John Legend Lays His Heart Bare for ‘Bigger Love’
There’s a brand new album that just landed in our laps and we’re over the moon. It’s ‘Bigger Love‘, by John Legend and this one’s got a whopping 16 tracks on it. John had previously given us a taste of this album through songs like, ‘Conversations in the Dark’, ‘Actions’ and more. But now, we’re thrilled to be soaking in this piece of ballady-goodness.
The tunes on this album span across a spectrum of themes from love, sex, social justice to hope and yearning. Legend’s known to be one of the most prolific romantic balladeers of his generation, and with this album, he proves just that. From the groovy, ‘I Do’ to the sensual “I Only Have Eyes for You” quaking with a strong hip-hop baseline. To tunes like ‘Wild’ and ‘Favourite Place’ that showcase his stellar vocals, every track is so wholesome. Initially, we did try to pick our favourites, but that’s proven to be ridiculously difficult.
Ona lighter note, Legend described this project as “probably my sexiest album to date. If you’re stuck at home and want to make some coronababies… if you spend a lot of time with your partner and you need a soundtrack to that.” Well, we can’t argue with that. But, upon releasing the cover art, Legend dived a little deeper into the concept behind this album.
He captioned his Instagram post with this:
“The songs are inspired by the loves of my life:my wife, my family and the rich tradition of black music that has made me the artist I am. All of these songs were created prior to the world being rocked by a pandemic, prior to the latest police killings in the U.S. that sent so many to the streets in protest. During these painful times, some of us may wonder if it’s ok to laugh or dance or be romantic. Lately, the images of black people in the media have been showing us with knees on our necks, in mourning, or expressing our collective outrage. We feel all those emotions.”
John Legend continued by hoping that this project would make recent events feel, “more relevant”. The mood of this album is also captured wonderfully in his lyrics. We’ve picked out his track, ‘Bigger Love’, to point out just that.
I don’t wanna think about nothing
The world feels like it’s crumbling
Everyday, another new something
But in the end, in the end
Can’t nobody do us in
I just wanna think about loving’Cause we got a bigger love
Won’t ever give it up
We got a one-way ticket love
We ain’t going no place but up
Lovely, isn’t it? Anyway, enough chit chat, now just sit back and soak in this beautiful piece of music he’s created.
By: Nina Karun
