Week 1: "Wake Up!" by John Legend & The Roots

This....this album right here is exactly why I wanted to start doing something like this blog. I have been listening to this album all week, just this one. Going into it I did not know that it was mostly a collection of old motown/soul/funk songs from years past. Listening back to the originals and then comparing them to how JL & The Roots played them adds so much replay value to the album.

The Review:

"Wake Up!" revives the soul songs from the 1960's and 70's with a modern feel, while still retaining the feeling of the times they were written in. This adaptation of style, and addition of personal feel by the musicians turns these classic motown soul songs into a collection of modern hits. Throughout "Wake Up!" you get a solid combination of hip hop, funk, gospel/soul, and a tad of reggae.

Notable Songs:

This is tough...I honestly jammed out to every track, way more then once. I guess the ones that I fell back and put on repeat would be "Hard Times" "Wake Up Everybody" and "Little Ghetto Boy." To me these were the most powerful, keeping in mind that my opinions are subjective and everyone gets something a little different out of a song.

"Hard Times" will have you bobbin your head, slapping your knee, whatever you do to show that you are into a song. Legend and The Roots take this classic Curtis Mayfield song and throw in some hip hop flair to it, especially with the addition of Black Thought throwing down some of the most intense, soulful raps I have heard in a while.

I believe "Wake Up Everybody" is the most enjoyable songs on the record. I cannot listen to it without having a great time. Taking the Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes song, they add a real "Jackson-esque" feeling. The dual melodies and switch-offs from Legend and Melanie Fiona totally add so much to the song. But what really tops off this song

is Commons rap. It is one of thought out raps (keep in mind that is one of my weakest areas in music) that I have heard.

My last "Notable" is "Little Ghetto Boy." Black Thought is back dropping rhymes right off the bat in this dual-genre song. I say this because the first section of the song is rap based featuring Black Thought in a way that brings back the old style of rap by such artists like TuPac. Then in a instant it switches to a feel of motown and artists like The Temptations or Stevie Wonder.

The Best: There is so much to jam to on this album, you are guaranteed a fun experience listening to it.

The Worst: I really....I can't think of a "worst"....maybe it gets a little repetitive if you listen to it a lot (keep in mind I pretty much listend to this two times a day...at least, and I didn't get tired of it.) So if this style dosen't appeal to you as much as it did me, I can see it getting old eventually.....eventually.

Should you get it?.....I say yes. Especially if you like the combined styles of motown/soul/gospel/hip hop. At least youtube some of the songs. It is defiantly worth a shot.

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NEXT WEEK: Currently deciding between Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs album "God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise" and The Secret Sisters self titled album (Produced by T Bone Burnett so you know its gonna kill)

Well that was my first attempt at Project: Music Monday. Please Please let me know you ya'll think, either in the comments or twitter...or something. I want to know if this idea will actually become useful to the readers.

Thanks for giving me your time.


EDIT// I have added Amazon Associates to PMM and that allows me to provide you with a fast, trusted, company to purchase the current weeks album. So if you like John Legend & The Roots album "Wake Up!" feel free to follow the link to Amazon and get it! After all that's one of the goals of PMM...to get the artists heard!