‘Get lifted” is Glaswegian slang for being taken into police custody. It appears unlikely, to say the least, that John Legend knew this when selecting Glasgow to open his Get Lifted twentieth Anniversary world tour. Nonetheless, his look is appropriately arresting, strolling on stage within the kind of dazzling white swimsuit that appeared so fantastic on Marvin Gaye and Al Inexperienced. “Can I be attractive tonight?” he asks – the very definition of a rhetorical query – forward of She Don’t Should Know, a breezy ode to dishonest.
The tour is a celebration of his traditional debut, an album that introduced Legend as a soul man who may, it appeared, be spoken of in the identical breath as giants of the style. In his 20s when Get Lifted was launched, he’s now 46: a middle-aged star taking part in the songs of a hungry – and attractive – younger musician; a husband and father singing of infidelity and reconciliation.
Maybe as a result of he not feels the phrases he wrote again then, there’s one thing cold about a lot of the efficiency. He is an excellent singer and his nine-piece band expert, however the set is drilled to the purpose of being boring. Legend is a former administration advisor – as he talked about throughout one of many interminable “my musical journey” talky bits – and one suspects that someplace backstage is a PowerPoint plotting each priapic strut and yelp. His between-song chat is so tacky that when he asks us to “Make some noise for Philadelphia!” it isn’t clear whether or not we’re being urged to cheer town or the unfold.
His taking part in is expressive sufficient; no want for all that commentary. The ballads Unusual Individuals and All of Me, solo on the piano, are stunning songs superbly carried out. Take My Hand, Valuable Lord reveals off his gospel roots. There may be even a curveball Beatles cowl, I Need You (She’s So Heavy), stitched seamlessly to the tip of his personal I Can Change.
These are highlights, however the present as an entire drags. At two hours we’re detained too lengthy and it’s a reduction to be launched.
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