Alicia Keys, album As I Am
Alicia Keys could be a diva. She has the golden voice, the undeniable looks, the charismatic performance - all the prerequisites for full-scale, larger than life, hell-to-the-no diva-dom.
But it won’t happen. It doesn’t seem to be in her nature.
Instead, on her third album, “As I Am” (J), Keys seems concerned with creating anthems for the rest of us, songs that help lead the way through the daily struggle.
Keys’ album is like the soundtrack to build one of the rarest of personas in pop culture, like post-Brad Jennifer Aniston or post-Oscar Julia Roberts - both impossible to top and down to earth. She has everything going for her and yet you still feel the need to root for her.
Keys can sing, “Still put on a vest, with an ‘S’ on my chest, oh yes, I’m a superwoman” in “Superwoman,” but still sound like the underdog, like she’s trying to convince herself that the lyrics are true. The backing singers are even trying to convince her, offering a response of “Yes, she is” to her call of “I am superwoman, yes I am.”
She uses a similar strategy in the achingly beautiful laid-back soul of “Lesson Learned” as she declares, “Yes, I was burned, but I call it a lesson learned,” while the backing singers reassure her, “It’s all right, it’s all right,” and John Mayer adds his guitarwork.
Even when Keys is at her most triumphant, in the powerful single “No One,” she still sounds more like she is trying to psyche herself up for a fight rather than a boast when she sings, “No one will get in the way of what I’m feeling.” It’s more than a love song, though, in the way Bob Marley’s love songs were always about something universal as well as something specific.
“As I Am” marks her growth not only as a songwriter but as a singer. Unlike her debut “Songs in A Minor,” where she was out to prove herself with the attention-getting runs of “Fallin’,” Keys knows she commands that attention now.
Her voice is no less powerful on songs like the gorgeous “Like You’ll Never See Me Again,” but it’s never overdramatic or showy. Now, she just uses it to serve the song.
That works well on the moody, hip-hop-fueled “Go Ahead” from Floetry’s Marsha Ambrosius, the rousing, rock-tinged “Sure Looks Good to Me,” co-written with Linda Perry, and the playful, neo-soul showcase “Wreckless Love” that builds from light, jazzy verses to a fiery, forceful Stevie Wonder-styled chorus.
If “Songs in A Minor” was Keys’ introduction to the world and “The Diary of Alicia Keys” was her transition to adulthood, “As I Am” marks her first fully formed work as a true artistic force, where her vision is clear from start to impressive finish.
“It’s my time to shine,” she declares in “That’s the Thing About Love.” Yes, it is.
AS I AM. Creating anthems for life’s daily struggles. The new CD by Alicia Keys. In stores Tuesday. Grade: A.
Third time’s a charm
With “As I Am,” Alicia Keys is set to join one of music’s most elite clubs - pop artists who have managed three successful albums in a row.
Staying atop the pop music landscape for that length of time is tricky (only Michael Jackson and Madonna have managed to string together four consecutive bona fide blockbusters, which sold in the multimillions) and this year has seen its share of third-album stories. Kelly Clarkson’s third album “My December” has been seen as a disappointment, while Kanye West’s “Graduation” has pushed him to the next level of superstardom.
“If you’re a big artist and you’re going to sustain that for a long time, your third album is the album,” Murder Inc. founder Irv Gotti said recently. “You look at Jay-Z. His third album was the album. DMX? His third album was the album. You look at Ja [Rule]. His third album was the album.”
BY GLENN GAMBOA
