"Once Again", John's new album, is many things, chief among them, it's a pop/soul album fueled by intelligence, intuition, sensuality, spirit and a creativity made possible when which includes Raphael Saadiq, Kanye West, Craig Street and will.i.am, who brought the lead single, 'Save Room' to John.

Breezy and sexy, 'Save Room' is a joyful, cool love song, inspired by an old AM radio single, 'Stormy', by the Classics IV (a 60's Top 40 band best-known for 'Spooky').

Even more so than he did on 'Get Lifted', John went boldly in his own creative direction on 'Once Again', opting to write, not from a marketing standpoint, but from his heart and soul and personal experience.

Laced with a somewhat more dramatic flair is the mid-tempo 'Where Did My Baby Go'. John takes a somewhat political perspective on the stately 'Coming Home'.

Relationship ups and downs are the subject of the swaying Kanye West-produced 'Heaven Only Knows'.

'Show Me', which John cites as one of his favorites, is hushed, haunting and deliberately ambiguous (co-produced by Raphael Saadiq and Craig Street ).

Just as Kanye West tows hip-hop along a more cerebral path, so his protege (and fellow college boy) John Legend prefers master-crafted, soulful R&B to the bump, grind and glitter of his contemporaries.

Like his Grammy-winnning debut "Get Lifted", this impeccably produced follow-up runs a knowing gamut of styles and eras, taking in Motown, crooning, polished pop and even a hint of bossa nova.

You can forgive Legend's showtune and piano lounge moments for his gorgeous, lived-in voice. Whether whispering mournfully on 'Show Me' or giving it the come-hither purr on 'Slow Dance', it gently nudges the heart into submission.

John Legend is a rare breed of talent in the music business, more particularly the R&B industry today; he is unafraid to indulge into the soulful sound of R&B prominent in the 1960s and the 1970s. While GET LIFTED was an excellent portrait of anachronistic soul music in the twenty-first century, ONCE AGAIN just might be an even more soulful example than its predecessor. It is hard to say that ONCE AGAIN is better than the platinum, Grammy-winning debut, but it certainly is on equal footing if it isn't more daring than the exceptional debut.

The album opens up strong with haunting first single, the soul wrenching "Save Room" which features a very vintage sounding production coupled with sample "Stormy". The effect initially seemed a bit bland to me when I first heard "Save Room", but it has grown on me to a point that I really dig what Legend is doing as a musician.

Just as amazing is the second track "Heaven", which features a sample from soul classic "Heaven Knows". The Kanye West produced track features infectious, soulful repetition of the line "heaven only knows, heaven only knnows". Legend here sounds as soulful as he has ever sounds, especially coupled with West's great hip-hop drum programming giving this track both a retro and contemporary feel.

"Stereo", track three, features some of the most creative songwriting I've seen in a while. The drum programming is incredibly hard, for a soul track particularly making it have the "oomph" of classic soul music with a "dash" of "2006" as well. The organ adds a whole other dimension to the music and the bass line is incredibly deep and "bumping" for lack of better words. The chorus is incredibly catchy when Legend sings: "her favorite colors be platinum & gold, she only love in stereo, she only love in stereo...".

"Show Me" is an uncharacteristic sounding Legend track where Legend particularly sounds like a singer-songwriter. For another musician, this feat may have bombed horribly, but Legend sounds exceptional here and the production work by Raphael Saadiq works perfectly here helming perhaps one of Legend's best, most potent tracks ever. "Each Day Gets Better" features soul sample "In These Changing Times" and maintains the soulful nature of the grand 70s. Legend falsetto is particular strong here and the resonance of his voice is chilling and astounding! Again, it is the fifth straight consistent number in a row.

Who would've thought to write a song about "Public Display of Affection"? John Legend does and it makes for one of the most soulful tracks of the album with strong instrumental backgrounds and exceptionally strong vocals by Legend. On "P.D.A. (We Just Don't Care)", Legend sings so easily without straining his vocals or without using an overabundance of melisma and it is just a stunning effect. "Slow Dance" possesses one of the truest vintage feels of the album that screams 1960s soul specifically. The guitars sound great and Legends great pianistic skills here truly add the "cherry on top". Definitely one of my very favorites.

While every R&B artist somehow incorporates "sex" into their songs, Legend does it more tastefully, or maybe it is just more "credible" in a sense. Listening to "Again", Legend gives the situation of having sex over and over when he meant to stop after just one time. Sure, it's a track about sex, but it's not as ghetto or dirty as a number of other tracks in the same vein. It is just as soulful and as refined as all of Legend's other tracks on this very exceptional album. The minimalism here hearkens back to Legends "ace" "Ordinary People".

"Maxine" is another stellar track with percussion here given it a little bit of a different flavor than the other tracks. The production work is as strong as any on ONCE AGAIN. The last couple of tracks on ONCE AGAIN aren't as stellar per say as the rest, but none of them are bad and they are all worth listening to repeatedly. "Where Did My Baby Go" may not have the same punch as "Stereo", but it is definitely stronger than most of the other R&B tracks out from different artists. Skipping over "Maxine's Interlude", "Another Again" possesses a very nice sound overall that is lush and the soulful feel hearkens back to a vintage songwriting/production work by Gamble & Huff for say Teddy Pendergrass. "Coming Home" closes the album. It is a very nice closing track featuring Legend's piano skills coupled with some very beautiful string writing here; it is another beautifully, masterfully-done collaboration between Legend and Black Eyed Peas frontman/producer Will Adams aka Will.i.am.

Overall, Legend has brought the "heat" for the second time, and it just may be stronger than the first time. With the so proclaimed "curse" of winning Best New Artist, Legend doesn't seem to have any problems producing new material as strong and potent as his last nor does he seem to have a lack of fanbase. I personally think this album may be one of the strongest R&B albums of 2006, ranking up with the best of the best.

This one is close to perfect in my eyes.

It's hard not to feel underwhelmed by this follow-up to Legend's major-label debut "Get Lifted", which secured three million sales through a judicious blend of his gospel roots and hip-hop ties.

The lunge for the mainstream is too pronounced, and probably ill-advised, inasmuch as it places him in direct comparison with more expressive, adept singers.

The better tracks make best use of Legend's vocal mix of Bill Withers' warmth with the reflective nature of Donny Hathaway: the smooth, Philly soul-styled " Each Day Gets Better", and " Slow Dance", whose sleek early-Sixties R&B sound recalls The Impressions and "Groovin'" -era Young Rascals.

But too many seem like water-treading cast-offs from Legend's high-profile producers Kanye West, Raphael Saadiq and will.i.am.

Subtle Tropicalia influences, such as the backing vocal section of " Save Room" and the bossa nova groove of "Maxine", add colour, as does the quietly discursive, Hendrix-esque guitar on "Show Me"; but elsewhere the tracks seem bland and hurried, and in the case of the bizarre blend of chamber music and cabaret ballad that is "Where Did My Baby Go", simply wrong-headed.

HIGHLIGHTS : 'Slow Dance', 'Show Me', ' Save Room', ' Maxine ', 'Another Again ' and ' Heaven '.

There are always problems with a sophamore CD. The biggest problem with ONCE AGAIN is GET LIFTED...after that stunning CD, this was a hard act to follow and it did not quite make it. Mr Legend is, after collaborations with Kanye West, Sergio Mendes and his contribution to the Luther tribute album, this low profiled man had us all aquiver with anticipation, there are no collaborations here however. In the main this seems to be contemplative and personal. A man and his piano, apparently obsessed with Maxine. An honest and sweet CD. Stand out tracks are "Save Room", "Heaven" and "P.D.A (we just don't care)" are fine pieces, but no "Ordinary People". There is much to enjoy, but you are advised to take it on its own merits and try not to compare.

For better or worse, singer / songwriter / musician John Legend's sophomore album, "Once Again", is exactly what its title implies. Essentially, it's much like his debut album, "Get Lifted" - it effectively combines elements of R&B, Soul, Gospel, Hip-Hop and other genres into an enjoyable mix; John Legend's vocals are still as gritty and soulful as ever; "Again", a stellar piano-guitar ballad that depicts the ups and downs of a relationship, is very similar to his signature hit "Ordinary People"; and ballads and slow jams definitely flesh out the majority of the album.

Thankfully, a few sonic and structural tweaks (a.k.a. a few extra sounds, no guest appearances, some sexual subject matter, etc.) make "Once Again" differentiate itself from "Get Lifted", if only by a fare bit. "Stereo" is definitely one of the album's more recognizable songs, using dark, minimalist production as John Legend sings of letting go of a materialistic, sexually satisfying groupie; "Maxine", another sonic highlight, is a dreamy ballad where John Legend sings relaxingly over soft piano keys and an equally soft bassline; and "Save Room", with its tastefully lusty tone, is a smooth slow jam that better utilises John Legend's wannabe-player / lover persona, partially because of the minimalist instrumentation and organ sample producer Will.i.am provides.

However, the mid-section of this album definitely provides the album's best tracks. "P.D.A. (We Just Don't Care)" is just as carefree and shamelessly sexual as its title implies, a fact enforced by the piano-driven production and John Legend's joyous vocal delivery; "Slow Dance" is a brilliant R&B / Soul song with well-crafted lyrics, John Legend's once-again (no pun intended) great vocals, soulful background vocals and laid-back electric guitar; and, of course, the previously mentioned piano-guitar ballad "Again".

What may peeve some people off is this album's lack of originality - like I said earlier in this review, the difference between this album and "Get Lifted" isn't really that big. "Each Day Gets Better" is thematically reminiscent of "Live It Up", and Miri Ben-Ari's blissful violin work definitely stood out more on the latter than the instrumentation on the former; "Again" is similar to "Ordinary People" (can't believe I said "again" "once again" - get it? Lol...umm...no :S); and "Coming Home", as beautiful as it is on its own accord, is oddly reminiscent of Michael Buble's song "Home", which I personally consider to be much more memorable.

Then there's the of filler - "Heaven", an effortless "Ordinary People" knockoff that's not only boring, but, in typically unoriginal fashion, equates sex with love ("Lets get back to touching / And we'll be back on solid ground" - sometimes it works, but not here).

Altogether though, this is a great album. At least this album has a similar structure to a great album, which is more than I can say for 50 Cent and (to a less cruel extent) Ashanti. 4 stars!

5 Best Tracks (IMO) (In No Order):

"Again"

"Slow Dance"

"P.D.A. (We Just Don't Care)"

"Stereo"

"Save Room"