Bigger Love / John Legend / June 19, 2020
- Joshua Yoo
- Jun 25, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 13, 2020
It’s easy to see what’s on John Legend’s mind, and it’s love. His latest and seventh studio album “Bigger Love” plays out like one long love letter to his wife, and it’s quite admirable in its intentions. But the narrow focus leaves Legend somewhat blindsided, as the execution results in music that feels rather depthless and one-dimensional, especially for his standards.
There’s no doubt that John Legend has one of the strongest and smoothest voices in music, as he flexes his vocal ability quite visibly throughout a variety of tracks (“U Move, I Move”). The main issue lies in the musical content that he’s using his voice to express. While there are moments of sweet devotions, much of the romance is lyrically conveyed in a shallow manner, whether the tedious and overly drawn-out metaphor of love being a “Slow Cooker,” or the very generic theme of just simply being “Focused” on a significant other. Legend is coming from the heart, but the words come off as too blanketing to really deliver an impact.
The production on the album is all over the place, benefitting from a slew of contributors such as Anderson .Paak, Ryan Tedder, and Di Genius. This leads to a hit-and-miss track record for Legend, as on certain songs he’s able to adapt his style to unfamiliar genres quite smoothly (“Don’t Walk Away”), and on other songs the stylistic risks pose too difficult a task for him to pull off (“I’m Ready”) or are just simply too bizarre (“Ooh Laa”).
John Legend’s desire to create a joyful and uplifting listening experience is no doubt solidly instilled in “Bigger Love.” But the subpar writing and cluttered production prevent it from becoming the blissful romance he wants to share with the world.
Best Track(s): I Do; Don’t Walk Away; U Move, I Move
Lowlight(s): Ooh Laa, I’m Ready, Slow Cooker
SCORE: 4/10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cytXqxHqvLY
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