SYDNEY, Australia (Sony BMG Australia) - Legend-in-the-making-alert! If you need some soul injected into your life, look no further than John Legend: the man behind songs by Kanye West, Alicia Keys,
Black Eyed Peas & oodles more, delivers one of THE debut albums of 2005 with 'Get Lifted'...
Every now and then an artist will come along with some music that is just right. It might be especially relevant to you at that point in your life; it might be that the music just sounds appealing to you in particular.
John Legend's most recent release is "right" for several reasons...at a time where soul music is looking like those hidden in the dark recesses of the underground will only enjoy it, Legend (real name John Stephens) delivers an uplifting album of the finest calibre, loaded with accessible appeal without sacrificing artist integrity - one listen and you WILL be hooked!
Having put in work with a multitude of artists, including Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson, Talib Kweli, Jay-Z, Common, the Black Eyed Peas and Kanye West, as well as releasing live albums, Legend has stepped out from behind the scenes and finally released his first commercial solo album - a combination of old school soulfulness with the rawness of contemporary urban music - that's worth it's weight in gold.
Featuring production by collaborator Kanye West, Will.I.Am, Dave Tozer and Devo Harris, as well as guest appearances by Snoop, Legend flexes his way through a variety of themes on the album with unbelievable ease, style and charm....oh yeah, and undeniable talent that will leave you gob-smacked!
First single 'Used To Love U' (released in Oz last week) is textbook Kanye West, with its rolling pianos and drums, and a slight Latin flavour. A ground swell has been building for the track here and it's starting to cause a major buzz at radio, but we're only three songs in and there's still plenty more to discover... from the romantic 'Ordinary' to the smooth'n'sexy 'Let's Get Lifted', from the spine-tingling & spiritual 'Refuge' and 'So High' to the feel good, old-school style celebration featuring Kanye West on 'Number One', it's easy to see why this album has already sold over 100,000 copies around the world since it's international release a few months ago in December.
Describing this album doesn't do it justice. It needs to be heard and experienced for what it is...an uplifting revelation that will restore your faith in music. Fingers crossed we'll get to have the John Legend live in concert experience here before the year is out!
If you need any further convincing, here are just some of the tracks that you may have heard that have featured John Legend.
- Lauryn Hill - Everything is Everything (piano)
- Kanye West - College Dropout album (vocals, piano)
- Alicia Keys - You don't know my name (vocals)
- Alicia Keys - If I Ain't Got you (Kanye West remix) (co-writer, vocals, piano)
- Jay-z - Encore (vocals, piano)
- Jay-z - Lucifer (vocals, piano)
- Black Eyed Peas - Boogie That Be (lead singer, co-writer)
- Twista - Overnight Celebrity (keyboards)
- Dilated Peoples - This Way (vocals, piano)
- Janet Jackson - I Want You (piano, co-writer)
- Talib Kweli ft. Mary J. Blige - I Try (co-writer, vocals, piano)
- Talib Kweli - Around my way (lead vocals, piano)
- Slum Village's - Selfish (lead vocals)
