"Everything means nothing, if I ain't got you..." The refrain was inescapable in 2003, when Alicia Keys' instant classic "If I Ain't Got You" dominated the radio and reached a cross-section of audiences that had rarely been seen before.
The track is a highlight among many on her second album, The Diary of Alicia Keys. The chart-topping, Grammy-winning album defied the concept of the sophomore slump. It stayed on the Billboard Albums listing for 88 weeks and has been certified 5x-Platinum by the RIAA. Upon its release, it was instantly recognized as a career highpoint and a timeless R&B classic.
Now, after 17 years unavailable on vinyl, Legacy Recordings and the subscription service Vinyl Me, Please will remaster and reissue the landmark 2-LP set on oak-and-ivory-hued vinyl. The set is due to ship in January 2021. It's available to any fan, although VMP members will receive a discount off this pressing, which is sure to be coveted by vinyl aficionados and R&B fans everywhere. Better yet, $2 of every purchase will be donated to Keep a Child Alive, a cause co-founded by Alicia Keys that provides support to HIV/AIDS-impacted communities across India and Africa.
You can purchase your copy of the newly remastered, "oak and ivory" 2-LP set from Vinyl Me, Please, and peruse the track listing below!
Alicia Keys, The Diary of Alicia Keys (originally J Records LP 82876-55712-1, 2003) (Vinyl Me, Please)
Side 1:
- Harlem's Nocturne
- Karma
- Heartburn
- If I Was Your Woman / Walk On By
Side 2:
- You Don't Know My Name
- If I Ain't Got You
- Diary
Side 3:
- Dragon Days
- Wake Up
- So Simple
Side 4:
- When You Really Love Someone
- Feeling U, Feeling Me (Interlude)
- Slow Down
- Samsonite Man
- Nobody Not Really
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