Today we take a sombre look back at Aaliyah, the self-titled and third studio album from the R&B singer. It celebrated 20 years since its release on 7 July. It would also be her last studio album with the tragic plane accident that would end in her death occurring just a month and a half later.
2001 was certainly a high point for contemporary R&B. There have been some heavy hitters celebrating 20th anniversaries this year and more to come but Aaliyah certainly rises to the top as one of the best of the year and of all time for R&B.
Aaliyah's career was at its heights coming off the success of her '96 album One In a Million and a developing film career having had a role in Romeo Must Die with DMX. A good amount of Aaliyah was recorded in Melbourne during the night while she filmed Queen of the Damned during the day.
The first single from the project was "We Need A Resolution." It helped lay the intent for the singer to have the album demonstrate she was no longer just a teen star but a mature adult. It was one of the few songs on the album which had assistance from producer Timbaland. The video was certainly notable for Aaliyah's interactions with a giant python snake.
A majority of the lyrics for the album were penned by Static Major from the R&B group Playa. He found Aaliyah to be ideal for his song writing and helped bring subtle elements of sexuality to the forefront of the songs. This was certainly evident in the 2nd and 3rd singles.
The second single "More Than A Woman" saw the singer explain to a love interest that she is all he would ever need. It was the first song to be released following the singer's death. The end of the video featured a tribute with the final shot being the silhouette of the singer in front of a sunrise with the words "In Loving Memory of Aaliyah" above.
"Rock The Boat" was the third single officially released just a week after "More Than A Woman." Aaliyah originally wanted it to be the second single. The label wasn't really a fan of the song but it was already receiving heavy airplay on urban radio. Aaliyah made her last tv appearance on the video countdown show BET's 106 & Park just days before her accident occurred while shooting the video for the song. At the time of her death there was uncertainty whether the video would actually be released. The video would premiere in October of 2001 with the song officially being made a single in November.
Both "More Than a Woman" and "Rock the Boat" were nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 45th Grammy Awards. None of the singles from the album charted here in New Zealand.
The song "I Care 4 U" is also on the record. It was originally recorded for her '96 album One In a Million but would be re-recorded for Aaliyah. "I Care 4 U" would have it's turn as a single in 2003 when it was released in promotion of the compilation album that is titled after the song. Russell Baillie in an article for the New Zealand Herald described the song as "soul-sass" and he felt that "Aaliyah's voice weaves through the sparse but punchy arrangements with a mix of sultriness" on the song.
Unfortunately, due to rights issues a lot of Aaliyah's material is not available digitally. But here is a video which plays the album straight through on YouTube we def suggest you check out to listen and experience it in its entirety for it's 20th anniversary.
