Legend

John Legend had been using his honorific stage surname for nearly 20 years when he felt that his track record finally merited its use as an album title. The EGOT with a dozen Grammys somehow fought the urge until his eighth proper studio album. Legend, divided into halves, is an 80-minute set executive produced in tandem with "A Bigger Love" co-writer/co-producer Ryan Tedder (Beyonce, Adele, Taylor Swift). The first disc is primarily uptempo and loved up. Effervescent songs like "Waterslide," "Dope," and "All She Wanna Do" seem purpose-built for amusement parks and fairgrounds to remind visitors that theyre having fun. (The latter song is heard in versions with and without a bouncy, Top Boy-referencing verse from Saweetie.) Better are the leisurely and awed numbers with a deeper soul foundation. "Strawberry Blush" is a strings-sweetened connection with Free Nationals, Anderson .Paak affiliates who answer the call with one of their breeziest grooves. The grittier "You" has delicate touches of Philly and Chicago soul -- a little OJays, a little Curtis Mayfield -- enlivened by Legends very strong falsetto game. Disc two, heavier on ballads, also contains more stylistic and emotional variety with a lasting partnership as a frequent setting. The feel-good, reassuring "I Want You to Know" could easily morph into a rocksteady cover of the Staple Singers "Ill Take You There," while "Speak in Tongues," swaying and romantic, benefits from the presence of Jada Kingdom. Surprisingly, the songs informed by Jamaica outnumber piano ballads until the final stretch. "The Other Ones" is out of place for its melodramatic decluttering of baggage, but the trio of "Pieces," "I Dont Love You Like I Used To," and "Home" come across as wholly heartfelt, respectively striking a rare balance of numbness and hope, expressing total devotion, and turning on the (ocular) waterworks. Legend is at his best when entertainment isnt his objective. ~ Andy Kellman

リパブリック移籍作は気合の入った2枚組に。土曜の夜と日曜の朝をそれぞれの盤で表現し、前者はディスコ・ポップの"All She Wanna Do"などのパーティー曲や官能的な閨房ソングが並ぶ。後者は成熟したメロウ曲や真摯なバラードが軸で、愛妻に捧げたと思しき"Wonder Woman"が特に美しい。ジャズミン・サリヴァンやアンバー・マーク、マニー・ロング、ジェイダ・キングダムら女性多めな客演陣との絡みも聴きどころとなる傑作!
bounce (C)狛犬