Legend, John & The Roots / Wake Up!
Album: Wake Up!   Collection:General
Artist:Legend, John & The Roots   Added:Nov 2010
Label:Columbia  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2010-11-14 Pull Date: 2011-01-16
Week Ending: Jan 16 Jan 9 Jan 2 Dec 19 Dec 12 Dec 5 Nov 28 Nov 21
Airplays: 3 2 1 3 1 2 2 2

Recent Airplay
1. Feb 26, 2022: Music Casserole
I Can't Write Left Handed
4. Dec 01, 2017: Traditions
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free
2. Feb 10, 2020: Soul, Samples & Substitutions
Humanity (Love The Way It Should Be)
5. May 11, 2011: Morning Glory
Compared To What
3. May 25, 2018: Traditions
I Can't Write Left Handed
6. Jan 15, 2011: Gibberish Aloud
Our Generation (The Hope Of The World) Feat. Cl Smooth

Album Review
Sadie O.
Reviewed 2010-11-12
John Legend & the Roots – Wake Up!
Reviewed by Sadie O., 11/12/10
Strictly Old School – as in 60’s and 70’s Soul/Funk protest songs. Some classics and some very obscure tracks, covered very much in their original spirit, but not slavish imitations. I feel like a lot of it is a bit over-produced, but the basic music and vibe is generally solid.
No FCCs detected. I like 2, 4, 11, and esp. 8 best.
1. 5:16 ***very long bluesy “whoawhoayeahyeah” intro, goes all funky Blaxploitation after 45 seconds. Features guest rap by Black Thought.
2. 6:27 ****syncopated upbeat funk w/ stuttering guitar, soulful cover of a great ‘69 hit.
3. 4:25 *tinkly harp intro, smooth soul-pop groove, guest vocals by Melanie Fiona, rap by Common. Rather heavy on the strings.
4. 3:16 ****big-ass Funk, energy, positivity, rap by CL Smooth. OK, the generation this was written for didn’t do that well – you kids need to pick up on it, I guess…
5. 1:59 *slow fade in, spoken word feat. Malik Yusef. Fades up into next track.
6. 5:26 **slow, a bit of a jazzy groove, rap by Black Thought.
7. 7:15 ***slow 70’s style orchestral soul funk, tingly bells. I kept expecting Don Cornelius or Isaac Hayes, but Legend’s vocals are quite good.
8. 3:49 *****bloody hell – it’s roots rock Reggae! Really good, too!
9. 5:50 *very slow churchical ballad. Nice vocals, but entirely too smooth for my tastes. Makes me wanna strangle puppies (and I LIKE dogs…)
10. 11:44 **slow fade in to slow drum beat, spoken intro about war. Slow, bluesy tear-jerker about the cost of war – heavy as hell. It’s actually very good, but I don’t want to listen to it ever again…
11. 2:43 ****Nawlins-style boogie piano, upbeat spiritual.
12. 4:44 *very slow keyboard smooth-jazz, sweet.

Track Listing
1. Hard Times Feat. Black Thought   7. Hang On In There
2. Compared To What   8. Humanity (Love The Way It Should Be)
3. Wake Up Everybody Feat. Common & Melanie Fiona   9. Wholy Holy
4. Our Generation (The Hope Of The World) Feat. Cl Smooth   10. I Can't Write Left Handed
5. Little Ghetto Boy (Prelude) Feat. Malik Yusef   11. I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free
6. Little Ghetto Boy Feat. Black Thought   12. Shine