Legends Of The Fall...
By TIM DAVID HARVEY
Legend has it that John Stephens knows all about classic collaborations and concepts. From Oscar wins (with the 'Selma' 'Glory' in Common) to Christmas albums ('A Very Legendary Christmas') as 'tis almost the season again. A sweet sixteen years ago, the man who began his career playing piano on 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill's' 'Everything Is Everything', recorded an album with The Roots ('Wake Up!') of Philly. And we all know about his seminal moment, 'Get Lifted', with help from the G.O.O.D. Music of Kanye West. Ms. Hill returning the favour for the 'So High' Cloud 9 remix. Dear John is also amazing when he pushes the envelope alone, like on, "stepping away from the piano", Andre 3000 line albums such as, 'Evolver', 'Love In The Future' and 'Bigger Love'. But like his last name, eponymous, last straight-forward studio-album (but let's not forget 'My Favorite Dream' of 2024's children's album from the 'Jesus Christ Superstar') we know, he, and we, are all just 'Ordinary People' on the piano.
Looking up, in familiar black and white, a black bowtie on white suit, and a similar suited and booted string-section accompanying him on the album artwork, Legend knows which way to go on his new album 'Muse'. One that has nothing to do with the British Radiohead like rockers, who had their own amazing album ('The Wow! Signal') out this summer, but former N.E.R.D. rocker and Neptune, Pharrell Williams, who produces the entirety of this epic with his signature boom-bap bounce. Giving all of himself to the darkness and light of Legend once again. Also, vocally-appearing on the title-track, the Spike Jonze like 'Her', 'Get Back', 'Are You Ok?' (Annie), 'Next Time' and the grave of 'Fireflies'. And if, piece by piece (you have to watch that beautiful biopic on the super-producer, told through LEGOs), you think that all sounds like the early 2000s. From Kelis to Justin Timberlake, this album is complete with a Clipse collaboration ('Bodies On The Floor'). Returning the recently reunited Clipse comeback special, 'Let God Sort 'Em Out' favour.
Gospel, afrobeat, doo-wop, hip-hop, classic soul and so much more are explored through this 'Muse', following the pair's two-decade friendship. 'Muse' explores a man and his own relationship between Paris and high-art, and it even nods to the odyssey of the nine muses of Greek mythology and Stephens own ancestors of soul, as he continues his 'Evolver' era. From the definitive 'Daylight' breaking single, to going 'Under The Bridge' like the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Not to mention, all the inspired interlude introductions that come right before. It really does feel like the early 2000s skits again. Taps bodying one influence before No Malice and Pusha T. Despite the dynamic duo, Stephens still sings, "Oh, I'm only doing me/So, right now, life is Vеgas/And if I'm playing/I'm only doing me," on 'Doin' Me'. A self-empowering anthem for the man who knows how to write even better wedding songs than the great Tank (see, 'Conversations In The Dark' for the ultimate pillow-talk).
Everything is still everything on...well, 'Everything'. "We lost our cars and our keys/With nowhere to go, with no place to be/News cameras everywhere, but nothing left to see/We lost our kings, we lost our queens/They lost their castles, their compounds and empires/And for what's left, the prices are too high/And the politicians are liars/I thought my life was pristine, that's what I understood prior/But not anymore, the mountains are on fire." Socially and politically conscious, like the powerful 'Preach' singer always is, but still about love and how it's Beatle all you need ("Embers in the wind, the smoky views/I'll never sleep where I once slept again/Lost my ceilings, lost my walls/Goddamn, I lost it all, but if I got you/I got everything, yeah, I got everything.") That's why on the 'Sail Off' David Gray 'White Ladder' like sail away, John Legend can say, "I had a premonition we could be forever/If we don't start tonight, then baby, we might never." It's time to let your muse know they are more than your inspiration...but your intention, too.
Playlist Picks: 'Pray For Ya', 'Her (Feat. Pharrell Williams)', 'Bodies On The Floor (Feat. Clipse)'.
Spin This: John Legend - 'Get Lifted'.
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