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"Alica Keys As I Am Album Review" by Queen Princess
Posted at 11/09/2007 03:27:00 PM
“Alicia has done it again!” That’s an exact quote from countless listeners across blogs, magazines and random conversations. I for one will say that I agree 1000 percent. It’s been four years since A. Keys hit us with a studio album and by listening to As I Am, I can assure you that the extended creative process was worth the wait. A true Alicia Keys fan is not going to be disappointed with this project. Her voice and sound is a bit edgier and free this time around, but it’s still Alicia. She’s recognized for soulful melodies and sounds, meaningful lyrics and all around music that you can feel (in her words “heart music”) and listeners will definitely get all of that on her new album. After listening to the intro which goes equally as hard as “Harlem’s Nocturne” I had to give Alicia an independent round of applause because it was just that good!The first single off of the album “No one” got a lot of people excited about her new project and the video amped fans even more. Despite the album’s introduction single, the second single, “Like you’ll never see me again,” which sounds like it was influenced by Prince and The New Power Generation, is a true reflection of the album as a whole.
Standout tracks like, “I need you,” “Where do we go from here”, “Lesson learned” and “Tell you something,” a song for her grandmother makes the album personal. It’s evident that she rode the waves over the sophomore slump, but in the wake of that accomplishment critics still compared tracks from The Diary of Alicia Keys to tracks on Songs in A Minor. Her fourth album As I Am is completely different in sound and style and has a new feel that is easy to adapt to. “Wreckless love,” an up-tempo track has a jazzy/cotton club/hip-hop type feel which is something that people may have not expected to hear from her. “Teenage love affair” and “Go Ahead” gives the album the hip-hop element that runs throughout all of her works including her 2005 release Unplugged on which she had the hip-hop hit “Love it or leave it.”
I know that Alicia Keys had us scared when she described As I Am as raw and edgy. I’ll admit that I thought her album was going to sound like “Gimme shelter” the Rolling Stones’ song she performed with Keith Urban at the 2007 Live Earth Concert. Thank God it doesn’t! Her album is hip-hop, it’s R&B, it’s Soul and it’s KrucialKeys all the way.
Overall, As I Am is an excellent effort from Alicia Keys. She mixed it up by collaborating with Linda Perry and Marsha Ambrosius on writing instead using their vocals. However, John Mayer does contribute vocals on the track “Lesson learned.” The instrumentation on the majority of the songs is crazy and sounds as if they were constructed from a hard body jam session which is definitely inviting. So, for all the people who were a bit doubtful or worried about this project, heighten your expectations because As I Am is what it is! Lellow’s back! If you’re a supporter if real music and you’re a true A. Keys fan then go out on November 13th and cop the album.
For more information on Alicia Keys visit her official site http://www.aliciakeys.com , her fan site http://www.alicia-keys.net or check out her myspace page http://www.myspace.com/aliciakeys.
Labels: Album Review, Queen Princess
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