With the assistance of the industry's current King Midas (Kanye West), John Legend was destined for success right off the bat. It was no surprise that the Kanye produced (notice the signature drums) "Used To Love U" was the first single which succeeded in blowing us all away.
Get Lifted manages to be diverse in its content, while remaining consistent. "She Don't Have To Know" features a playful Legend telling tales of his cheating endeavours. What she doesn't know won't hurt her, right? "Number One" also plays with the subject of infidelity with Kanye adding an average verse, but manages to up its worth by including the line "I suppose you was told by them hoes I was cheatin' / But I tell ya my heart don't got nothin' to do with my penis." Oddly enough, the only other guest verse is from Snoop Dogg, but the pairing works. Snoop ad-libs the intro and manages to mesh nicely with John's passionate performance.
"Ordinary People" has us bear witness to Legend performing above a simple piano piece with no additional instrumentation. The song talks of the typical trials relationships face. "Stay With You" has us hearing contradictions of his insinuations at infidelity, the title reflects the song's content perfectly and another worthwhile mention is "It Don't Have To Change," which features Legend pining for the family unit being what it was.
Get Lifted concludes on a high note with "Live It Up," an extremely suave effort featuring a confident and accomplished singer talking about his pleasure at the fact that money is no longer a problem in his life.
It's a rarity that an R&B singer does such a good job. John Legend manages to conjure up a variety of feelings through his subjects and his talent spurs them on tenfold. "Get Lifted" is one of the better R&B releases this year. Essentially for anyone who has loved, lost or wished to.
