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Wake Up!

The Roots John Legend Format: Audio CD
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 291 ratings
$3.10
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MP3 Music, September 21, 2010
$1.99
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Audio CD, Import, September 28, 2010
$13.50
$9.50 $2.90
Audio CD, April 1, 2013
$3.10
$5.52 $3.10
Vinyl, January 13, 2017
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Track Listings

1 Hard Times - John Legend & The Roots feat. Black Thought
2 Compared to What
3 Wake Up Everybody - John Legend & The Roots feat. Common & Melanie Fiona
4 Our Generation (The Hope Of the World) - John Legend & The Roots feat. CL Smooth
5 Little Ghetto Boy (Prelude) - John Legend & The Roots feat. Malik Yusef
6 Little Ghetto Boy - John Legend & The Roots feat. Black Thought
7 Hang On In There
8 Humanity (Love The Way It Should Be)
9 Wholy Holy
10 I Can't Write Left Handed
11 I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free
12 Shine

Editorial Reviews

Wake Up! is a collaborative studio album by American R&B recording artist John Legend and hip hop band The Roots.Wake Up! features mostly covers of songs from the soul music of the 1960s and 1970s, and incorporates musical elements from gospel, rock, reggae, and hip hop.

Product details

  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.52 x 4.94 x 0.18 inches; 3.04 ounces
  • Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ SBME SPECIAL MKTS.
  • Item model number ‏ : ‎ 29563253
  • Original Release Date ‏ : ‎ 2013
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 3 minutes
  • Date First Available ‏ : ‎ June 23, 2013
  • Label ‏ : ‎ SBME SPECIAL MKTS.
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00DJYKD8S
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 291 ratings

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
291 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

David V. DeRosa
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great album ... everyone should hear it
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2011
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I am neither a John Legend Fan or a Roots Fan, but this album may get me to listen to other work that both have done. This soulful protest music, largely drawn from African American artists in the late 1960s through the early 1970s, is fantastic. It has the classic soul music sound while updating it with new arrangements and commentary in the form of hip hop lyrics. It has all the classic elements of soul music sounds while simultaneously conveying old lessons as they apply to our times and universal truths. John Legend has a great sound here, and has really expanded his style from crooner into a man ready to push barriers to make a more meaningful and important music. Questlove and the Roots musical selections, arrangements, and playing are both respectful of the tradition while updating the sound for the modern listeners. They play with musicality and soul. If you appreciate great music that is both entertaining while challenging, this is your album.

I bought this on Vinyl with fantastic well designed packaging, a full double album photograph in the interior of the band, and vinyl record dust cases with commentary and descriptions of the tunes. I was surprised both by the quality of the recording, the packaging, and the art. I will also admit, that I believe most things sound better on Vinyl. Clearly a labor of love by Mr. Legend and the Roots, it is packaged for a long shelf life. This album is a must have if you simply love music. It gets better every time I spin the record. I would suggest buying the Vinyl. It is worth the money.
One person found this helpful
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susan heller
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2023
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Music cd
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this. Seriously.
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2016
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Great album! A wonderful mix of hip hop, R&B, and soul, this album is really, really cool. Feels like they're in a smoky jazz lounge as they perform this, and in particular their version of "Little Ghetto Boy" and Bill Withers' "I Can't Write Left Handed" really stand out as strong covers; the latter is extremely powerful, and John Legend's vocals add some serious weight to the tune. If you like either The Roots or John Legend, I'd buy this in a heartbeat (I actually hadn't really heard much of Legend's vocals before and checked it out as a Roots fan and just loved it). An excellent additional to your music collection.
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Big Tex
4.0 out of 5 stars The Roots are effin awesome
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2011
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The little man on my right shoulder wants me to call this the best covers album I've ever heard; the little man on my left shoulder is telling me to contain my hyperbole. At the very least, this is one of the top releases of 2010. Inspired by the election of Barack Obama and upset about the wars our nation is engaged in, John Legend and The Roots got together to cover lesser-known socially-conscious songs from the '60s and 70s. I'm not the biggest John Legend fan; he never does a bad job, but I don't think is voice is as soulful as he does. However, The Roots reestablish themselves as the funkiest, most flexible band around, easily switching from funk to soul to gospel to R&B to pop to reggae. Without The Roots, this project would have flopped; they should get top billing. All this AND they rock it five nights a week as the house band for Jimmy Fallon. This is a fantastic album - the only downside is that eventually the listener becomes aware that these songs are, unfortunately, still relevant 40 years after they were written.

While most of these tracks hit, there are a few clunkers. My favorites include the funky Compared To What, Wake Up Everybody, Our Generation, Hang On In There, and I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free. It takes courage to cover Donny Hathaway, and the cover of Little Ghetto Boy doesn't quite measure up to the rest of the album. Also, Wholly Holy just proves that Legend shouldn't try to cover Marvin Gaye. Ever. I'm afraid to comment on the only original piece on the disc, the closer, Shine. This was written by Legend for the psuedo-documentary Waiting For Superman and I'm afraid this posting will quickly get off topic. The show-stopper on this disc is the superb take on Bill Wither's epic anti-war anthem, I Can't Write Left Handed. Starting softly and calmly, this song continually builds for 6 ½ minutes until guitarist Captain Kirk Douglas rips into a face-melting two minute solo that puts Legend in the corner. Then the band brings it down before revving it back up for another killer guitar solo. The whole thing last 11 ½ minutes and I'm just drained at the end. This track alone is worth the price of the CD.
2 people found this helpful
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Ben A
3.0 out of 5 stars Didn't realize it was mostly covers
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2010
Verified Purchase
I must be a little young and uncool to not realize that the album consists mostly of covers. I guess thats part of what you miss out on when you buy the MP3 album, so you don't have liner notes. Either way, the album is solid, and because it mostly covers of old funk and soul songs it should appeal to a broad range of people. This is a safe bet as a gift.
However, its due to this apparent "safeness" that I did not love the abum. The album starts out strong, but I felt that despite the great work of the band, that the arrangements themselves were either flat, or a little uninspired. The title song "Wake Up" has some of the weakest "we can do it if we try" lyrics I've ever heard. Its not a call to social action, its a song about "things are gonna be ok, so lets go do our jobs well." yawn.
In all, the album reminds me of being at a Barack Obama rally (I actually did attend one). Before he came on, the music was similarly funky but safe. Its all inclusive, but in the end it has no teeth. And that's why I have to give this album three stars.
4 people found this helpful
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Jerome Szpila
5.0 out of 5 stars The best album of 2010!
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2011
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Wake Up! is not just my favorite album of 2010 - it's one of my favorite albums of all time. Take John Legend, one of the best R&B/Soul artists out there, and add the Roots, one of the best Rap groups out there, and you have a super-group capable of greatness. And greatness is achieved in this powerful musical presentation. The re-imagining of these classic soul songs, the musical delivery, and the created sound will take your breath away. The final work is a timeless classic. I look forward to the possibility of future collaborations between Legend and the Roots. I would recommend this album to anybody, but if you are a fan of Soul, R&B, Jazz, Funk, or high-quality Hip-Hop, then this album is an absolute must-have.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Jason hayes
5.0 out of 5 stars 👍
Reviewed in Canada on December 5, 2018
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Great product thanks
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Cliente Kindle
5.0 out of 5 stars Con artisti così...
Reviewed in Italy on January 19, 2020
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Disco bellissimo, brani classici della musica black, vengo rivisitati con la potenza e la classe dei Roots e di un John Legend in grande spolvero. Bravi.
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Susana
5.0 out of 5 stars Discazo
Reviewed in Spain on January 2, 2019
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A mi marido le encantó
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Amazon カスタマー
5.0 out of 5 stars 満足
Reviewed in Japan on August 27, 2020
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綺麗な状態で、早く着きました。有難うございました。
2 people found this helpful
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Wayne M.
5.0 out of 5 stars Wake Up! John Legend and The Roots
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 24, 2012
Verified Purchase
Arrived today as 'nearly new' but looked like it hadn't been played. Was surprised to find a bonus 25min DVD showing the guys in the studio and interviewed about the concept of the album.

Again amazing value for money. I paid about £4 for this, the CD is just as good, if not slightly better musically with a larger lineup of backing vocals, horn and string sections. The DVD audio is more detailed but that's a given. It's far from being a disappointment!
I've been a fan of the Roots since the late 90's and the fact that they are still on top of their game and still relevant in an industry that normally gives a band a 5 year window, is testament to their incredible musicianship. John Legend works very well with this group of musicians and sounds great, a whole lotta soul goin' on!

A great choice of songs, not the obvious choices but that's the good point about it.

Worth every penny even at full price, but all the sweeter getting it at a bargain price!
3 people found this helpful
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