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:: Track list & details
How many albums could you think of recommending both to a 16-year-old sister (who thinks "all your music is tired") and to a 50-year-old uncle (who rants that "nothing good's been recorded since 1980")? It's a pretty small handful, huh? Now, how many could you feel safe putting on for either a quiet make-out session or an afternoon drive? Well, John Legend's studio debut, Get Lifted, is one of those -- that is, all of those -- records. Legend, born John Stephens, was reportedly a child prodigy in Springfield, Ohio, before attending the University of Pennysylvania in Philly and honing his sound at New York's SOB's club. Mentored by Kanye West (who co-wrote and produced three of Lifted's best tracks), Legend might fit in with neo-soul artists like D'Angelo or Alicia Keys (with whom he's about to tour). But this singer/pianist is too original for simple comparisons. Flavors of Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield (who gets sampled here), and Billie Holiday blend with some Lauren Hill (on whose Miseducation album Legend played), Seal, Pharrell, and a small but potent touch of Jamaican roots reggae. Like many classic soul singers, Legend got his start in the church, but though he sings "Do you remember/When the family was everything?" Lifted is thankfully free of sermonizing. Mostly, Legend sings of love -- good love, bad love, secret love, nasty love -- with humor and honesty. The album drags a bit in the middle, particularly on the Broadway-ballady "Ordinary People;" but that doesn't keep it from being undoubtedly one of the year's best (and that's something this reviewer hasn't said since Whitney Houston's debut). So, "If you buy only one record this year..."
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