John Legend: Wake Up! (Colored Vinyl) auf 2 LPs

Musical powerhouses John Legend & The Roots present Wake Up!, eleven profoundly evocative songs pulled from the soulful music of the 60's and 70's all with an underlying theme of awareness, engagement and consciousness. The album is highlighted with the single, ''Wake Up Everybody,'' featuring Melanie Fiona, familiar tracks like ''Little Ghetto Boy'' by Donny Hathaway mixed with more obscure selections like Baby Huey and the Babysitters' ''Hard Times.'' Wake Up! also includes the original composition, ''Shine,'' featured in the upcoming film Waiting For Superman.

This album was conceived in the heat of the summer of 2008 in the middle of a passionate election campaign - a campaign that represented change & hope and awakened a new generation of activists who had never been inspired before. We live in a time of seemingly unlimited possibility and groundbreaking, historic change, yet we're also in the midst of a deep recession and war, poverty, and disillusionment still afflict a large portion of humankind. This intense brew of possibility & persistent poverty, optimism & despair, activism & unrest, global connectedness & intractable global conflicts is the reason Wake Up! exists. I asked The Roots to join me in producing this album because they're one of the best bands in the business. I've wanted to work with them since I went to college in Philly and I knew that ?uestlove would understand the album I was trying to make and help me get there. It's a blend of soul, hip-hop, funk, gospel, and reggae which draws inspiration from a previous era of sociallyrelevant music - the soul songs of the 1960's and 70's. Nina Simone said ''it's the job of an artist to reflect the times'' and we attempted to do just that. We wanted to make an album that spoke to the times in which we live... and this music feels so relevant right now. It's funky & frustrated, revolutionary & reflective, raw & righteous, spirited & spiritual. Oh yeah, and it's so very soulful. I'm very proud to present this exciting collaboration, Wake Up! ~John Legend

Tracklisting:

Disc 1 Side 1

1. Hard Times feat. Black Thought 5: 16

2. Compared To What 6: 27

3. Wake Up Everybody feat. Common & Melanie Fiona 4: 25

4. Our Generation (The Hope Of the World) feat. CL Smooth 3: 16

Disc 1 Side 2

1. Little Ghetto Boy (Prelude) feat. Malik Yusef 1: 59

2. Little Ghetto Boy feat. Black Thought 5: 26

3. Hang On In There 7: 15

4. Humanity (Love The Way It Should Be) 3: 49

Disc 2 Side 1

1. Wholy Holy 5: 48

2. I Can't Write Left Handed 11: 45

Disc 2 Side 2

1. I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free 2: 43

2. Shine 4: 44