Alicia Keys is once again being brave and gracious by unearthing yet another track from her vault, and this time she extended it as a valentine on last week's lover's holiday. Draped in a shimmery sheen of soulfulness, "Zebras and Airplanes" places Keys in lusher sound territory than her previously released "Power." Now don't think Keys got a whiff of something on the cosmic herb side to scribe this, as she was more so inspired to compose "Zebras and Airplanes" after viewing a painting done by Irish painter Chloe Early. In a way, the song sounds like Keys took a dip into the glittery fairy tale waters of Mariah Carey Land, but considering it came from the sessions that brought us 2009's quite underrated The Element Of Freedom, it's dream-like pop-ish atmosphere is understandable and quite nice to slip into. Keys has been impressing me so far with her vault output and "Zebras and Airplanes" makes for another solid addition.
