John Legend – Love in the Future (2013) – Review

Review: Love in the Future is John Legend’s fourth solo studio album, after taking five years between releases (in which he recorded Wake Up! with the Roots, and featuring on a ton of hip hop tracks).

With Love in the Future, John Legend wanted to make a modern R&B/soul album unlike anything heard in the genre. He also employed a wide mix of great producers to help shape the sound, often having multiple producers work on tracks independently. That said, Legend, Kanye West, and Dave Tozer serve as the album’s overall creative forces. The result of having many creative voices actually works out pretty well, as Love in the Future has a very different and interesting sound – while still clearly feeling both like a soul album and a John Legend album. It is a much better and more interesting release than Evolver, but it will likely disappoint Legend’s initial fans who loved Get Lifted and Once Again, as Legend has moved on musically.

While the album definitely feels new and different (but with a connection to the past), it does not adopt the extremely (probably overly so) popular trend of an EDM vibe/influence. This very much feels like a soul record. It is modern in a fresh way, without the synths and electronic beats. The music that accompanies Legend is lush, eerie (at times), and tempered to meet the parameters of modern soul. Musically, it is an album that plays well in the background, with only a few tracks that really stand out.

Lyrically, Legend sings about the joys of romance. The lyrics feel like they are mostly aimed at new couples who are still in the throes of just being around one and other with optimistic plans for the future. It is a pleasant tone that fits Legend’s demographic and talent.

Love in the Future does not revolutionize soul music, but it is a good album – and one with more crossover potential than most classically sounding soul records. 3/5

Essential Tracks:

1)      The Beginning… – Produced by Hit-Boy

2)      Made to Love – Produced by Dave Tozer

3)      We Loved It – Produced by Kanye West and Jeff Bhasker, featuring Seal

Available on: Digital Download

The-Dream – IV Play (2013) – Review

Review: The-Dream is one of the leaders of R&B’s darker/pop sound (influencing artists like The-Weeknd) – an auteur of the genre. His music is explicit, emotional, and wonderfully produced (it is generally much darker and slower than most popular modern R&B). While he has written many of the last decade’s biggest hits, Terius Nash has never enjoyed commercial success as a solo artist (despite his critical acclaim).

IV Play seems like an attempt by Nash to make a more commercially accessible album. It is packed with a lot of guests: Jay-Z, Big Sean, Pusha T, Beyonce, 2 Chainz, Kelly Rowland, and Fabolous, but really only Pusha T adds anything of note (his very brief intro to Pussy is fantastic). The-Dream is at his best when he is battling his own insecurity and melancholy using his great falsetto vocals, but still with a helping of swagger. Love vs. Money had a ton of features, but it is his best album (and I would argue one of modern R&B’s best). It is not so much that these songs are bad, but rather that they just feel like The-Dream is not as ambitious with his music (which is disappointing).

Interesting, and sort of in the face of making a more mainstream album, Nash makes the statement that he is tired of EDM – when it has completely taken over almost every genre (but especially pop and R&B). Musically, the album is filled with more classically styled pop/R&B tracks that move to a slower beat. However, R&B has seen sort of a resurgence of this more soulful sound with artists like Frank Ocean.

Overall, IV Play is a decent album that should work for The-Dream’s fans and those that like pop/R&B, but after strong albums like Love vs. Money and Love King this just feels disappointing (plus, most of the best songs are the deeper cuts and bonus tracks). 3/5

Essential Tracks:

1)      Y’All – Produced by The-Dream

2)      Psycho – Produced by The-Dream

3)      Holy Love – Produced by The-Dream and Los da Mystro

Available on: Digital Download