Get Lifted

Get Lifted is the debut studio album by American singer John Legend, released by GOOD Music, Sony Urban Music, and Columbia Records on December 28, 2004 in the United States. Featuring production by Legend's then-manager, Kanye West, as well as Dave Tozer, will.i.am, and Devo Springsteen. The album sold over three million units worldwide, with a total of 2.1 million copies in the U.S., where it was certified double platinum. The album won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, and earned Legend another two awards, for Best New Artist and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his single "Ordinary People".

Get Lifted
Studio album by
John Legend
ReleasedDecember 28, 2004
Recorded2001-2004
Genre
Length52:28
Label
Producer
John Legend chronology
Get Lifted
(2004)		 Once Again
(2006)
Singles from Get Lifted
  1. "Used to Love U"
    Released: August 31, 2004
  2. "Ordinary People"
    Released: April 7, 2005
  3. "Number One"
    Released: August 23, 2005
  4. "So High"
    Released: December 8, 2005

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Blender[2]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[3]
The Guardian[4]
The Irish Times[5]
NME8/10[6]
Rolling Stone[7]
SpinA−[8]
USA Today[9]
Vibe5/5[10]

Reviews became generally positive. BBC Music gave the album a favorable review and called it "an album that not only lived up to the hype, but rose squarely above it. Yes, at times it is a patchwork of the past filtered through Legend’s ever-present influences, but the quality of his writing and performance, and his collaborators’ contributions, make it worthy of the awards and plaudits it rightly received."[11] Spin gave it an A− and said that Legend's voice "leans on subtlety more than melisma, and his sound has a crisp live-band jump, rather than canned neo-soul static."[12] Uncut gave it three stars out of five and stated that Legend "introduces some intriguing new variations on the retro R&B template....Jeff Buckley is surprisingly brought to mind in Legend's passionately fragile delivery."[12] IGN gave it a score of 9.3 out of ten and called it "a refreshing record that fans of music will adore."[13] The Guardian gave it four stars out of five and called it "a real gem."[14] Entertainment.ie also gave it four stars and said of Legend, "it's probably not surprising that he's got such a big head, seeing as his producer, hip-hop guru Kanye West, has described him as simply 'the future'. Actually, it would be much more accurate to say that he does a pretty good job of updating the past."[15] In his Consumer Guide, Robert Christgau gave it a three-star honorable mention (); he picked out two of the songs from the album ("I Can Change" and "Live It Up") and said of Legend, "For an ordinary soul man, he has excellent tunes."[16]

musicOMH gave it an average review and stated that "Certain albums have the power to open the mind into different forms of music, and certainly those who pick up the Get Lifted with the pretence of it being a hip-hop album will have a rude awakening. I approached with trepidation after the opening Prelude but with an open mind or just an appreciation for the finer things in life Get Lifted could find itself being an essential album in anyone’s collection."[17] Paste gave it a positive review and stated that it "has as much in common with the classic funk and soul of Isaac Hayes, Stevie Wonder and The Delfonics as it does with today’s best R&B, hip-hop and neo-soul."[18] The A.V. Club gave it an average review and stated that the album "suffers from a surplus of slickness, but it's also seductive, and at just over 52 minutes, mercifully free from the excess and filler that characterize many rap and R&B albums."[19] Exclaim!, however, gave it an unfavorable review and said, "The early line on Legend is that the heat this album will undoubtedly generate guarantees that Legend’s apparent fidelity issues will get worse before they get better. Get Lifted indeed."[20] Plugged In gave it a mixed review and stated that "Legend is a talented singer and piano player but fails to maintain his moral focus. It doesn't take much profanity, infidelity and sexual inappropriateness to sink an otherwise decent effort."[21]

Rhapsody ranked the album #10 on its "Best R&B Albums of the Decade" list,[22] declaring, "John Legend was all over the Top 40 the entire decade—even before he released one of the decade’s biggest R&B debuts—having worked with Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys, Kanye West and Jay-Z, to name a few. Get Lifted, his first proper release, is an infectious cross between old-school soul and neo-soul."

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Prelude"John StephensJohn Legend[a]0:44
2."Let's Get Lifted"
3:37
3."Used to Love U"
  • Stephens
  • West
3:30
4."Alright"
  • Stephens
  • West
3:20
5."She Don't Have to Know"
will.i.am4:52
6."Number One" (featuring Kanye West)
3:18
7."I Can Change" (featuring Snoop Dogg)
5:01
8."Ordinary People"
  • Stephens
  • Adams
Legend4:41
9."Stay with You"
  • Stephens
  • Tozer
Tozer3:49
10."Let's Get Lifted Again"
  • Stephens
  • Tozer
Tozer2:18
11."So High"
Harris5:07
12."Refuge (When It's Cold Outside)"
  • Stephens
  • Harris
  • Cho
4:13
13."It Don't Have to Change" (featuring the Stephens Family)
  • Stephens
  • Tozer
Legend3:23
14."Live It Up" (featuring Miri Ben-Ari)
  • Stephens
  • Harris
  • Tarrey Torae
  • A. Hester
4:35

Notes

Sample credits

  • "She Don't Have to Know" contains replayed elements from the composition "Just Like a Baby" as written by Sylvester Stewart.
  • "Number One" contains samples from the composition "Let's Do It Again" as written by Curtis Mayfield.
  • "So High" contains samples from the composition "I Don't Need No Reason" as written by Leon Ware and Pam Sawyer.
  • "Live It Up" contains interpolations from the composition "Love Is Missing from Our Lives" as written by Anthony Hester.

Personnel

Credits adapted from album's liner notes.[23]

  • Candice Anderson — additional vocals (tracks 2, 4, 6)
  • Pablo Arraya — assistant engineer (tracks 2–4, 6, 8, 13)
  • Jose Barboza, Jr. — tuba (track 4)
  • Miri Ben-Ari — strings (tracks 3, 14), string production and arrangements (14)
  • Printz Board — trumpet (track 3)
  • Val Brathwaite — assistant engineer (tracks 2–4, 6, 8)
  • Jason Carson — assistant engineer (tracks 9, 10)
  • Paul Cho — additional production (track 12)
  • Shvona Chung — additional finger snaps and hand claps (track 13)
  • Ted Chung — additional finger snaps and hand claps (track 13)
  • Jimmy Coleman — live drums (track 9)
  • Tom Craskey — bass (tracks 7, 9, 10)
  • Karesha Crawford — trombone (track 4)
  • Jay Curtis — guitar (track 5)
  • Andrew Dawson — engineer (tracks 7, 11, 14)
  • Jenee Dixon — trumpet (track 4)
  • Pete Donelly — engineer (track 9)
  • Jeremy Dyen — ARP synthesizer (track 9)
  • Mike Eleopoulos — assistant engineer (tracks 1–4, 6, 8, 13)
  • Aaron Fessel — engineer (track 7)
  • Michael Harmon — engineer (track 9)
  • DeVon "Devo" Harris — producer (tracks 11, 12, 14)
  • Sharief Hobley — guitar (track 11)
  • Corey Hogan — saxophone (track 4)
  • The Horn Dogs — horns (track 3)
  • Matt Hueneman — engineer (track 13)
  • Jun Ishizeki — engineer (tracks 9, 10)
  • Tim Izo — saxophone (tracks 3, 5), flute (3)
  • Glenn Jeffery — guitar (track 6)
  • Anthony Kilhoffer — engineer (tracks 1–4, 6, 8, 11–14)
  • Elizabeth Lea — trombone (track 5)
  • John Legend — vocals (all tracks), piano (1-8, 11, 13), organ (4, 5, 11), keyboards (9, 12, 14), Rhodes (11), producer (1, 8, 13), co-producer (2-4, 6, 7, 14), co-executive producer
  • Andy Manganello — engineer (tracks 2–4, 6, 8, 13)
  • Manny Marroquin — mixing (tracks 1–9, 11–14)
  • Tara Michel — additional vocals (tracks 2, 4, 6)
  • Na2 — additional vocals (track 7)
  • George Pajon, Jr. — guitar (tracks 3, 5)
  • Michael Peters — engineer (tracks 2–4, 6, 8, 11), assistant engineer (7, 14)
  • Lenesha Randolph — additional vocals (track 7)
  • Jared Robbins — assistant mix engineer (tracks 1–6, 8)
  • James Roston — additional vocals (track 7)
  • M'balia Singley — background vocals (track 9)
  • Snoop Dogg — rap vocals and spoken ad-libs (track 7)
  • Mcgowan Southworth — engineer (track 9)
  • A. Wayne Stephens — additional lead and backup vocals (track 13)
  • Brandy Stephens — additional backup vocals (track 13)
  • Brett Stephens — additional backup vocals (track 13)
  • Dionne Stephens — additional backup vocals (track 13)
  • Doris Stephens — additional backup vocals (track 13)
  • H. Anthony Stephens — additional lead and backup vocals (track 13)
  • Kashaan Stephens — additional lead and backup vocals (track 13)
  • Marjorie Stephens — additional backup vocals (track 13)
  • Phyllis E. Stephens — additional backup vocals (track 13)
  • Phyllis Y. Stephens — additional backup vocals (track 13)
  • Ronald Stephens II — additional lead and backup vocals (track 13)
  • Ronald "Bumper" Stephens II — additional finger snaps and hand claps (track 13)
  • Vada Stephens — additional backup vocals (track 13)
  • Vaughan Stephens — additional lead and backup vocals (track 13)
  • Swiss Chris — live drums (track 11)
  • Steve Tirpak — trumpet (track 7)
  • Tarrey Torae — additional lead and background vocals (track 14)
  • Dave Tozer — producer and engineer (tracks 7, 9, 10), mixing (10), guitars (2, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14), bass (2, 11, 14), keyboard programming (7, 10), drum programming (7, 9, 10)
  • Jason Villaroman — engineer (track 5)
  • Kanye West — producer (tracks 2–4, 6), co-producer and drum programming (14), rap vocals (6), executive producer
  • Melanie Williams — additional backup vocals (track 13)
  • will.i.am — producer, clav, moog bass, and drum programming (track 5)

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[45] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[46] Gold 50,000^
Ireland (IRMA)[47] Gold 7,500^
Netherlands (NVPI)[48] Gold 40,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[49] Platinum 490,199[50]
United States (RIAA)[51] 2× Platinum 2,100,000[52]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
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  2. Weiner, Jonah. "John Legend: Get Lifted". Blender. Archived from the original on April 3, 2005. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  3. Sinclair, Tom (January 10, 2005). "Get Lifted". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 15, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  4. Sullivan, Caroline (December 10, 2004). "John Legend, Get Lifted". The Guardian. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  5. Carroll, Jim (November 12, 2004). "John Legend: Get Lifted (Columbia)". The Irish Times. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  6. Fadele, Dele (December 22, 2004). "John Legend : Get Lifted". NME. Archived from the original on July 12, 2008. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  7. Caramanica, Jon (November 11, 2004). "John Legend: Get Lifted". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
  8. Ryan, Chris (February 2005). "John Legend: Get Lifted". Spin. 21 (2): 88. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  9. Jones, Steve (January 10, 2005). "'Get Lifted' reaches for the stars". USA Today. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  10. Lima, Orlando (February 2005). "John Legend: Get Lifted". Vibe. 13 (2): 144. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
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  12. "John Legend - Get Lifted CD". cduniverse.com.
  13. "John Legend - Get Lifted". IGN.
  14. Caroline Sullivan. "CD: John Legend, Get Lifted". The Guardian.
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  21. "Plugged In review". pluggedin.com.
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  49. "British album certifications – John Legend – Get Lifted". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 7, 2015. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Get Lifted in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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