50 Years of Soul Power

Posted February 20, 2013 by J Matthew Cobb in Features

John Legend
Once Again
(Columbia; 2006)

His piano ballad “Ordinary People” ushered the gritty soul singer to fame, but Once Again secured it. The nostalgic sounds of “Save Room,” “Slow Dance” and “Each Day Gets Better” are perfect examples of Legend at his finest, while the Kanye West-sharpened “Heaven” puts the crooner in a lane of 21^st century romance. But it’s his work on “P.D.A. (We Just Don’t Care)” that escalates his gentlemen persona to the edge of darkness. The idea of taking scandalous sex into the public places seems so temptatious: “You know I love you when you’re loving me/Sometimes it’s better when it’s publicly.” On Once Again, John Legend is totally surrounded by top-notch producers and writers, but he’s still in control of his own destiny.