Welcome back! It's a proper exclamation to scream upon hearing the new album "Wake Up" by John Legend & The Roots featuring 10 cover songs and 1 original tune. The album is coated in luscious orchestration perfectly honoring classic R&B/soul albums from the 60's and 70's. It's a welcome flashback to the music of Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone and Curtis Mayfield. Together, Legend and The Roots not only honor the classic style, but they fit in as if it's their standard modus operandi.
"Wake Up," the one original tune on the album provides a lesson in dynamics. The song moves back and forth between verses covered in minimalist restraint and loud jamming choruses with horns and funk guitar. The album sounds big! It has the hi fidelity feel of old school analogue recordings. Listening through laptop speakers the string arrangements pop out with a warmth seldom heard in modern music recordings. Leave it to The Roots to be the band to bring musicianship back into style. Forget sampling, everything here is played by musicians in the band. The Roots are among the great bands possessing appeal across societal boundaries. Because of their presence as the preeminent hip-hop band, and Jimmy Fallon's house band, The Roots have reached a new level of recognition in the common American household. I'm just saying, this could be the start of a revolution, a return to musicians working a little harder and building lush orchestration behind their studio work.
If I close my eyes when listening to the album its as if I'm back in 1993 listening to NYC Kiss.Fm on the big yellow school bus heading to school in the morning. On "Hang On In There," The Roots feature glockenspiel and a full string section. Legend brings out a deep croon reminiscent of Isaac Hayes. Having honed his singing chops in an Ivy League a capella group at the University of Pennsylvania, Legend has made it his career goal put the rhythm and blues back in R&B. Once again, he has succeeded with this album.
It is the goal of the album to present a modern take on political tunes from an earlier generation. Legend and The Roots decided that for a time filled with war and turmoil there is a lack of music designed with the purpose of uniting people and promoting revolution as well as togetherness. It could be argued that this album would better serve that goal by writing new songs, but these classics sound poignant as ever here. "Wholly Holy" provides a gospel approach of togetherness, calling for people to hold up and support their neighbors. Proof that this album represents music of a distant pass is the song lengths which hover in the 5 minute range for half the songs on the album. Long or short, the album is captivating due to the sonic detail behind each recording.
To preview the album, head to grooveshark.com for a listen.
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