Album name: ‘Wake Up!’

Artist: John Legend and The Roots

Genre: R&B/Soul/Hip-hop

Sounds like: 1970s soul

Soundwaves: 4.5/5

Release Date: Sept. 21

With their new album ‘Wake Up!’ Grammy Award-winning artists John Legend and The Roots combine forces to deliver a soulful throwback to the 1960s and ‘70s. Covering politically charged and socially conscious anthems from past decades, Legend and The Roots pay homage to their individual influences and, in the process, reach new musical heights. ‘Wake Up!’ sweetly blends classic soul with modern hip-hop flavor, giving life to old songs and linking generations together for the future.  

Collaboration albums this high profile don’t come around very often. Moreover, they rarely sound this smooth and stylistically unified. Legend and The Roots hit the studio and were able to translate their own musical and political influences into songs that will speak to a new generation. Enter ‘Wake Up!’ a collection of appropriate cover songs, mostly from the ‘60s and ‘70s. R&B/Soul legends like Donny Hathaway, Bill Withers, Marvin Gaye and Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes are channeled through Legend’s vocals and the deft musicianship of The Roots, and the result sounds beautiful.

The opening track, ‘Hard Times,’ covers the socially conscious Baby Huey song of the same title, building it into a funky jam that takes on a new dimension once the beat changes and The Roots’ emcee Black Thought starts rapping. This track is a stirring reminder of the link between soul music and hip-hop and an example of what the perfect blend of both sounds like. ‘Hard Times’ transitions seamlessly into ‘Compared to What,’ a funky Les McCann song that brings the listener right back to the 1970s. Legend sounds powerful and impassioned on the hook, and The Roots add some seriously funky horns and bass guitar into the mix. Drummer Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson is the glue, keeping Legend and the band grounded with crisp beats and his unmistakable snare tone.

While Legend and The Roots command most of the attention on this album, they invite some friends along to the show. ‘Wake Up Everybody,’ a Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes cover, may be the defining track of the album, featuring terrific guest vocals from reggae-pop singer Melanie Fiona and a poignant verse from hip-hop’s unwritten spokesman, Common. The lyrics plead with our generation to get up and change the world, yet avoid sounding corny or conceited — a testament to the inspiration and passion of the artists and outstanding quality of the music.

The middle portion of the album grooves along at a nice pace. ‘Little Ghetto Boy’ starts off on a hip-hop note, with Black Thought reminiscing about his Philly upbringing and the challenges he faced as an adolescent. This switches gears and evolves into a soul ballad more like the Donny Hathaway original, featuring some of Legend’s best vocals on the album. ‘Hang On In There’ is a slower ballad that uses great harmonies and classic Motown instrumentation, whereas ‘Humanity’ interprets Prince Lincoln and the Royal Rasses’ classic reggae anthem with some funky horns and reggae-flavored Legend vocals.

‘Wholy Holy’ channels Marvin Gaye and slows the pace down considerably on what may be the weakest track on the album. That said, it still sounds great. ‘I Can’t Write Left Handed’ is undoubtedly the most explosive and musically impressive song on the album. This is the one track that needs to be heard. A slow pace characterizes the first six minutes until this ballad explodes halfway through into a fiery Jimi Hendrix-like guitar solo as Legend croons in the background. Powerful stuff.

‘Wake Up!’ is a soulful call to arms for 2010. The joining of such wholesome and influential figures in the music industry sends a clear message: This is about more than just album sales. ‘Wake Up!’ is about reaching new audiences, paying homage to the past, and sounding funky and soulful in the process. Original songs would have been great, but the covers are done so well the overall product never suffers, or even stumbles. Legend sings confidently and passionately throughout, and the virtuoso musicianship of The Roots cannot be understated. Hip-hop fans, R&B fans, soul fans, wake up: This is an album you can’t afford to miss.

ajhaeder@syr.edu

 

Published on September 19, 2010 at 12:00 pm