Legend considers love & darkness

Bush album a concert series souvenir

NEW YORK, Dec 3, (Agencies): John Legend has become known as a modern master of the ballad, probing the emotional depths behind love and discovering the darkness that lurks nearby.

Releasing his fifth studio album on Friday, Legend stretches into new musical territory as he subtly broadens his conception of ballads, injecting elements of funk and rap.

The new album is entitled “Darkness and Light” but instead of representing some sort of tug-of-war between the two forces, Legend sees them as intertwined — no love song is spared from a touch of melancholy.

The first single off the album, “Love Me Now,” is among the most rocking on the album, with a beat bringing uplift — in contrast to Legend’s biggest hit, 2013’s heartrending “All of Me.”

Yet “Love Me Now” also has an undercurrent of loss, even as Legend implores the listener to celebrate the joys of the moment.

“I don’t know who’s gonna kiss you when I’m gone / So I’m gonna love you now like it’s all I have,” Legend sings.

The album comes at a new stage of life for the 37-year-old Legend.

A musical prodigy whose talents brought him an Ivy League education and a steady ascent through the music business, Legend recently became a father with his wife, the model Chrissy Teigen.

Legend dedicates “Right By You,” a piano number with a smoky jazz backdrop, to his daughter Luna as he promises to care for her but wonders about her future and that of the world.

“You see, love contains a meaning of despair,” Legend warns his daughter, his mellifluous voice backed by strings.

“Will we do right by you? Will you have what you require to make your days on this Earth be not so dire?”

The reflective tone of “Darkness and Light” may come as a surprise to those who know Legend more for his politics.

Long active on global anti-poverty efforts, Legend in the past two years has emerged as one of the most prominent artist advocates of the Black Lives Matter movement and has been a vociferous critic of President-elect Donald Trump.

Legend shared an Oscar last year with rapper Common for co-writing the song “Glory,” the theme to the civil rights movement drama “Selma.”

Legend’s latest album is political only on a close reading. Legend — raised in humble surroundings in working-class Springfield, Ohio — portrays a struggling city that finally makes the television news on “Penthouse Floor.”

“Once you’re above the city lights / Won’t want to spend another night down there on your own,” Legend sings, casting escapism as the American dream.

“Penthouse Floor” brings in an allstar cast including a lengthy passage by Chance the Rapper. Legend cowrote the song with Greg Kurstin, the producer best known for Adele’s blockbuster single “Hello.”

Alternative

Also credited on “Penthouse Floor” are Sia and Beck, the alternative rock icon who can be felt on the song’s funky bass line and guitar licks.

Other collaborators on “Darkness and Light” include Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard, who refines her famously forceful voice to complement Legend’s falsetto on the title track.

Legend is at his most introspective at the very start of the album on “I Know Better.”

To the sound of church organs, he vows never to forget his roots.

Kate Bush gives fans an exquisite souvenir with “Before the Dawn,” a massive live album taken from her series of 22 concerts in 2014.

With tantalizingly few chart hits and dominated by two conceptual collections, the triple album conjures its magic spells with Bush’s powerfully expressive voice, her captivating songs and the integrity of an artistic vision that nurtures and challenges the imagination.

By all accounts, her residency at London’s Hammersmith Odeon two years ago was both a musical and a visual delight. “Before the Dawn”

Nick Rhodes reproduces only the sounds — it seems no video release is planned — but still effectively captures the emotions and the thrill of the performances.

While ignoring her first four albums — which means no “Wuthering Heights” or “Babooshka” — the first disc is a superior opening with highlights like “Hounds of Love,” “Lily” and “Running Up That Hill”

The second disc is “The Ninth Wave,” once side two of the “Hounds of Love” album, about a woman adrift in the ocean waiting to be rescued. The third disc includes “A Sky of Honey,” the second half of 2005’s “Aerial,” a journey through a summer day. “Cloudbusting” is the graceful, triumphant closer.

Bush’s son, Albert “Bertie” McIntosh, sings some leads and has a couple of duets with his mother on disc three. Some dialogue and longer musical passages remind listeners that, onstage, there was something more going on.

LONDON:

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Singer-songwriter Matt Goss says he and his twin brother Luke will make sure their Bros reunion tour wows fans of the British 1980s pop band when they come to Britain next August.

The brothers announced in October they were reuniting to play at London’s O2 Arena on Aug 19 — some 28 years after performing at Wembley Arena to an audience of 77,000. They have since added further dates around Britain.

Known for songs such as “When Will I Be Famous?” and “I Owe You Nothing”, the band formed in 1986 with bassist Craig Logan. Logan left after three years and the twins stopped playing together in 1992.

“We had a civilised conversation about the process of becoming a unified force again and just putting on a show that we knew would blow people’s minds,” Goss, who lives in the United States but is back in Britain for a solo Christmas tour, told Reuters.

“We really want to put on the best show we can … We’re genuinely excited about being on stage again together … Obviously if we’re going to come back, we want to make sure that it’s … just something where people go ‘Wow’.”

The organization announced Thursday that they’ve recorded an original song for the first time, featuring backup vocals from actual Girl Scouts.

“Watch Me Shine” was written by Liz Rose, who has won Grammys for her work with Taylor Swift and Little Big Town, and Emily Shackleton, who sings lead on the song.

The track is being used in a Girl Scouts PSA called “I’m Prepared”, which praises girls for being leaders, problem solvers and innovators.

It’s available on iTunes, Google Play and Amazon Music. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Girl Scouts organization. (AP)