Alicia Keys is a rare artist in this day. She’s a singer/song writer, who could pass for pop, but she’s not really pop. She could pass for hip hop, but she’s not really hip hop. She could also more realistically pass for R&B, but then again she’s not strictly R&B. She’s more of a delightful mixture of the three genres, plus throw in a few others and what you get Alicia Keys. When I look at her career, I can’t help but to think that I’m looking at a legend in the making. After with a solid debut with “Songs in A Minor” I asked myself how in the hell is she going to top this. Well just lets say that I was left with the same sentiment after hearing her follow up, ‘” The Diary of Alicia Keys”. So my expectation for her third solo, “As I Am” was very high.
The Cd starts off with her playing her piano classical style, and then moves into incorporating it into a hip hop style beat. It’s cute but it’s really not needed. I would have just had a simple speaking intro or jumping into the lead off song right away. That lead off song is “Go Ahead” is a mid tempo song about a relationship gone astray. She’s telling the guy to get gone and out of her life. “I thought you gave me love Was never near enough/Soon enough time reveals/The weight of what is real/Know all I need to know/Boy see you got to go/What have you given me ?/But lies lies” It’s a strong lead off song that should’ve been the first thing that was heard when the album started, but I’m not going to dwell too much on it. The next song is “Super Woman”. “I hang my head from sorrow/Slave to humanity/I wear it on my shoulders/Gotta find the strength in me” This song is about the struggles and trials of women trying to deal withtheir problems., saying that even though it may seem impossible you can still pull through. It’s a nice little inspirational song for the ladies. Up next is “No One”. This is one of the better singles Ms. Keys has put out over her career. The piano and the thumping kick drum pounding in unison to start the song really get you in the mood to enjoy this song catchy song. The song it self is about not giving up on your love, and having the assurance that one you’re with is the “one”. “I know some people search the world/To find something like what we have/I know people will try try to divide something so real/So till the end of time I'm telling you there is no one”.
Next is the “Live You’ll Never See Me Again” and single off the album. This song is about making every moment with the person you love count. “If I had no more time / No more time left to be here/ Would you cherish what we had? /Was it everything that you were looking for? Now I like this song its slow and melodic, but every time I hear it I can’t help but think of it as cheap prince Rip off. The way she sings it makes me think that this was an unreleased song off of the “Purple Rain” soundtrack that she some how got her hands on, re-recorded it and claimed it as her own. It’s not a bad song at all, but for someone who has heard a lot of Prince in his life (mostly involuntary) its just the impression I get from hearing the song. The next song“Lesson Learned” is song for the broken hearted, featuring an eerily out of place John Mayer, singing the chorus with Keys. “Yes I was burned but I called it a lesson learned/ Mistake overturned so I called it a lesson learned” It’s a pretty good slow song, and once I learned to embrace Mayer’s vocals on it, I found it enjoyable. After hearing this song, it’s evident that it’s very hard to just put Keys in the bracket of solely R&B. The next three songs show’s off her range and diversity.“Wreckless Love” has more of an mid tempo jazz feel to it. It sounds like it’s a trying to be a 1940-ealry 50ish R&B/Jazz throwback with a modern sound infused with the two. This song is about making reckless love, wait who am I fooling? It’s a classy jazzed up sex song. Let me just say I hope that a video for this song is released. “The Thing about Love” is a slow song with Keys again giver her take on love. “Teenage Love” is a hip hop influenced song about young love. I’m not sure if this song contains a sample, I wouldn’t be surprised if it did, and then again I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t. She has a pretty good production team behind her. But my best guess is that it is sample based. The next song “I Need You “is a nice up tempo song about how she feels about her guy not believing in her love for him. “So how could you look me in my eye/and not see what, what I feel inside? /tell me how could you doubt the fact that I/I love you... I love you? Now the song that does use a sample is the ‘Where Do We Go From Here” The song is about a break up. “When I cry your name/Am I calling in vain? /Oh and am I waiting only to drown in pain”.
The next few songs left on the album are slower ballads, with the lovely song ‘Sure Looks Good to Me” being the standout. I’m not sure but it borrows a melody from another song, but I just can’t place it. I’m not sure I may be wrong, and that wouldn’t be the first time. This is a great closing song, and I can see using this song as a final single to promote the album. This song also proves just how eclectic Key’s music is as these sounds much like a contemporary pop song, that you would year on a lite-rock station, but not a newer song, but one of these “classics” from yesteryear. It does have a very old school vibe to it.
This is a very good, and diverse album by Alicia Keys. She moves slightly away from the R&b/Hip Hop realm and dives into the pop world head first. Keys is one of those artists that improve with every outing, and this time is now different. ‘As I Am” is a step up for Keys and is also one step in her proving herself as a future legend. There are some songs that I could do without like the “Intro for one” I’m sorry but I couldn’t let it go, and the short “Prelude to a Kiss” which isn’t really needed on the album. Over all for Alicia this album is a success, and if you never thought she was a star, not only does the album sales, but the quality of this album solidifies her as one.
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