Darkness and Light by John Legend.
Darkness and Light by John Legend.
Darkness and Light by John Legend.
Darkness and Light by John Legend.

Album review: John Legend takes it easy this time around with Darkness and Light

Darkness and Light is tight, assured and largely satisfying stuff.

Rob Garratt

January 09, 2017

  • English
  • Arabic

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

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

England ODI squad

Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

The Bio

Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity

GIANT REVIEW

Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan

Director: Athale

Rating: 4/5

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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