TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

'As I Am' Shows Keys Is Better Left As She Is

ADVERTISEMENT

By CURTIS ROSS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 23, 2007

With her third album, Alicia Keys has created her most successful combination of neo-soul, contemporary R&B and pop-rock yet. And that's a little scary.

"As I Am" is so bright, so smoothly-sequenced, so airtight, Keys' personality seems in danger of being submerged. It's to her credit that it doesn't, but it gets hairy at times.

"Superwoman," co-written by the ubiquitous Linda Perry (Pink, Christina Aguilera, Courtney Love for heaven's sake) could have turned up on just about any album by any contemporary R&B or pop singer. "No One" is a smash and sounds as if it were fussed over, tinkered with and sent through committee until it couldn't possibly be anything else. Problem is, like "Superwoman," it could have been a hit for anyone.

Thankfully, Keys shines through elsewhere.

"Go Ahead" kicks the album into gear with a verve that's part rock and part strong-woman soul. "Lesson Learned," with guitar and vocal from John Mayer, is smooth but seductive, a slow jam you won't want to resist.

"Wreckless Love" is a major show-stopper, a soul ballad that salutes the past but is firmly rooted in the present. Keys sounds downright gleeful tackling the rapid-fire vocal delivery. Her joy is apparent on the giddy, Motown-ish "Teenage Love Affair" as well.

"Where Do We Go From Here" references '60s soul as well, particularly in the background vocals, but like "Wreckless Love," it never comes off as retro.

"The Thing About Love," another Perry co-write, is pure pop, and while Keys adopts a fitting vocal persona, she makes it her own in a way she didn't on "Superwoman."

Keys may indeed prove herself to be music's superwoman. Heck, she even got a name-check on Bob Dylan's last album. Here's hoping she doesn't succumb to the pressure to be everything to everybody, a fate that's felled more than a few once-beloved R&B stars.

Download this: "Go Ahead"

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT