John Legend
Once Again

THE REVIEW

A damp and icy sky outside (the kind that makes your nose tingle), the warmth of a soft, cozy bed inside... and a disc in the player spinning and warming with its embracing groove. It's John Legend singing, measured talent full of voice and piano... and the two lovers smile at each other through the covers, tightly wrapped in a warm winter embrace. This image inspires me "Once Again", the second and last studio album from the 'legend' of Springfield in Ohio; mountains of pillows and blankets and the joy sketched in a smile as evening falls.

"Once Again" will be your winter album if you plan to spend the next "cold evenings" this way because the atmosphere is relaxed, warmly engaging and dreamy, vibrant and melodious. It's a call to intimacy as can be felt from the very first "Save Room" which opens the way with its driving organ. Chosen as a single, it will make us fall in love from the first listens. Apt and perfect. Along with the very delicate "Show Me", almost whispered religiously, the splendid "We Just Don't Care" deserves mention where Legend's piano glides masterfully over his increasingly captivating and sensual voice. Beautiful are also the sweet all-piano lullaby, "Where Did My Baby Go", and the concluding "Coming Home" which moves adopting the semblance of almost a sacred hymn among gospel choirs and a hinted emotional tension. With "Stereo" and more particularly with "Slow Dance", the tone changes. The rhythm takes over and modern-day R&B meets "reggae-tinged" choirs creating a soft and sexy dance accompanied by a voice that slowly envelops us, scratching the skin. The only less successful episodes of the very good "Once Again": the slightly underwhelming duet with Mary J. Blige ("King & Queen") and the too poppy "Heaven" that fails to take off due to an occasionally annoying refrain.

Legend's style unfolds discreetly and evenly throughout his latest production, and it's precisely this that seduces about him. He sings and plays with such naturalness and spontaneity that it seems as if he has done just this all his life. He is young, direct, and his sophisticated soul-pop pleasantly tickles us, playing at reminding us of the great past melodies of the 60s Motown perfectly combining a clear voice with a determined soul.

Quick to make it yours, there are so many spirits to warm, and the cold winter is at the door!!!