I Feel Good! I Got John Legend... Live at the Knitting Factory
Written: Oct 18 '04 (Updated Nov 06 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Warm, cool, pure, jazzy and witty... John Legend is a consummate performer.
Cons: Not coming to a store near you. (But you can get it on-line, dammit!)
The Bottom Line: In which the author falls head over heels in love with the voice of a Legend from Springfield, Ohio.
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| plorentz's Full Review: Solo Sessions, Vol. 1: Live at the Knitting Facto... |
And he’s gonna come up here and bless y’all, and give y’all some food for your soul, he’s gonna make you feel real good inside, and you’re gonna go home feelin’ good, and you’re gonna wake up tomorrow morning feelin’ good, and in the middle of the day, you’ll get a twinge feelin’ good, cause last night he made you feel good…
-J. Ivey
Uh. Huh.
-P. Lorentz
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It’s not often I find myself in the position of being totally hooked on an artist before he’s released his first studio album. Mostly, this is a result of living where I do, in the grand flyoverland that is the Midwest, and specifically in the flyoverland between two powerhouse musical scenes (Chicago and Minneapolis) where most local bands are destined to remain just that. But this is exactly the position I find myself in with singer-songwriter-former piano prodigy John Stephens – or as he has recently come to be known, John Legend, himself a Midwesterner, hailing from the city of Springfield, in the great swing state of Ohio.
Though his commercial stature and name-recognition factor don’t quite warrant (yet!) the superheroic moniker bestowed upon him by frequent collaborator, rapper Kanye West, it’s not hard to imagine his name as self-fulfilling prophecy. You may not have heard of him yet, but if you’ve been listening to the radio at all in the last half decade (and especially in the last year or so), then you’ve almost certainly heard him – whether by his punchy piano hooks on Lauryn Hill’s “Everything is Everything”, or his stylish vocal work on recent tracks by Slum Village, Estelle, and Kanye West; and most recently, on Talib Kweli’s album The Beautiful Struggle, you can hear him doing a little bit o’ both - jazzily tickling the keys on lead single “I Try”, and lending a rich, nostalgic vocal to “Around My Way.”
He’s certainly got a lot of friends and admirers in high places right now, and if his fiercely contagious debut solo single (“Used to Love U”) is any indication, his debut studio album for Columbia Records, Get Lifted, which won’t hit stores until after the Christmas rush, is going to be something special.
But, if you can’t wait until Christmas, please allow me to direct you to Mr. Legend’s website, and a live recording he self-released earlier this year: Solo Sessions Vol. 1: Live at the Knitting Factory.
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Recorded at a single show in July of 2003, Live at the Knitting Factory exudes a warmth and seat-of-the-pants spontaneity; and it makes a strong case for Legend as the real friggin’ deal. Accompanied only by his own piano playing, Legend eases his way through a dozen songs – mostly originals with a couple of well-chosen covers thrown in – occasionally joined on stage by various friends and collaborators, most notably a pre-College Dropout Kanye West, who delivers a fiery, complex rap about why rappers love their bling, and how said bling ultimately - inevitably - fails them, on a song called “All Falls Down.”
Legend is cool and self-possessed in all his performances, and sings with a brazen jazziness that often recalls George Benson, or even Boz Scaggs. Even in his banter, preserved here along with the clear reactions of the audience, has the kind of confidence and intimacy of a guy who lives to perform – it’s never too much, but it always whets the listener’s appetite for the next number. And in every next number, Legend finds his place in the song, and delivers it with all the strength, precision, and love of a classic performer. In fact, even the sound of the recording (whoops, hollers, and occasional mic feedback included) recalls those old live jazz recordings on Impulse from the Sixties.
It’s kind of a shame that this album probably won’t get the attention, the promotion, or even the general bricks-and-mortar retail release Get Lifted will, because, to my mind, this one is bound to have the broader appeal.
Not only will hip-hoppers be drawn in by Legend’s many high profile connections, but even people who wouldn’t dare delve into hip-hop, people who disdain rap, people who would say they value songcraft and virtuoso playing over commercial studio production, people who prefer Anita Baker and Luther Vandross over Eve and Nate Dogg, will find much to love here.
For instance, “She Don’t Have to Know” is a witty, winking nod to the forbidden pleasures of infidelity; and over the course of the song’s five minutes, Legend whips his crowd into an audible froth with his sly delivery of lines like:
you ask me
to take off for a day or three,
let’s go to D.C.,
and hold hands publicly
Songs like “Lifted” and “So High” have a grandeur to them that seems almost impossible given the spare piano-and-voice arrangement; and others like “Sun Comes Up”, with its easy syncopations and first-date-walk-through-the-park verses, and the dazzlingly theatrical “Refuge” feel like instant standards.
About a third of the way into the record, Legend invokes the name of Nina Simone before pulling out a pulse-stopping version of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.” On any lesser artist’s record, that might have been the hands-down highlight; but to John Legend’s credit, not only do the surrounding performances match that high, the surrounding songs do too.
And that may be the most wonderful thing about this record. This is a pure soul performance. It is rhythm and blues without beats and samples. It is sophisticated pop without studio sheen and glossy market-readiness. And even though I’m still looking forward to the studio album, and even though I expect that album will be something of an event, I can’t help but think that Live at the Knitting Factory is the real John Legend show. Even before I’ve heard the studio album, I’m convinced that this one will last longer. Even before Get Lifted hits my car stereo, I know this is the record that will find its way deeper into people’s hearts. And even if it reaches fewer people the first time around, the people it reaches (like me) will cherish it like few others in their collection.
This truly is must-listen music – and you don’t have to wait till after Christmas to get it. Do yourself a favor, and get it now.
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BECAUSE YOU NEED TO KNOW:
“The Solo Sessions Vol.1: Live at the Knitting Factory” by John Legend
www.JohnLegend.net
Released 2004
Produced by John Legend
55 min.
SONGS: Intro – Lifted – Do What I Gotta Do – She Don’t Have to Know – Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood – Sun Comes Up – Stay With You – So High – If This World Were Mine – All Falls Down – Motherless Chile – Refuge – Must Be the Way
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MORE JOHN LEGEND:
Live at SOB's, New York City (2003)
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A BRIEF NOTE ABOUT SHIPPING, HANDLING, AND PACKAGING:
This is very much a "self-released" release in terms of packaging. Though the sound of the CD is extremely professional, the CD itself comes in a "slim-line" case with a single page two-side printed insert - not unlike a mix-CD someone might send you (albeit one with exceptionally well-executed cover art).
That said, the service through the www.johnlegend.net website was exceptional. I received my order exactly three days after I placed it.
Recommended:
Yes
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Member: Paul Lorentz
Location: The Land of Limburger and Leinenkugel's
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Somebody turn the lights on...
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