Customer Reviews

East Side Story

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The promotional posters for East Side Story boast the tagline: 'beyond definition.' I don't think I could put it much better than that. Emily King fuses many different genres like jazz, hip hop, R&B, pop and even reggae to produce some great music that sounds quite different from anything else out there at the moment. The album reminds me a bit of Lauryn Hill's Miseducation in that aspect. King's voice is light, soulful and bluesy and unlike many in the business, she chooses to use some live instrumentation, which truly brings a new dimension to the music. The whole album sounds very 'live' and heart-felt.

As ashamed as I am to say this, the first time I heard of this wonderful artist was on the website for the TV show, Charm School. I listened to the first single "Walk In My Shoes" and instantly fell in love with the song. The thumping bassline and the crisp rimshot with Emily's emotional delivery of the "you don't know what I've been through" type of lyrics made a perfect track.

The rest of the album, I am glad to say, is equally great. "Colorblind" is a heart-wrenching autobiographical tale of the troubles of growing up bi-racial. "Alright" is a nice inspirational mid-tempo. "U & I" is an old school soul throwback love song with beautiful harmonies and production. "Hold Me," one of my favorite tracks, is a reggae-influenced song of infatuation. King delivers an emotionally-charged cover of the classic, "Ain't No Sunshine." "You Can Get By" encourages a woman to leave an abusive realtionship going nowhere. "E Melody" is catchy. "It Was You" is a painful breakup song and the production matches the sentiment. "Moon" is layered with lush guitars and vocals. Ms. King gives some political commentary on "Business Man," which--if I'm not mistaken-- points the finger directly at owners of diamond mines in Africa. "Never Be Lonely" is another one of my favorite tracks. The song has a great horn section at the end and it tells of the classic "I-want-you-back" tale. "Ride With Me" is a relaxing gospel/reggae/soul mid-tempo. The album ends in a version of "Walk In My Shoes" with an added verse by Lupe Fiasco. His rhyming is excellent, but I still prefer the original.

Overall, this is an excellent album from a very talented artist who is here to stay. Her music and subject matter is highly varied. The production and songwritng is great, as well. I highly recommend it. (By the way, this is not an EP like the page says. It's a full-length album.)

I cannot recall how I discovered Emily King. I am a huge Pop/R&B/Pop music fan, so probably in my extensive musical searching and study, I came across her. Hearing her lead single, Walk In My Shoes, on her website instantly sold me to the fact that she has talent. Hailed in some circles as an Alicia Keys, like Keys, Emily is bi-racial and has a natural knack and talent for music. The main unfortunate aspect is that this musical gem has been under-supported, under-promoted, and certainly, underappreciated. Produced by Carl "Chucky" Thompson primarily, this CD contains some standout tracks that could definitely work on radio. Although Emily is in her early 20s, she doesn't just stick to the oft-mentioned topic of love. She experiments with being interracial on the nice, unique mid-tempo Colorblind. She challenges folks to "Walk In My Shoes" on the lead single, first track and also on the bonus track featuring a rap by the great rapper Lupe Fiasco. She even talks about the Moon and a Business Man. Emily reminds me slightly of Joss Stone, Alicia Keys, but she primarily has her own style--some slight funkiness, a little bubblegum pop, old-school R&B, tinges of Hip-Hop and a unique voice that fits all of the songs, this effort definitely needs to get recognized in this era of supporting talentless acts.

Top 3 Standout Tracks:
u&I---This song should definitely be a single. It's a fun-loving romance song with a swirling mid-tempo beat and a catchy hook.

Business Man--Emily tackles a deep topic in this slightly acoustic sounding slow song. It makes you think.

Never Be Lonely--The instruments seem to pay homage to the 70's Motown/R&B sound, as does a lot of the CD. It's a nice song.

This is a wonderful CD. I recommend it if you're looking for quality music.

Where do I begin? I'm listening to it now... It's the kind of good that makes it difficult to multi-task. I am somehow forced to concentrate on the music. Taste in music is so very subjective and our individual response to music, or how much we're moved by it, will be different. But I'm captivated by Emily's music. I've been listening to this cd over and over again for the last week. And I'm a bit strange, I guess, because, as I mentioned in the title, I didn't love the whole thing at first. But this is typical of me. There are cds that I love, top to bottom, the first time out. But there are others, this now included, that take me listening maybe three times completely before I get it. But, man, do I get it now.

Listening to this cd reminds me of what I felt when I heard Alicia Keys', "Songs in A Minor". Alicia isn't the best vocally, but her energy, her sheer creativity and her music's depth completely blew me away. Considering the then current poor state of R&B music, her music was a revelation. It was real music, just like in the old days, devoid of all the big name producers and their cookie cutter, synthesized sound. Just real music. Well, that's how I feel about Emily's cd. She's better than Alicia vocally (just listen to the opening verse of "Never be Lonely") but has all of that freshness, creativity and musicality. It's true R&B music, stuff a thug could listen to when chillin' and yet is diverse enough to have him listening to some arrangements that touch on other, softer, genres of music.

Creative... fresh... Did I say that yet?

Another thing that blew me away was the fact that the cd is produced by Chucky Thompson. If you don't know his name, you surely know his work, his sound. Chucky Thompson was THE sound of Bad Boy R&B music, 1994 - 1997. In my opinion, he was uniquely instrumental in the success of Bad Boy and the artists they worked with during these early years, Mary J. Blige (tho' not signed by Bad Boy), Faith Evans, Frankie (his cd was great although he didn't achieve much success). But key among all these artists is, of course, Mary. And key among all of her cds is the one that Chucky Thompson produced, "My Life", my favorite R&B cd. I didn't know that Chucky produced this album till I bought the cd. Listen to "Colorblind" on Emily's cd. It's trademark Chucky Thompson. I miss that sound. Hopefully these two will have the chance to collaborate on a second cd because their chemistry is incredible.

What's even more compelling about this cd is how much is said in these songs. They're songs that, without ever being corny or preachy, speak of self-respect and not allowing life and it's trials slow you down. Others speak of finding and losing love.

A couple others have commented on how disappointed they are that this cd isn't being adequately promoted, if at all, and I'm no different. It's a real shame because, given the same promotion, she could be as successful as Alicia. Good thing I happened to pick up a copy of XXL magazine's Hip Hop Soul spin-off mag earlier this year or I would have completely missed this gem. Makes me wonder how many other incredible cds have been released that I completely missed.....

My favorites on the cd?.... Heh... that's tough. Very rarely have a listened to a cd that is this consistent. But I'll try.

My ratings by track:
1. Walk in my shoes (Thick and punchy, a throwback to early 70's soul/funk) - Five stars
2. Colorblind (Such a refreshing sound, lively, with a killer beat and fantastic vocal arrangement. A feel good song, even though it is discussing a topic was a difficult one for her when growing up) - Five stars +
3. Alright (Samples Bruce Hornsby's "That's just the way it is", a sample that I didn't get immediately, but she blended it with a heavy R&B beat. Sounds great) - Four stars
4. U&I (A very lighthearted song, the first time we hear her plucking. It's about falling in love, finally. BEAUTIFUL song) - Five stars +
5. Hold Me (A punchy, mid/upbeat song. This song gets you the first time you hear the chorus.) - Five stars
6. Ain't no sunshine (A remake of Bill Withers' song. While I'm not a huge fan of remakes, Emily does this song fantastic justice) - Four stars
7. You can get by (An offbeat/punchy song, very beat and guitar driven. A simple, yet, effective arrangement that truly highlights her creativity) - Five stars
8. E Melody (This is Emily's favorite track and makes a strong case for my favorite also. Strong beat. If you're head isn't nodding hard enough to make your neck tired, something's wrong) - Five stars +
9. It was you (Woooo... this one took me a minute to love. The song is downright beautiful, the vocal arrangement on the verses is chilling, but, when the hook came on the first time it threw me off. The melody during the hook doesn't do what you might be expecting it to. But after listening several times I can appreciate her desire to purposely do something different. Three thumbs up) - Five stars
10. Moon (Laid back. That's all I can say. Laid back) Five stars
11. Business man (What a pretty song. The subject matter doesn't strike me as the most relevant, but it is beautiful.) Four stars
12. Never be lonely (This song touches me personally, so my review may be jaded. But I LOVE this song. Emily's vocal ability is displayed on this song more than any other on the cd. Of the songs she wrote alone, this is the best and strangely enough, probably also the most sell-able. Reminds me of Minnie Ripperton song.) - Five stars +
13. Ride with me (Reggae influenced, if only by the use of a steel drum. The song stays with you, absolutely relaxing and infectious. A strong second, of the Emily only songs, to "Never be lonely") Five stars +
14. Walk in my shoes* - Bonus track - Remix (Lupe Fiasco's rapping does fit the music quite well) Five stars

Buy the cd and enjoy it, then, so that Emily has a fighting chance, recommend that your friends buy the cd rather than burning them a copy of it.

Enjoy!

I fell in love with her when I heard her first single on the radio. She does not deserve to be slept on. Ms. King, Teedra Moses, Amel Larrieux and so many others deserve more than the promotion that they are getting.

I was scared this was going to happen. I felt pretty sure with Ms. King touring with "The John Legend", and her promotional team seemingly getting her into tons of magazines and newspapers, that her debut was sure to be a hit. Alas, maybe the best is yet to come, and I sure hope so because Ms. King is the truth! But with so few reviews thus far, I'm worried. Well, let me do my part to encourage people to buy this terrific album. First of all, I had the pleasure of hearing Emily perform live in the NOLA, during the Essence Jazz Festival, so I may be a little skewed in knowing that she positively sounds great live before I bought the cd! Oftentimes that's the clincher for me. You'll get some artist's cd, and think that they are the greatest thing ever, till you hear them live somewhere, and the facade crumbles! Well let me tell you, she's the real deal! Vocally great, and can also play the guitar. The production on this album is SICK, and her lyrics range from love songs to political musings. Always a great mix. I agree with the first reviewer that there is a slight Lauryn Hillish vibe (no she's not quite there yet), mainly on track 5 "Hold Me". Other standouts include: Walk in My Shoes (great mix with Biggie floating around out there), Colorblind (great production), U and I, You Can get By, E Melody (another song with super dope production), Moon, and Business Man. Ok, that was a REALLY hard list to write cause as I was looking I realized that all of the excluded tracks are great too! This album is fresh and really what music needs right now. A young face with talent, live instrumentation, and no A#$ shakin! Go' head Miss King:)

I was introduced to Emily King when she opened for Floetry earlier this year at a place called Ramshead in Baltimore, Maryland. Emily told the crowd that she was signed to J Records and that she would have a CD that would come out later on this year. Emily walked to the stage with a guitar in her hand and a microphone and stool on the stage. No background singers, no band or unnecessary props. She performed about 4-5 songs and I was going to make sure after her nice performance that I would look to see when her CD was going to be released. I was recently searching amazon less than 2 weeks ago and I was surprised to see that "East Side Story" had already been released on August 28, 2007. There was no advertising of Emily's CD in the Best Buy, Circuit City or Target sales ad. There were no promotional commercials on BET, MTV or VH1 Soul to say that the CD was being released or anything. It felt as if J Records had already failed Emily in some ways for not atleast making an attempt to promote her CD.

Emily's 1st single is "Walk In My Shoes". Emily explains that it's not easy being a singer who is trying to make it in the world today in the year 2007. She tries to get the average person to be her for a even just a couple of minutes to see what she has to go through. "Colorblind" is another winner that has Emily wondering why people are still prejudice after everything that most races went through to achieve any kind of acceptance. Emily has one parent who is Italian and one parent who is African American. She talks about how she deals with being criticized because of her skin color and how music helps her deal with everything.
"Alright" has Emily dealing with personal issues as her boyfriend just broke up with her and she is getting pressure from her record label to get one last track done for her CD. The song talks about how she tries to think positively despite everything that is going on. "U And I" deals with a situation where Emily finds a man that came along that she wasn't necessarily looking for that has bought some new meaning to her life. "Hold Me" has Emily appreciating this new man that she has found in her life because everything is going well with the friendship and/or relationship. "Ain't No Sunshine" is a remake to the Bill Withers classic of the same name. It is nice to hear a remake that can atleast compare to the original track. There are several cases where that clearly wasn't the case. "You Can Get By" is definitely a postitive and uplifting track. Emily takes 2 scenarios where a woman got herself caught in a bad situation. 1) where a woman decides to stay with a man who is unfaithful and hasn't been telling her the truth and 2) where a woman is dealing with a man that has been hitting on her. Emily does her best to motivate the women to let them know that there are better men out there and that they shouldn't be dealing with the men that they are dealing with now. "E Melody" clearly sounds like one of the tracks that she performed live as the Da Da Da's sound familiar to me. The track appears to be a Part 2 to "Walk In My Shoes" as she lets us know that everything that is going on turns into a melody to her. "It Was You" is a song that has Emily calling out a particular man for making unfulfilled promises to her. While everything was going good, he said that in the future he would do this and do that and as soon as everything went bad, he decided to leave the situation. This is Emily's way of saying goodbye to him for good. "Moon" is another track that has a positive vibe to it, especially for people who feel like they are always in a situation where they never have anyone else they can turn to when things are bad and they are unhappy. "Business Man" has a serious tone to it as Emily is stating that she is not happy with how things are going in the corporate world. People aren't concerned with everyday people, they are concerned with how much money they can get, the fancy cars, rims and bling bling. Instead, they should be worried about making themselves whole and concentrating on doing things for the people in the lower end communities that some of them grew up in. "Never Be Lonely" has Emily actually feeling upbeat by a relationship ending by thinking about the good times about the relationship. Emily reminisces about things she could have done to make him want to stay and not to leave. "Ride With Me" clearly has a reggae feel to it. Emily wants to invite you into a place where you can forget about your day job, be free and have a good time before reality smacks some sense back into you. There is also a bonus version of "Walk In My Shoes" that features Lupe Fiasco, who released one of my favorite CDs of 2006, Food and Liquor. Although, I like the original version better, the bonus version would be something I would listen to more if it didn't sound like Lupe was trying to do an Eminem impersonation on the track.

Production wise, "Chucky" Thompson, who is best known for his work on my favorite r&b CD of all time, My Life by Mary J. Blige, handles all the production. Although, this is Emily's debut CD you would think that she and Chucky had made a couple of albums together because of the chemistry they display together. Overall, I feel that "East Side Story" can easily be compared to another favorite debut CD of mine that was released this year with Chrisette Michele's I Am. Just as when Alicia Keys came out and you knew there was just something about her and her piano, Emily King possesses those same qualities with her guitar. Hopefully, she'll be around for many years to come and hopefully J Records will spend some time promoting her talent.

James' Top 5

1) Walk In My Shoes
2) Colorblind
3) Ain't No Sunshine
4) Moon
5) It Was You

Honorable Mention:

U And I
Never Be Lonely
E Melody
Alright
You Can Get By

Emily King first and foremost is one of the BEST since Alicia Keys and Joss Stone who are two of my FAVORITE Female Artist now Emily King is my third. All of her tracks are so soulful and meaning full. I have been listening to her cd every day. She have such a soft voice. Her record label needs to do more promos for Ms King.

East Side Story is a delicious combination of jazz, r&b and soul that goes down easy. It's easy to write Emily off as "Alicia Keys with a guitar", but she is so much more than that. IMO, Emily has more in common with Amy Winehouse and Esthero than the smoother, more 70s soul/Stevie Wonder-sounding Keys. Just as the aforementioned women named, Emily King skillfully updates jazz with powerful and relevant lyrics. I really hope she isn't slept on in this limp musical scene.

This is a great first album that Emily King has created. Its sad that I haven't seen as much promotion for her that I had hoped to see. Hopefully the word will spread about Emily King because she is not to be slept on. Shes a great vocalist and her voice just seems to glide over each track.

Best Tracks:
Colorblind
Alright
U and I
You Can Get By
Never Be Lonely

The album is close to flawless go out a buy it!

Emily King's debut album "East Side Story" is about her life as a native New Yorker. She's often compared to her labelmate Alicia Keys being that they are both bi-racial soul singers. Considering her songwriting abilities, she's more along the lines of another bi-racial singer Alana Davis- that is, if Alana did an R&B album. Her debut was produced by Chucky Thompson, whose best known for being behind the boards on Mary J. Blige's "My Life", Faith Evans' "Faith" and Frankie's "My Heart Belongs To You".

Lyrically, she's interested in telling a story mostly from a real life perspective, as evidenced on "Colorblind" in which she sings about growing up as the mixed heritage offspring of two musicians. She consoles a victim of domestic violence in the song "You Can Get By". On the song "Business Man", she takes a heartless drug dealer to task for destroying the community and the people in it. She even takes on the Bill Withers classic "Ain't No Sunshine" and does a wonderful job with it. As great as this album is, it went unnoticed by the public. If you like music with great storytelling, then "East Side Story" is the album for you.