While it's no longer completely awkward to listen to, I still at times find last year's Aaliyah album to be emotionally confusing. "More Than A Woman" is probably the most upbeat song on the album and was a bit of a sidestep. She has always had a beautiful voice, warm and breezy, but still very calm and always under control. In "More Than A Woman" she seems to let loose a litte and is more excitable and forward in her delivery than in her previous work. This is her "declaration" song, where she not only establishes her previously unseen vocal versatility, but her blossoming womanhood as well. Now I'm sure some of these impressions can be partially attributed to the excellent, bouncy production, but unlike her other work with Timbaland, I think for the first time, there is an underlying sense that Aaliyah is the true focal point of the song. That, I think, is part of what made this song seem so confusing when taken in context with her death. There is such a celebratory tone to the song, as if it was commemorating the moment that Aaliyah had finally come into her own. The song is powerful enough to delude me into temporarily believing that she's still around, ready to drop yet another pop masterpiece on the world. I get swept up in the jubilance, only to have reality eventually set in and temper any excitement with a cold, empty sadness. It's not an intense sadness, being that I never actually knew Aaliyah, but it's enough to create a stir of emotions that can sometimes be a bit uncomfortable.
