John Legend is back, with his new album ‘Darkness And Light’ now hitting the charts. So we discover what David thinks of it in his latest review.
If you are one of the approximately 12 million people who bought and listened to ‘All Of Me’ on repeat last year, you’ll be glad to know there is new music from our friend John Legend.
With his fifth studio album (sixth if you count his album with The Roots), we see John exploring the darkness and the light of the world.
Things don’t start off in an interesting way on this album; it’s a fairly dull beginning. The first few songs can’t be over quick enough for me.
They aren’t terrible songs (okay ‘Penthouse Floor’ is), but they just aren’t overly interesting. Thankfully as soon as we hit lead single ‘Love Me Now’ the album picks up its pace.
John is a great composer and, along with his ability to charm the pants off his listeners (metaphorically speaking), it’s a stellar combination.
Songs like ‘What You Do To Me’ slink along in a sexy way that is addictive to listen to. He grabs your attention with seductive vocals and melodies that draw you in.
The intriguing part of this body of work is how the lyrics engage with the listener and the melodies. They might talk to an argument one might have with their spouse, but are paired with music that one could make love to. This juxtaposition is what makes this album an interesting listen.
Is there another ‘All Of Me’ here? No there’s not, but that’s okay. John has continued to evolve musically and it’s an enjoyable listen.
As one of the last major releases of the year, it will be interesting to see how things progress for him into 2017.
VERDICT : 4/5.
MUST LISTEN : Love Me Now, What You Do To Me, Temporarily Painless, How Can I Blame You.
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