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Dec 20, 2010The set is a masterclass in how to respectfully update and enhance classic music, and proves how vital and relevant 30-year-old music remains today.
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Oct 26, 2010It's not just that these sentiments are timeless - these songs, in these hands, are only now receiving their definitive interpretations.
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John Legend and The Roots have followed the most important rules when covering material from other artists: you need to keep that signature sound that made the original important, while also adding that something special to make it your own.
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This is The Roots band, jamming their way through the wealth of protest soul that rocks and rolls, and obviously a crooner like the Grammy award winning John Legend is far more important to capture that soul and make it his own.
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It's just a shame that, with the exception of a single original that understandably doesn't measure up to the high standards set by the covers, Legend and The Roots had to reach so far into the past to find songs that comment so powerfully and insightfully on the issues of today.
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Dec 22, 2010The songs in this collection serve for a timely reminder that hope and consciousness through music still contains some currency - with the added bonus that it's also a fine piece of work in its own right.
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In the end, even if it's only a brief aside, both the Roots and Legend expand through experimentation.
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Legend and the Roots capture the old feeling of protest and uplift while updating the sound. They're not imitators - they're heirs.
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Q MagazineTerrific, politically charged covers album from soul's Mr. Nice Guy. [Nov. 2010, p. 107]
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The collision of timeless soul and the Roots' modern rap helps lyrics concerning education, the environment and healthcare feel entirely relevant today.
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This isn't the best album John Legend or The Roots have made, but it's not going to go down as the black sheep of either canon.
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What could have come off as a mediocre-to-good novelty project has, perhaps predictably, instead reaches the public coming just short of being a genuine contender for album of the year.
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At this point, it's no trouble for the Roots-with Legend or anyone-to train their never-sharper skills on the dark side of the street at night, and on the sun-kissed side in the morning.
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The Roots are about to get flooded with production offers, since if they can lend John Legend serious street cred and make him more thrilling than he has ever been, they ought to be able to do this for everyone.
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This time, the concept of political awareness reigns supreme, accompanied by some funkadelicious licks from The Roots' guitarist Capt. Kirk.
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This well-intentioned collection never surpasses the strong originals from which it draws. But in pointing young listeners back to the work of fine if mostly forgotten artists such as Baby Huey and Prince Lincoln, Wake Up! serves a worthy purpose.
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Credit Legend and the Roots for looking beyond the hits, and it's a respectable love letter, if not quite an urgent one, to artists who shouldn't be overlooked.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 17 out of 23
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Mixed: 4 out of 23
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Negative: 2 out of 23
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Mar 18, 2012
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Oct 29, 2010
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Oct 13, 2010