I'm really enjoying Alicia Keys's new album, The Element of Freedom, and one of my favorite songs from it is a love song to New York called "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down."
"I'm gonna make it by any means. I got a pocketful of dreams. Baby, I'm from New York," Keys sings. "Concrete jungle where dreams are made of. There's nothing you can't do. Now you're in New York."
The original "Empire State of Mind" was a Jay-Z song that featured Keys playing piano and singing what's now the chorus of "Part II."
Because I bought the deluxe version of the album, I got an "intimate 'acoustic' studio performance" video of "Part II," which has a lot to recommend it:
