Album Review: Wake Up! - John Legend and The Roots

As a serious fan of hiphop over the last 15 years, it’s always been cool to learn about the old soul and R&B samples that producers used to make many of my favorite tracks. And the more I listened, the more I appreciated the difference between classic R&B that was made before I was born, and the watered down product we’ve heard over the last ten years.

In fact, I was starting to question whether the genre even existed anymore, especially with all the new singers injecting pop, hiphop and sex appeal to boost record sales. Then I listened to John Legend and The Roots’ new album Wake Up! and I realized it’s not dead - it’s just dormant.

Deep organs. Drums and guitars with swagger and attitude. A top hiphop and soul band that’s as close to a musical chameleon as you can get. A smooth vocalist bypassing the pop and adult easy listening he’s better known for, and tapping into something a little deeper. Put it all together, and you get music that makes me wrinkle my nose a little, because it’s just that funky.

Figures that it’s an album of remakes and covers. In that sense, it’s sort of like Jurassic Park - Wake Up! proves we have the resources to re-create something that was pretty cool, but that died off awhile ago, which makes it a little empty. The question is when we’ll get to hear something fresh that builds on the tradition. Personally, I’m waiting for D’Angelo to quit playing and finish what he started.

Despite all that, I give Wake Up! a 4.5 out of 5, good for Editor’s Pick status. Soul and R&B have fallen off a lot in recent years, and hopefully this reminder of what it once was will snap the talented back to attention so they can make it great once again.

Download Wake Up! on Amazon