Evolver

Album no 3 for john legend is a mixture of uptempo rnb songs mixed with the usual ballads. This is a solid album and is only mared by the poor last 3 tracks which has made me knock a star off. The single Green Light is excellent and is prob the albums best tracks but there lots of other cool tracks. Some of the ballads arent as strong as some of his previous ones but are still good and all the uptempo numbers are excellent. John even dabbles with reggae on 2 tracks and 1 has co-vocals by Estelle to great effect and the track turns out to be an album highlight!

One of the better rnb albums iv'e heard this year.

This album is not bad but there is something missing from it, it hasnt quite got that soulful feel that you usually get from JL. The trouble is that when you hear the first song, you think wow, great, but really, thats as exciting as the album gets. The track with Kanye is ok, the track with Brandy and the track with Estelle are both worthy efforts but overall this album sounds a bit dull. Its just not as exciting and you know thats true when you find yourself only repeating 3 out of 12 songs and skipping too many.

Like most artist, he set the standard by which he is judged with his first album and this is not on par. I mean this takes away nothing from JL as he is still a soulful artist and you can sense that but not to a great depth.

John Legend is one of my favourite R&B singers without a doubt. He really reminds me of what is right with the genre and that once upon a time we had people like Sam Cooke. His albums are quality first and this is no exception. This album for the most part is far more up tempo than his last album Once Again. The lead single with Andre 3000 (Green Light) is evidence of that. The album has a few features peppered in (Andre 3000, Brandy, Kanye West, Estelle) but they are not overwhelming. The tempo calms down towards the end of the album and there are two songs where Legend continues to dable in reggae. I saw him live in Brixton where he remixed Used to Love U from his first album into a reggae remix and there are those features on Estelle's album Shine where there was a reggae sound. It does really suit his voice and it doesn't sound gimicky like some other R&B artists (Mariah Carey). Here is a brief look at some stand out tracks

Good Morning Intro/Green Light ft. Andre 3000 - the up-tempo track is very Outkast reminiscent which is nice for a group I haven't hread from in a while. There isn't an obvious piano track on here so I like to hear John doing different things. 5/5

It's Over ft. Kanye West - this track about someone who just doesn't get it when you've broken up, is brassy with horns and again a slightly modern drum and electric sound. There is a lingering female vocal as well. Kanye's rap is all right again with the vocoder (think T Pain). 4/5

Everybody Knows - this is almost countryish in its start with just an acoustic guitar and a simple drum line. John's voice stands out and the lyrics are very well written. The song is about your ex finding someone new which works well flowing from the first song. This song is subtle and is an easy listen. Rather addictive.

Quickly ft Brandy - pulsing almost flashing lights tempo with stand out bass. This is a BEAUTIFUL song and it is great to hear from Brandy again. This is one of my favourite tracks on the album for sure. Well worth downloading on its own if you don't want to buy the whole album at first. 5/5

Cross the Line - again this sounds very Andre 3000/Outkast. It is about 'crossing the line' with a friend. The production is below John's voice and the production never really takes off but stays nicely low key. Excellent track. 4/5

No Other Love ft. Estelle - 4/5 - Reggae style track. Estelle really shines on this track with John and these two I hope continue to work together on tracks. They compliment each other really well with John's raspy voice. This track is very listenable and John sounds comfortable in the genre.

This Time - 4/5 - this is a little higher production with rich strings and a piano (first time I've noticed a piano in the entire album to memory).

I Love, You Love / Good Morning - If you really loved Once Again, you will love where the rest of this album is going and these two tracks epitomise this best. More mellow, John's voice, a single electric guitar on I love, you love (think mellow dire straits). Good Morning is very mellow again and rich in john's vocal being the focus.

If You're Out There - campaign song written for Barack Obama which is very production rich and uplifting which is obviously meant to be the direction of the song. I think that the song is somewhat out of place on the album but I understand that he would put it on his next album as the song is popular with many in the campaign. 3/5

Can't be My Lover - LOVE THIS TRACK - sounds like Buju Banton is on the track and again I think John must genuinely love reggae music cuz he sounds very comfortable on this track. I can't wait to hear this live. 5/5

Buy this album. A lot of albums will come out over this Christmas run up and this is one of them that is a must to buy. I normall say download individual tracks and if you are going to do that, chose the ones that I have spoken about on here, but if you notice. That's probably about 80% of the album. I cannot speak more highly of this album.