0 Alicia Keys As I Am

There's only one way R&B artists grow to become legends, and it's by drenching the words they sing with feeling (think Gladys Knight, Roberta Flack).This album does seem to be her most personal & intimate.

The skeptical listener might have had her doubts before As I Am, but there's no mistaking it now: Alicia Keys is well on her way to sharing a category with them. This record radiates not just old-soul maturity, the kind Alicia fans say makes her modern rarity, but real soul."Like You'll Never See Me Again, No One, I Need You, Tell You Something, & The Thing About Love," are my five favorites from this album. The latter has an Al Green early 1970's feel to it with an angry middle which most folks at some time in their lives can relate to. While the former may eventually challenge "Fallin" as her best song to date? It has lucid lyrics & a depth of feeling to it that many modern tunes lack. "I Need You has Alicia pulling you into the song & "Tell You Something" is a thoughtful get you to think tune. While "No One" is a sensual speaks for itself song.

This record radiates not just old-soul maturity, the kind Alicia fans say makes her modern rarity, but real soul. Vintage-leaning hooks and horns grab hold on "Where Do We Go from Here" and an assortment of other songs, but Keys can also get by just fine without them, as she proves on more pop-flavored numbers like "Lesson Learned," with John Mayer, and "Superwoman."Some of the best cuts include "Superwoman," (co-written with Linda Perry and Steve Mostyn), an anthem for strong women everywhere and an ear-catching chorus that will get you singing along, the beautiful, reggae-inspired "No One" (co-written with Kerry Brothers, Jr. and George M. Harry.This young woman has been blessed with many talents and we are lucky and privileged that she is sharing them with the world.

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