John Legend - 'Live From Philadelphia'

If there's anything at all disappointing about John Legend's Live From Philadelphia, it's that the album, which was released in the U.S. on Jan. 15, 2008, is only available at Target stores. This is a solid album that deserves widespread release and publicity instead of being snuck into the marketplace under the radar. The release, which consists mainly of songs from Legend's two studio albums, (2004's Grammy-winning Get Lifted and 2006's Once Again), is a high quality, well-produced release that further cements Legend's well-deserved reputation as a great live performer.

This might be his first live album for Sony/Columbia Records - and third for the label overall - but John Legend's no stranger to issuing live releases. Between 2001 and 2003, a pre-fame Legend (then known by his real name, John Stephens) released three albums that were recorded at small, intimate venues: Live at Jimmy's Uptown, Live at SOB's and Soul Sessions Vol. 1: Live at the Knitting Factory. So technically, at this point in his career, Stephens/Legend has put out twice as many live albums as studio albums.

And like all his albums - both the studio ones and the live releases alike - there's a number of high-quality performances here, plus some lackluster material. The album starts off on an energetic note, with a way-too-brief (less than two minutes) rendition of Legend's verse from the Jay-Z song "Do You Wanna Ride," then segues into one several of his own songs. Along with the material from his studio albums, Legend sings a few cover songs, including a duet of "Where is the Love?" with Corinne Bailey Rae and solid version of The Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)." The best cover, however, is his version of Roberta Flack's "Feel Like Makin' Love," which is cleverly woven into a medley with Legend's own "PDA (We Just Don't Care)."

As far as production values, those on this album are very good. The sound is crisp, clean and sharp and there's no obvious studio tinkering, such as the overdubbing of vocals. The instrumentation sounds as sharp as the vocals at times, but overall they come across as lackluster compared to the outstanding vocals. The only other flaw in the album is that a couple of Legend songs, the bland "Again" and the meaningful but depressing anti-war song "Coming Home" drag the album and concert down somewhat. But other than that, Live From Philadelphia is solid and definitely worth finding if you're a Legend fan.