New Release Wrap-Up: John Legend and The Roots

Though the album is intended for the Obama generation, the ’60s and ’70s soul tracks that John Legend and The Roots coveron their new record Wake Up! don’t exactly speak to the complexities of moderntimes. They’re filled with platitudes about teaching children, puttingdifferences aside and making the world a better place, with occasional rapsabout brighter futures. For those who can suppress their cynicism, though, thealbum is rife with small pleasures. Clearly enjoying the chance to showboat, Legenddigs into these not-quite-standards with fuller lungs and a little more gritthan usual. He puts his own melodic stamp on each, embellishing phrasings whilehonoring the originals, tackling, for instance, Marvin Gaye’s “Wholy Holy”in his comfortable velvet croon, but also hitting Gaye’s signature high notes.

The self-titled record from TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek’s side project MaximumBalloon sounds like the last thing fans might have expected from the usuallydaring producer: a TV on the Radio album. Though Sitek doesn’t veer outside hiscomfort zone, guest spots vocals from Karen O, David Byrne, Holly Miranda and(of course) TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone keep the record movingbriskly from track to track.

Maroon 5 teamed up with Back in Black producer Robert “Mutt” Lange for theirnew Hands All Over, a sleazier outing from the usually squeaky clean soul-popband.

Former System of a Down singer Serj Tankian leaves metal behind and delves evendeeper in the waters of orchestral progressive rock on his second solo albumImperfect Harmonies.

Santana covers songs that did not need to be covered on hisnew Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time.

After a 13 year break, sometimes noise god Michael Gira returns to Swans withthe viciously heavy My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky.

And an overhauled Margot and The Nuclear So and Sos cut back on thepreciousness and dial up the rock on their latest disc, Buzzard, but it’s stilla Margot and The Nuclear So and Sos album. Nothing to see here; move along.