“Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number” came out in 1994, and was the debut album from the R&B singer, Aaliyah who tragically died at the age of 22 in a plane accident. Her she was just 15, and is joined by R. Kelly, who produces the whole thing.
1. “Intro”
2. “Throw Your Hands Up”
To kick the album in just the way which you expect, you have her excite you with the way that she is dropped straight into some funky Hip Hop swinging beats to begin things, and it really makes you take notice, and gives lots of potential for the rest of the thing. She blazes through on this one, and if you hear this, you will want to here what else she comes with on this record.
**Five Stars**
3. “Back & Forth”
This song is the one which she debuted with , and it is a killer tune, so it deserved all the attention it received as it shows exactly how strong a performer she is as she does some Hip Hop Soul with some fresh beats, and she puts her voice to it full potential as she gets the clubs moving to a nice little jam. You here Kells on backing vocals throughout this and it gives it that little boost as she does what she does.
**Five
Stars**
4. “Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number”
The eponymous song to the album has her do something which you expect of her as you slows it down, and shows that regardless of her age, she is fully-capable of loving in just the way that others older than her can. It is a killer slow jam on the album, and it really stands out as you of the key singles to come off this record. This is Aaliyah at her best when on the low tempo, and it comes up with great results.
**Five Stars**
5. “Down With The Clique”
For this one you have her doing a track just for the streets, and you find Kells in the backing doing what he did a lot of around this time with some hyping in the background, and looking back on it, his part in it all is almost laughable, but it is what is needed for a track which focuses around this kind of topic and setting.
**Four Stars**
6. “At Your Best”
Here you find the one and only cover on the album, and it has Aaliyah do a classic from the Isley Brothers in this case, and she straight rips it as it finds her doing something which contrasts greatly from the rest of the album as it has her on production from Kelly which is a lot less electronic, and more authentic to show how this one should be treated differently to the rest of them on it.
**Five Stars**
7. “No One Knows Love To Love Me Quite Like Your Do”
This was the fourth of the six singes from the album, and it begins with a quick a capella before Kelly drops some killer beats on it to get you right back into the Swing of things. You hear more post-New jack Swing beats coming through in this one, and on this one they take it to the top level with it based around the “Impeach the President” break and her showing just the ultimate vocals she is possible of delivering.
**Five Stars**
8. “I’m So Into You”
Although this one has her seemingly calming it all down as she chooses to perform a song which has her introduce some gentle themes about her little crush, you have more of the Hip Hop influence being pushed into it with some heavy, swinging beats and a little rap to clearly display this. The juxtaposition of these things means that you feel the best of both without feeling overpowered by a single side of it.
**Four Stars**
9. “Street Thang”
The production on this song is bound to remind any R&B listener of the songs off R. Kelly’s debut solo album “12 Play”, as this was made around the same sort of time, and it has the artist singing a song which reflects his songs from this record. When you compare it to stuff such as “You Remind Me Of Something”, “Sex Me”, and “Bump ‘n ‘ Grind”, they are very similar to this, and this must be something positive for it.
Taking reference from the classic Funkadelic song, “One Nation under A Groove”, this one takes it up to modern times (1994) and has her show what can be done on some beats which suit a time much earlier than this. A lot of what is heard on this is currently being recycled, and so I’m sure that listeners today would really enjoy it. She keeps it smooth on this one and the gentle pace which she works at makes it very atmospheric as a song.
**Five Stars**
11. “Old School”
On this one you find Aaliyah taking it back as Kells chooses to take influence from the slow jams of the eighties on this one, and has Aaliyah sing on it in the modern way to show exactly where her influences have come from to produce what you find here. It is a big one, and it really stands out for it is seductive beats which have a clear R. Kelly sound coming through.
**Five Stars**
12. “I’m Down”
To end the album off, you find here doing something which you would expect to hear from her, but just having it executed in a manner which is slightly unexpected as you find her doing on which still retains the heavy Hip Hop slaps, but it is a much more gentle song in general with a calm tempo, and her playing up to this a lot more than the other side, and it ends the record well to remind you of all the quality within the album.
**Four Stars**
Heree s a very consistent album from Aaliyah, and one which I couldn’t find a fault in as you find her balancing the good old slow jams with a few Swing tunes to make sure that she is appealing to as many people as possible. Any R&B fan should like this, and I’m sure that few would be able to find something wrong with it as R. Kelly shows that he is able to construct as killer album for people other than himself.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: Brilliantly Talented Artist, R&B, Soul & Hip-Hop In A Near Perfect Blend. Disadvantages: Hard To Find Any, In My Opinion, There Could Have Been Different Songs.
exceptional by (4%):
very helpful by (96%):
