“East Side Story” is the debut of twenty one year old NYC native Emily King. On this fourteen track offering, Ms. King wrote or co-wrote all of the songs. The exception being the Bill Withers classic “Ain’t No Sunshine”. Like Withers, Emily is comfortable performing with her acoustic guitar for her audience. I know this from seeing her perform about a month ago. However, this is not just an acoustic album. As evidence by the opening track “Walk in My Shoes”, a funky bass heavy track that talks about “getting to know me for the person I am”. As you listen to the first and second verse, the Diana Ross classic “Love Hangover” comes to mind. “You Can Get By” is another winner about a woman keeping faith in a rocky relationship. Emily reflects on a variety of subjects throughout her debut and also provides some social commentary on greed among big corporations on the acoustic song “Business Man”. While some folks have been comparing Emily to people like Alicia Keys and Norah Jones. It’s clear from this disc that she is very talented enough to carry her own weight and blaze her own trail. Overall, “East Side Story” is full of well crafted songs with gorgeous melodies. Simply an enjoyable listen throughout. Emily’s songwriting abilities and gentle voice ensures that she should be around for a long time.
