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Heart 'N' Soul Of Aaliyah
Discography

AALIYAH REVIEW

Almost Purr-fect

By Christopher O'Connor

On the long-awaited follow-up to 1996's One in a Million, R&B star Aaliyah's voice writhes with sexuality. Timid in her delivery but hungry in her tone, the singer who debuted in 1994 at age 15 with the prophetic Age Ain't Nothing But a Number continues to paint sultry pictures with her music, and the songwriters and producers enlisted here (Rapture, Static, Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Bud'da, J. Dub and Tank) lay forth beats, melodies and arrangements that twist and bend to fit the orgasmic nuances of Aaliyah's voice. Some of these songs "We Need a Resolution" (RealAudio excerpt), "Extra Smooth," "Loose Rap" and the industrial-guitar-crunching "What If" are so exotic, they could work as jukebox fare at a sci-fi cantina, while the Missy Elliott-and-Timbaland-penned slow burner "I Care 4 U" (RealAudio excerpt) ("Hey my baby/ Tell me why you cry/ Here, take my hand/ Wipe those tears from your eyes") is a flat-out romantic tour de force. Timbaland's minimalist moves give Aaliyah room to operate which she certainly does.

Ultimately, what may separate Aaliyah from the pack is the singer's continuing relationship with Timbaland (born Tim Mosley), the wholly unique hip-hop producer and burgeoning pop genius who previously worked with Aaliyah on the knockout electro singles "Are You That Somebody?" and "Try Again." On their newest classic, "We Need a Resolution," Timbaland lays down a slinky Middle Eastern rhythm, handclaps and a snake-charmer flute effect to drive Aaliyah through a desperate lover's quarrel. "It was 4 a.m. when you crept back in the bed/ I wanna know what was in your head?/ What was in my head?/ Am I supposed to change?," she moans at one point. Timbaland himself weighs in at the song's end with a clever brush-off that adds a hilarious, lightly misogynistic spin to what might have been an end-of-the-world decree.


The two take things more seriously on "More Than a Woman" (RealAudio excerpt). Here, Aaliyah plays inviting sex kitten while the producer offers up spacy keyboards and a jazzy guitar lick that gives the song an almost soft-core porn feel. And as forceful and out-front as Timbaland can be, he can also be remarkably minimalist: "I Care 4 U" rests on a few lovely bass notes and gentle snaps, and every fourth bar a sprinkle of piano. Moves like these give Aaliyah room to operate which she certainly does.


These three songs are Timbaland's only contributions, but his aura seems to affect the other producers most notably Rapture, who uses the off-kilter approach to full effect on the breathy "Loose Rap." In fact, take away the album's lone misfire the clich-filled "Rock the Boat," produced by Rapture and E. Seats and this work is nearly perfect. In a 2001 that's shaping up to be the year of the R&B mistress, with contributions from Alicia Keys, Blu Cantrell, Destiny's Child and others, Aaliyah may turn out to be the shining light of the bunch.

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One In A Million, Aaliyah (Blackground Enterprises, 1996)

Rolling Stone (5/13/99, p.76) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's."

Vibe (10/96, p.133) - "...Aaliyah's voice is tender--slightly stronger than [Janet] Jackson's anemic falsetto, but with the same pop appeal....The hip hop-inspired production is solid and supportive..."


The Source (2/97, p.86) - "...ONE IN A MILLION resides on a different plane than the legion of sophomore attempts that produce only one or two gold singles....Aaliyah is ready to showcase her mature side. Her best songs are about relationship woes..."


Q Magazine (10/96, p.153) - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "...With her smooth, sweetly seductive vocal firmly to the fore, she works through a set of predominantly slow and steamy swingbeat numbers, all clipped beats, luxurious melodies and dreamy harmonies..."

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Age Ain't Nothing But A Number, Aaliyah (Jive Records, 1994)

Entertainment Weekly (6/17/94, p.52) - "...Imagine En Vogue packed into one teenage body and backed by hip-hop svengali R. Kelly, and you have Aaliyah...a promising start..." - Rating: B

ARTIST FOCUS



A talented R&B singer and actress, Aaliyah (pronounced ah-lee-yah) may wind up being best remembered as rising talent whose life ended before she hit her artistic peak.

Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born in New York on Jan. 16, 1979, and died in a plane crash on Aug. 25, 2001, after taping the video for her song "Rock The Boat" in the Bahamas. Raised in Detroit, Aaliyah's distinctive first name is Arabic for "the highest" or "most exalted."l; She started performing early on as a peripheral member of Gladys Knight's troupe. But her uncle managed R. Kelly, and it was Kelly who produced Age Ain't Nothing But A Number, Aaliyah's coyly titled debut album.

If you believe the hype that accompanied that album's release, Aaliyah was 15 years old at the time; if you believe the gossip columns, she and Kelly tied the knot shortly after the disc's release. Apparently, it didn't stay tied for long, and Kelly was gone when it came time to record One In A Million, released in 1996.

Her second album spawned some hits, including "If Your Girl Only Knew," a Number One R&B single. Before releasing her third effort, 2001's self-titled album, Aaliyah, Aaliyah appeared on the soundtracks for Anastasia and Eddie Murphy's Dr. Dolittle. In 2000, she co-starred with martial arts expert Jet Li in Romeo Must Die, which was a big box-office success. She served as the soundtrack executive producer for the latter that bore her Number One pop hit "Try Again." At the time of her death, she was slated to appear in the film adaptation of Anne Rice's Queen Of The Damned, which was shot in Australia in 2000.



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Life Ain't Nothing But A Number (1994)

1.) Intro
2.) Throw Your Hands Up
3.) Back and Forth
4.) Age Ain't Nothin' But a Number
5.) Down With The Clique
6.) At Your Best
7.) No One Knows How To Love Me
8.) I'm So Into You
9.) Street Thing
10.) Young Nation
11.) Old School
12.) I'm Down

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One In A Million (1996)

1.) Hot Like Fire
2.) One In A Million
3.) A Girl Like You
4.) If Your Girl Only Knew
5.) Choosey Lover (Old School/New School)
6.) Got To Give It Up
7.) 4 Page Letter
8.) Everythings Gonna Be Alright
9.) Giving You More
10.) I Gotcha Back
11.) Heartbroken
12.) Never Comin' Back
13.) Ladies In Da House
14.) The One I Gave My Heart To
15.) Came To Give Love

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Aaliyah (2001)

1.) We Need A Resolution 2.) Loose Rap
3.) Rock The Boat
4.) More Than A Woman
5.) Never No More
6.) I Care 4 U
7.) Extra Smooth
8.) Read Between The Lines
9.) You Got Nerve
10.) I Refuse
11.) It's Whatever
12.) I Can Be
13.) Those Were The Days
14.) What If
15.) Messed Up

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Extra Songs Including Soundtracks:

1.) No Days Go By
2.) Quite Like You Do
3.) The Thing I Like
4.) Aaliyah "Unknown Single" - I Don't Wanna (Remix feat. Trina)
5.) Aaliyah "4 Page Letter single #1" - Death of a Playa
6.) Aaliyah 12" - If Your Girl... feat. Missy
7.) Aaliyah "Unknown Single" - If Your Girl... feat. Lil' Kim
8.) Junior M.A.F.I.A. "Conspiracy" - I Need You Tonight
9.) Timbaland and Magoo "Welcome To Our World" - Up Jumps Da Boogie
10.) Timbaland and Magoo "Welcome To Our World" - Man Undercover
11.) Sprung Sdtk. - One In A Million Remix
12.) Missy Elliott's "Supa Dupa Fly" - Best Friends
13.) Playa's "Playa" - One Man Woman
14.) Anastasia Sdtk. - Journey To the Past
15.) Dr. Dolittle sdtk - Are You That Somebody
16.) Timbaland "Tim's Bio: Life From Da Bassment" - John Blaze
17.) NAS's "I Am" - You Won't See Me Tonight
18.) Missy Elliott's "Da Real World" - Stickin' Chickens
19.) Music Of The Heart sdtk - Turn the Page
20.) Next Friday Sdtk. - I Don't Wanna
21.) Romeo Must Die sdtk - Try Again
22.) Romeo Must Die sdtk - Are You Feelin' Me
23.) Romeo Must Die sdtk - Come Back In One Piece
24.) 100% Ginuwine - Final Warning
25.) Outsiderz4Life's "Outsiderz4Life" - Ain't Never (feat. Aaliyah)

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