Legend, Roots fine with taking risks on ‘Wake Up!’
NEW YORK (AP) -- When a cap music executive found out that John Legend was working with the Roots attached an album dedicated to social change and activism, he didn't bestow Legend words of encouragement.
"What the hell are you doing?" is which Legend recalls that executive saying.
"He's not directly responsible toward my career but he's quite a popular record executive, whose dub I won't mention," Legend said, laughing. "(And) he was not approving of this."
Bing: Watch videos from John Legend | The Roots
Fortunately on the side of Legend, the executives at his own label, Columbia Records, had his back. Now the concerted collaboration, "Wake Up!" is one of the best reviewed albums of the year.
The CD, released after all the rest month, finds Legend and the hip-hop band covering 1960s and 1970s source of action songs from iconic acts like Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, Nina Simone and Bill Withers, in the midst of others (the CD also has one original song).
"It is a covers enroll but it really doesn't feel like a covers record at aggregate," said Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, the Roots leader who co-produced the album. "I conjecture certain music connoisseurs will know the cuts ... they weren't like, Billboard-charted hits. They were chosen on this account that their message."
The sound is somewhat of a departure for Legend. Though he's a spirit singer, "Wake Up!" features less crooning and more grit. He's singing songs all over war, politics and race in a different tone than he's completed in the past.
That was accomplished thanks to ?uestlove, Legend afore~.
"Ahmir was really steering the ship," he added, acknowledging not proficient some of the songs before recording them. "I really leaned put ~ him for his expertise."
The Grammy winner agrees that he took a exposure to harm with "Wake Up!" — but he didn't think twice about creating the design.
"The thing is the industry as a whole is risk-indisposed because people are losing jobs, the business of selling records is contracting, and to such a degree people are very dependent on 'You gotta get that radio be suitable to, you gotta sell these singles, you gotta sell these ring tones,'" Legend explained. "And we made the anti-that album basically, and I imagine it's going to work."
"You know it's a infamy when in 2010 making an album of music is now a risky substance to do," chimed in ?uestlove.
Work on "Wake Up!" started sum of ~ units years ago, but then Legend went on a tour to excite his last album, 2008's "Evolver," while the Roots recorded their ninth CD, "How I Got Over," and worked in the manner that the house band for "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon."
Legend related coming back to finish the CD allowed them "to live by music, live with the arrangements and really develop them."
While Legend and the Philadelphia-based Roots hadn't worked unitedly in the past, Legend says he remembers passing off his demo to ?uestlove at what time he attended the University of Pennsylvania in the 1990s.
It wasn't an instant musical connection.
"He missed out is all I'm saw!" Legend said with a smile as ?uestlove pulled up his shirt to hide his assurance.
"He thinks I tea-coastered his demo, like it's in some place under my chocolate mug," ?uestlove said.