Alicia Keys: The Diary of Alicia Keys

AT THE TOP OF THE POP WORLD these days, it’s hard enough to find an artist who can sing well without the aid of ProTools. Never mind one that also arranges, plays an instrument (besides duct-taped tambourine), writes her own songs and produces her own albums. Alicia Keys does all these things and more — at 23-years-old no less — and for that, she has my utmost respect. That said, the follow-up to her listenable, though uneven multi-platinum debut, Songs in A minor, is a step in the right direction. But a baby step.