Album Review: Alicia Keys - As I Am

Alicia Keys - As I Am

01 - As I Am - I'm a huge fan of instrumental tracks, especially piano tracks. Alicia knows she can play the heck out of that instrument! It's an all instrumental track and only a couple of minutes long, but before the rest of theW instrumentation comes in, it's pure magic; once the other accompaniment begins, the track loses the fire. Rating: 3/5

02 - Go Ahead - This is real funky (stylistically) but instrumentally, it's a fusion of "A Woman's Worth" and "Unbreakable." It's not groundbreaking at any rate; in fact, it's your typical Alicia Keys filler track (anyone who has any of her albums knows about these tracks). It's listenable, but is clearly not a favorite. The vocal delivery is typical Alicia Keys (and so are the lyrics for that matter). Rating: 2.75/5

03 - Superwoman - The chord progressions in this song are not typical (for me, anyway; I was singing the melody as I heard it and it wasn't matching what she was playing, which was totally unexpected). Vocally, this is nothing extremely special, but Alicia delivers this so softly and vulnerably that I actually believe what she's singing about. The track itself is nothing special, but her delivery and the instrumentation make this track work on many different levels. Rating: 3/5

04 - No One - Okay. I haven't liked this song since I heard it (but I have heard some people KILL this like it should have been done on youtube). Alicia is very nasal and throaty on this song (odd combination). This song is CLEARLY out of her comfortable range; she's a musician--lower the key of the song a half step; that'd make all the difference in the world. I don't like the instrumental track aside from the piano. It sounds very "homemade" if that makes sense; generic would be a good word, too. At any rate No One will get me to like this song... Rating: 2/5

05 - Like You'll Never See Me Again - You can't tell me that Prince didn't have SOMETHING to do with this track. It wreaks of him and his 80's flavor. It's oddly reminiscent of "The Beautiful Ones." Alicia tends to get throaty /husky on this song which should be vulnerable and sensitive the entire way through. Nevertheless, I loved this track when I first heard it. Despite it's minor vocal flaws, this song is a definite #1 hit. Mark those words. Rating: 5/5

06 - Lesson Learned - I didn't want to say it, but I have to: this song is the 2007 version of "Diary" in EVERY SINGLE WAY. If you've heard "Diary" you've heard this; well, "Diary" had much better vocals from Alicia. Rating: 3/5

07 - Wreckless Love - This is one catchy track! The instrumentation is really old school, but her delivery is so HOT! The arrangement is KILLER on this track. This song would not make it on radio, but it does have all the potential in the world to make it on radio. This song could work on radio; I said Mariah's "Shake You Off" wasn't strong enough for radio, so it just shows, you never know. This is one of those very strong, for the serious fans, filler tracks. I love it! Rating: 4/5

08 - Thing About Love - What I like about this track is exactly what I don't like about this track if that make sense. Alicia was clearly out of voice when she recorded this and she's singing through that. It's clear her vibrato didn't want to work with her, so she had to force it and you can definitely tell in the beginning. But what works for this is that the message of the song is so melancholy that it sounds like she's singing through tears and that's what makes this song genius vocally. The instrumentation is very big band and the tempo change was somewhat unexpected. However, this song is beautiful. Rating: 3.5/5

09 - I Need You - Don't like anything about this instrumentally, vocally, lyrically, or the arrangement. Rating: 2/5

10 - Prelude To A Kiss - Absolutely beautiful in every way! I'm just in love with this! Why this was simply a prelude astounds me! Rating: 5/5

11 - Tell You Something (Nana's Reprise) - The piano track is heavenly on this track. The vocal is heartbreaking, especially when you take into account the lyrical content. The only thing this song is missing is the money note after the last chorus. But the song is nice. Rating: 3.5/5

12 - Sure Looks Good To Me - Everything about this song works--the rawness in her voice, the rock feel, the lyrics, and the kind of spoken word breakdown. During the adlibs in the beginning, I could have sworn that P!nk was doing them. Rating: 4/5

Overall Album Review:

If you're looking for an equally strong effort behind "Diary" then keep on looking. This album is more of an artistic and creative expression than it is an effort to get a hit on the charts, and I applaud that. None of this album is really marketable to her core fan base in the hip-hop/R&B community, but she does have some strong AC and Alternative sounding (keyword: sounding) cuts on here that could further cement her crossover appeal. That all being said, Alicia was not in good voice while recording. Either that or she's developing nodules and needs to have that looked at. Her voice still has that sweet purity in it, but it's becoming heavier, huskier, more throaty, forced, and nasal, and I'd never really heard that from her outside of her "Unplugged" album and DVD.

This is really a throwback album to when music was music, but much of it seems a tad contrived at times. However, it is a solid effort. Would I buy this? Right now, I honestly don't know.  More than likely, yes.

Rating: 3/5