John Legend
Darkness and Light
(Columbia)
Three stars
You could write an essay about the opening track – and latest single from – John Legend's fifth album. "They say sing what you know / But I've sung what they want / Some folks do what they're told / But baby this time I won't", begins I Know Better.
So, this is Legend taking a long, hard look in the mirror, after the stratospheric success of global phenomenon of the 2013 single All of Me – destined to play at every wedding and Valentine's Day party until eternity.
If Darkness and Light is the raw and real Legend coming out to play, you might wonder why it took a cast of eight producers to bring its 12 tracks to life. Take note: 2013's Love in the Future featured a cast three times that size. This time, by contemporary R&B standards, Legend is going grunge.
The analogy works – the newer album is less ambitious and far-raging than its arc-soaring predecessor. But it also zeros in on particular styles and themes closer to the author’s heart. Turns out, what Legend wanted to be doing all along was not crooning soppy piano ballads, but strutting charged, carnally-inspired R&B.
There's "no need to justify looking for a little bit of love tonight," insists Legend, with all the force of an overexcited student in Temporarily Painless.
Complete with seedy, squelching guitar and a Chance the Rapper guest turn, Penthouse Floor's invitation to "ride the elevator" seems to have just one destination in mind.
The mellow piano chords of Love Me Now most recall an All of Me, but rather than promising marital bliss, this time Legend is pleading for instant satisfaction, because "who's gonna kiss you when I'm gone?"
Meatier, moodier moments see Legend look up from the gratification towards the musical heyday he pines for – the earthy blues vamp Right By You, complete with whining harmonica, sounds most like a singer left to his own devices.
But there’s evidence here Legend truly is more at ease with all the pressure and prodding.
Darkness and Light is tight, assured and largely satisfying stuff. But after the promise of this album's self-aggrandising introduction – and its author's previous triumphs – it can't quite shake the feeling of a great talent treading water.
rgarratt@thenational.ae
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The specs: 2017 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn
Price, base / as tested: Dhxxx
Engine: 5.7L V8
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 395hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 556Nm @ 3,950rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
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Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
ENGLAND%20SQUAD
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Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
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Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Joker: Folie a Deux
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Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
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