R&B seem to sound better when it is stripped down to the bare essentials: Just a piano and vocals. This was proven when Alicia Keys dropped her sophomore album. Diary of Alicia Keys. It has been proven again with John Legend's debut album, Get Lifted.
The Kanye West produced album manages to take you an era where talent was the main objective, not popularity. The first single, "Used to Love U", is a good example of how West and Legend make a good songwriting team.
Legend puts his background as a church choir director to the test and manages to pass with flying colors on the track "Ordinary People", a track about the ups and downs of a relationship. He sings with such conviction it makes you want to call up your significant other and forgive them for whatever they have done.
Snoop Dogg lends his cartoonish voice and hip hop swagger to in the track "I Can Change". Legend should pat himself in the back because he was not outshined by Snoop, who manages to steal the show on whatever track he is on.
Get Lifted managed to make me push the repeat button on my CD player. It managed to make me reminisce of what could have been with a certain somebody. This album is Legendary in its own right.
