When he's not resuscitating the careers of forgotten r 'n' b singers (hi, Estelle) or playing the 'everyman' contributor to a multitude of high-profile artists (Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys Jay-Z among them), John Legend occasionally rustles up his own material. The Ohio native's enterprises in piano-based nu-soul have won him fans all over the world, mostly thanks to his 2005 smash hit Ordinary People - yet, although the 29-year-old has once again conscripted a number of uber-cool guests for his third album, Evolver is a continuation of, rather than a progression from his customary musings.
Nevertheless, the tracks that feature those aforementioned guests are easily the best here. Outkast's Andre 3000 adds a sense of seasoned sophistication to the excellent dance/hip-hop beat of opener Green Light, Estelle's inconspicuous backing vocals add to No Other Love's springy reggae nicely, and Kanye's effortless cool practically freezes over the speakers on the street-soul swing of It's Over.
The same can't be said for Brandy's overdone histronics on Quickly, however, and overall, there's far too much filler on Evolver for it to be absorbing or innovative in any way. Between the sleepy soul tracks, the piano ballads and the overdone sentimentality, there are times when Legend comes across more like a Luther Vandross Jr. than the innovator he'd like to be seen as. The man has talent, certainly - but when it takes someone else to fully expose it, it all seems a bit ineffectual. More of a hit-and-miss than an evolutionary - or revolutionary - affair.
