Sound check: John Legend spearheads soul revival

For their first collaboration, singer and pianist Legend and the Philadelphia hip-hop band The Roots, led by their afro-sporting drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, were looking for the songs with the strongest messages rather than the usual old favourites, though strong tunes are also in plentiful supply.

There's Hard Times by Baby Huey & The Babysitters, in which Legend outlines a tough life "Eatin' Spam and Oreos and drinkin' Thunderbird, baby" over urgent horns and taut funk guitar. An inspiring take on the Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes ballad Wake Up Everybody has guest singer Melanie Fiona urging the teachers to "teach a new way", the doctors to "make the old people well" and the builders to "build a new land". The raging 12-minute cover of Bill Withers' I Can't Write Left-Handed concerns an injured soldier communicating from Vietnam, and features an epic guitar solo that proves this soul band can rock, too.

Covering unpopular wars, extreme poverty, a hopeful future — this is political music that could have been written in America yesterday. Put together by these staunch Barack Obama supporters in the wake of his election, it reflects black America's realisation that Obama in power is
not an instant fix for everything. Mike James Kirkland's Hang on in There, for example, and Donny Hathaway's Little Ghetto Boy, which declares: "The world is a cruel place to live
and it ain't gonna change" before concluding: "Everything has got to get better."

However, while it's the lyrics that give the album the depth of interest, it's the music that makes it a true success. Legend sings with a rich expressiveness throughout, doing much more than just impersonating the greats and even handling Marvin Gaye's lush Wholy Holy with class. The Roots can be loose and subtle or crisp and funky whenever required, and brew up an almighty storm of horns on the standout Hard Times.

The Roots have always stood apart from their hip-hop peers for their use of a live band over samples, and their fondness for proving their impeccable musicianship with extensive noodling in concert. They are a band born in the wrong time and the marvellous sound they make on Wake Up! is their perfect destination. Six-time Grammy winner Legend, along with Alicia Keys, is the popular modern singer who has always had the strongest musical connection to the previous generation. Few others could pull off an album such as this.

Long since superceded by hip-hop as the dominant form of black music, as demonstrated by the rapper-heavy line-up at next week's Mobo Awards, today's successful soul is usually either in the form of polished pastiche (Paolo Nutini, Duffy) or modernised with a hip-hop edge (Plan B, Amy Winehouse).

It's no coincidence that those acts are all white. The biggest selling black singers today (Ne-Yo, Usher, Beyoncé) are busy making soul's shiny descendent, modern R&B — vocally technically impressive, but lacking in real well, soul. When the authentic soul sound does manage to produce a major current hit, as with Cee Lo Green's F**k You this week, it's an out-and-out novelty number.

There's no joking on Wake Up! and no shameless revisiting of proven songs in desperation for a hit, as with this year's soul covers albums by Phil Collins and Craig David. The only track that's halfway well-known here is Nina Simone's I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to be Free, aka the theme tune from the BBC's long-running Film programme.

Put simply, these are great songs delivered by people who know precisely how to do it right without mimicry. They have something to say, but mainly they have true soul — and there's not enough of that about today.

Wake Up! is released on Monday on Columbia.

SWEET SOUL MOVEMENT

SOLOMON BURKE
Soul giant Burke, who died on Sunday aged 70, released his final album, Nothing's Impossible, in July on Earmusic. It now sounds especially poignant as a collaboration with producer Willie Mitchell, who died earlier this year, and the fire in the songs suggests two men at their peak.

MAVIS STAPLES
Now 71, she has enjoyed a creative resurgence since signing three years ago to ANTI-Records. Her latest album, You Are Not Alone, was released last month as a collaboration with younger alternative rock bigwig Jeff Tweedy of Wilco.
Nov 17, Jazz Café, NW1 (0870 060 3777, jazzcafe.co.uk)

KRYSTLE WARREN
Kansas singer-songwriter's smoky, extraordinary voice has genuine soulfulness. Her debut album, Circles, is out now on Because Music.
Oct 21, Rich Mix, E1 (020 7613 7498, richmix.org.uk)

SHARON JONES AND THE DAP-KINGS
At 54, Jones has a booming howl of a voice and her fourth album, I Learned the Hard Way, is out now on Daptone.
Nov 3, Roundhouse Studio, NW1 (0870 389 1846, roundhouse.org.uk)

LIAM BAILEY
Just 26 and from Nottingham, he sounds as old as time, with a voice clear of pastiche. Amy Winehouse is putting out his first two EPs on her Lioness imprint; the first, 2am Rough Tracks, is in the iTunes store. You can get I Belong on free download at liambaileymusic.co.uk.
Supporting Chase & Status, Oct 21, HMV Forum, NW5 (0844 847 2405, kentishtownforum.com)