John Legend:
Get Lifted

Release Date: 3 January 2005

Reviewed By: Usman Sajjad

1. Prelude

2. Let's Get Lifted

3. Used To Love You

4. Johnny's Gotta Go

5. Alright

6. She Don't Have To Know

7. Number One - ft, Kanye West

8. I Can Change - ft, Snoop Dogg

9. Ordinary People

10. Stay With You

11. Let's Get Lifted Again

12. So High

13. Refuge (When It's Cold Outside)

14. It Don't Have To Change - ft, The Stephens Family

15. Live It Up - ft, Miri Ben-Ari

Nas - Street's Disciple
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From the assisted production with Kanye West on cuts such as Jay-Z’s ‘Encore’ and Alicia Keys’ ‘You Don’t Know My Name’, to the powerful well strung vocals on chart movers such as Slum Village’s ‘Selfish’ and Dilated People’s ‘This Way’, John Legend has been the emerging talent creeping through the creeks of the R&B floor in 2004, the same year his affiliate and producer, Chi-Town’s finest, Kanye West, blew hip hop out of its waters. Now, signed to Kanye’s new label G.O.O.D. (Getting Out Our Dreams), through the powers of Sony, could John Legend finally get his chance to shine?

The first track to be taken from the album is the catchy West-produced ‘Used to Love U’. The lead single, currently rotating all over American TV screens on BET, is finding its airplay over here in the UK, and with John singing the delicate hook to the soul influenced record with polished effect, and witty lyrics such as ‘Baby I should rob somebody/ So we could live like Whitney and Bobby’, the track is likely to climb high, hopefully just as high as his collaborations have been.

The Ohio native steps up the album displaying his breathtaking piano skills on ‘Let’s Get Lifted’. He even proclaims his plans to ‘change the game’ in the track, and encourages his listeners to ‘get lifted’. The soul influences begin to flow like an electric current through the album on ‘She Don’t Have to Know’, a superbly written record, mapping John’s extensive songwriting skills. John sings calmly and patiently of cheating on his girl with another women: ‘Someone’s watching/ Gotta be careful next time or we’re through/ Damn it’s so stressful doing the dirt we do’.

The big Snoop D.O Double G assists John on easily the most outstanding record on the LP, ‘I Can Change’, a record which showcases John crooning perfectly over the piano keys similar to that found on Talib Kweli’s ‘Get By’. On ‘Ordinary People’, John sings out his heart to a beat with almost no drums, trumpets or horns. Instead, faint piano synths, leaves him little over which to soulfully elevate himself. John eliminates the need for a decent rhythm, and with mellow effects, gently sings sweetly creating a unique effort for an R&B star on their debut album.

John introduces his gospel roots to the world on ‘It Don’t Have to Change’, an ode to his childhood memories in the church with his family. John continues to bring up his impressive 80s gospel talents on the track ‘Number One’ featuring Kanye West.

With attempts to create a ‘mac-daddy image’ on ‘Alright’, results show that John is better sticking to performances on heart touching ballads such as ‘Refuge (When It’s Cold outside)’. Meanwhile, ‘Live It Up’ sums up the album perfectly, with the help from another Kanye West recruit, Miri Ben Ari (her sounds are heard on Twista’s ‘Overnight Celebrity’), the first ever specialist violin player to be incorporated into the sounds of R&B and hip hop.

With ‘Get Lifted’ scheduled for a release in early January 2005, John has created a masterpiece from the foundations of hype received through his work this year on both sides of the Atlantic. His work with Est’elle on ‘Hey Girl’, injected a touch of soul and gospel into the UK star’s debut release ‘The 18th Day’, whilst endless collaborations and ‘behind the scenes’ production assists have gotten people talking again. However, with a strong fusion of hip hop, R&B, soul and gospel, John with collective discipline, moulds each track into a sweet melody, without the need to throw the likes and success of Twista, Talib Kweli, Common and others on his tracks.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Top 3 Tracks:
7) I Can Change (feat. Snoop Dogg)
3) Used to Love U
5) She Don’t Have to Know

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