John Legend: "Legend" Review

Grammy, Academy, Tony and Emmy-award winner, John Legend, is a man of many talents. Known for his crooning vocals on the 13-time platinum hit, “All of Me”, Legend is no stranger to creating soulful ballads in the R&B and soul genre. “LEGEND” is part of an ever-growing trend in the music industry; it’s another double album. Coming in at 24 tracks, “LEGEND” is quite long, leading to satisfying results overall. “LEGEND” was released on Sept. 9, 2022, serving as Legend’s eighth studio album.

When looking at the tracklist for “LEGEND”, the first thing that stands out is the number of features. Legend has the likes of Rick Ross, Ty Dolla $ign, Saweetie, Jazmine Sullivan and many others appearing on this album. The results of the features are pretty hit-and-miss on an otherwise solid album.

Legend’s vocals are the highlight of the album. Whether it’s his harmonies on songs such as “Love”, “Fate” and “Strawberry Blush”, or his abundance of high notes throughout the album, Legend sounds incredible. His impressive vocal range is being shown off in the best way possible.

“All She Wanna Do”, a pre-released single, is an absolute delight. The funk-inspired track features a great bassline that is sure to make anyone want to dance. The energetic track has great percussion and bass coupled with smooth lyrics. The key change before the last chorus is simply the cherry on top of this track. Legend apparently liked it so much that it appears twice on the album; however, his solo version of the song is superior. The second version with Saweetie leaves much to be desired. Regardless, Legend’s solo version is the highlight of the album for me.

I absolutely fell in love with “Love” from the first listen. It’s lush, slow and sexy, evoking a sense of intimacy. “Love” feels like a track straight from a Marvin Gaye record from the seventies in the best way imaginable. Legend’s harmonies with Jazmine Sullivan sound heavenly; this is an absolutely gorgeous vocal performance from the pair. The choir in the background is the cherry on top of this gospel-esque ballad.

I find the album’s structure quite unique, and it works really well conceptually. “LEGEND” is split into two 12-song halves. The first half leans heavily into upbeat, funk-inspired vibes, while the second half is much more of a lowkey, ballad-filled collection of songs. This dichotomy of the two albums contained in “LEGEND” works really well, showcasing Legend’s versatility both musically and vocally.

I will say that I think the first half is a bit stronger than the second. When Legend leaned into more upbeat R&B and dance songs, the results felt fresher and musically complex. There’s some lovely instrumentation on the bass and electric guitar as well as the captivating percussion present. Many of the songs on the second half of the album feel a bit vanilla. They’re composed mostly of piano-heavy ballads that feel a bit derivative. While not bad, they simply do not feel as unique as the first half.

I do think the rap features kind of kill some songs, however. Rick Ross’ inclusion in the first track, “Rounds”, in particular, really drags the song down. Ross simply doesn’t fit the song’s overall vibe with his aggressive flow on his verse.

Ty Dolla $ign also feels out of place in “Splash”. The lush production coupled with Legend and Jhené Aiko’s vocals make the song sound very sensual. However, Ty Dolla $ign’s verse, like Ross’, doesn’t fit the track’s overall vibe.

Like most double albums, there are quite a few songs that feel nonessential and overall unnecessary. “Dope”, “Speak In Tongues”, “Honey” and “Fate” are among the songs that fade to the background of this project. There aren’t any downright bad songs here, but these are some of the dull tracks that drag “LEGEND” down.

Overall, “LEGEND” was a pleasant surprise. Though the album is definitely too long, Legend was able to deliver a vast blend of upbeat dance songs with some soulful ballads throughout the double album. “All She Wanna Do” and “Strawberry Blush” are the standouts in the first half, while “Stardust” and “Nervous” are the lyrical standouts in the second half. There’s something for everyone to enjoy on this double album.

7/10