John Legend - Evolver

Album Review
Release Date: Oct. 28
Producer(s): various
Label: GOOD Music/Columbia

John Legend made his mark by showing up fully coated in vintage Philadelphia soul, but this aptly titled third album finds him shelving his silky throwback vibe for a collection of tracks more interested in 808s and heartbreak. "Evolver" opens with shiny 1984 club-bounce ("Green Light," quickly commandeered by André 3000), moves directly into vocoded Kanye West ("It's Over") and involves lots of Flash Gordon swoops and sweeps ("Good Morning"). Legend's voice remains beyond reproach, but for a guy who's an oasis of style and soul in a sea of synthetic, robo-call R&B, at times it seems like he's playing catch-up. Legend scores far better when he sticks to his strengths, like on the reggae-twisted "No Other Love," the ready-made Obama rally theme "If You're Out There" and the soaring "Everybody Knows," a tear-streaked lament that ends with the great line, "I wish you the best/I guess." —Jeff Vrabel