Smooth romance from Alicia Keys Playlist

Alicia Keys arrived on the 2001 music scene as a precocious 20-year-old R&B talent, a classically trained pianist with youthful spark and an old soul. "The Element of Freedom" (***, J Records), in stores Tuesday, finds the Grammy darling in a comfortable holding pattern, delivering well-groomed, middle-of-the-road fare that is neither triumph nor misstep.

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