel-gazing auto-therapy sessions
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  18. 6.0 |   Q

    Her light shows no sign of going out. Print edition only

  19. 6.0 |   Mojo

    A girl on fire? Now and then - and inbetween times, she smoulders as well as ever. Print edition only

  20. 4.0 |   The Observer

    It still cleaves too close to the polite piano soul with which Keys has filled 10 years. And she's supposed to be on fire here, not just warming the piano stool
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  21. 4.0 |   The Scotsman

    bB her own standards, Keys is treading water here
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Alicia Keys: Girl on Fire

  • Download full album for just £5.00
  • 1. De Novo Adagio (Intro) £0.99
  • 2. Brand New Me £0.99
  • 3. When It's All Over £0.99
  • 4. Listen To Your Heart £0.99
  • 5. New Day £0.99
  • 6. Girl On Fire (Inferno Version) £0.99
  • 7. Fire We Make £0.99
  • 8. Tears Always Win £0.99
  • 9. Not Even The King £0.99
  • 10. That's When I Knew £0.99
  • 11. Limitedless £0.99
  • 12. One Thing £0.99
  • 13. 101 £0.99
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