Alicia Keys MTV Unplugged

While most performers benefit greatly from studio technology, some shine the brightest in an unadorned live setting. As 2005's MTV UNPLUGGED reveals, Alicia Keys is one of the latter: a nuanced singer and gifted pianist whose talent is impressively showcased on this concert outing. Keys takes many of the R&B-rooted songs from her first two albums and gives them dynamic live treatments, throwing in a few deft cover tunes to keep the set varied and unpredictable.

Maroon 5's Adam Levine stops by for a spare rendition of the Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses," resulting in a duet that brings to mind a youthful collaboration between Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin; while the closing track incorporates Damian Marley's "Welcome to Jamrock," with Marley (one of Bob's sons) and rappers Common and Mos Def joining the party. However, Keys is at her best on her own songs, as displayed by the soulful "If I Ain't Got You," which builds to uplifting gospel-tinged heights, and "Fallin'," a wonderfully melancholy tune that showcases Keys's passionate vocals.