Jon Batiste, We Are | Album Review 💿

Gifted, versatile Louisianan musician Jon Batiste delivers one of the year’s best and most satisfying R&B albums with We Are.

Sometimes, an album comes across your radar unexpectedly.  Sure, I knew 🎙 Jon Batiste was releasing a new album in 2021 but I hadn’t exactly ‘cleared my schedule’ to listen.  However, after hearing positive responses and having great respect for the musician Batiste is, you could say I was curious. My curiosity definitely paid off because ultimately, Batiste delivers one of the year’s best and most satisfying R&B albums with 💿 We Are.

“We Are” 

“We re, we are, we are the golden ones / We are, we are, we are, we are the chose ones.” Jon Batiste commences We Are grandly with – drum roll please – ✅ 🎵 “We Are.”  Here, the incredibly gifted musician enlists numerous collaborators including 🎙 Gospel Soul Children’s Choir and the 🎙 St. Augustine High School Marching 100.   The results are exceptional, with expressive, nuanced lead vocals by Baptiste, a soulful arrangement and production, and thoughtful songwriting.  All of the music touches are elite.

Following a strong opening statement, Jon Batiste doesn’t miss a beat on ✅ 🎵 “Tell the Truth.” The sound hearkens back to the soul of the past (think 60s), incorporating funky cues, biting horns, and gritty, assertive lead vocals.  The personality that Batiste infuses is spot-on, selling “Tell the Truth” with incredible ease.

As awesome as “Tell the Truth” is, ✅ 🎵 “Cry” is arguably the song to beat.  The soulfulness is fully ingrained, including a righteous, robust bass line anchoring things down.  Throw in a simple but effective drum groove and more commanding, colorful vocals from Jon and “Cry” is nothing to cry over in the least – save for its inspiring, ear catching brilliance! You know what else fuels that ear catching brilliance? The messaging, which laments the injustices of the world:

“For the loss of the innocence
For the struggle of the immigrants
For the wrongful imprisonment.”

“I Need You”

Man, oh man does Jon Baptiste deliver a formidable opening trio on We Are and guess what – he’s only getting started. ✅ 🎵 “I Need You” ranks among the most fun songs to grace the album. It’s a blend of classic and novel with a heaping dose of infectious. Again, Baptiste captivates us not only with his prestigious musicianship but also ample personality.  Not everyone could pull this record off. Jon is not just anybody though – he’s special.  The chorus = incredible!

If you believed you could predict what might happen next in the sequence of We Are, 🎵 “WHATCHUTALKINBOUT” definitely dispels it.  This is another soul-leaning cut mind you, but Batiste doesn’t approach it traditionally.  Rather than sing, it’s more rhythmic spoken word, chant, quasi-rapped – you really have to listen to it to fully wrap your head around it.  Perhaps it doesn’t outshine the dynamic four that precede it, but there are plenty of notable moments, including a personal favorite line from the album, “Didn’t you hear the President sang? / Obama was singing ‘Amazing Grace’.”

“Boy Hood”

Batiste is an old soul, something well represented on We Are. Even so, on ✅ 🎵 “Boy Hood,” he’s quite adept with the 21^st century R&B/hip-hop sound.  Throw in the southern flavor, given his Louisianan roots. Furthermore, he enlists fellow Louisianans 🎙 PJ Morton and 🎙 Trombone Shorty to sure up the sound.  A record that reminisces on growing up, Morton sings on the bridge, “I could still remember the mornings /Breakfast cooking half asleep still yawning,” while Trombone Shorty blesses us with those instrumental skills.  Ready for another shift? 🎵 “Movement 11’” is instrumental, showing off the prodigious skills of the Julliard graduate.  ‘Course, if you’ve ever tuned into The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, you can hear his piano skills on the regular.  

Need more neo-soul vibes in your life? Look no further than 🎵 “Adulthood.”  Once again, Jon has created the ultimate vibe.  He taps the 🎙 Hot 8 Brass Band for support and man oh man, do they do their job bringing that Louisianan sound to the forefront (at the end). Beyond the Hot 8 Brass Band, Jon keeps doing his thing. I love the pacing of the track, which gradually grows in energy and overall scope.  Even so, there’s always this laid back, chill aesthetic which is awesome.

“Freedom”

🎵 “Mavis,” an interlude, finds the legendary 🎙 Mavis Staples speaking about freedom. No surprise that a full-length track entitled ✅ 🎵 “Freedom” follows.  As you might expect, the freedom is lit to the nth degree.  Both the chorus and groove are infectious, Jon Batiste continues to be infused with soul, and the record is fresh and retro simultaneously.

“When I move my body just like this
I don’t know why
But I feel like freedom (Freedom).”

Like other gems from We Are, horns definitely provide quite a lift.  So do the backing vocals. We Are remains consistent and utterly compelling with its 11^th track, ✅ 🎵 “Show Me the Way” (featuring 🎙 Zadie Smith). Here, the falsetto is extra sweet, the harmonized vocals epic, and the soulfulness is doubled down. “Show Me the Way” is unapologetically old-school, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

“On the verge of cryin’ / I don’t feel like tryin’ / But instead, I’ll sing.”  Perhaps singing won’t solve the issues Batiste references on 🎵 “Sing,” but you’ve got to love his positivity. This is a feel-good, full-length closing cut.  The problems may not disappear, but Jon isn’t going to lose his voice in a sense. 🎵 “Until,” a brief interlude, concludes this impressive LP.

Final Thoughts 💭

I hadn’t originally planned to listen, purchase, or review We Are but thank God I decided to! I never questioned the musicianship of Jon Batiste, but We Are definitely shines a light on it.  There isn’t a bad song to be found, period.  Vocally, Batiste is a more compelling singer than I’d previously credited him as, not to mention dropping some ‘bars’ as well (that fit contextually).  All in all, We Are is sure to be among the R&B albums to beat in 2021.  Mr. Batiste puts in some serious work.

✅ Gems 💎: “We Are,” “Tell the Truth,” “Cry,” “I Need You,” “Boy Hood,” “Freedom,” “Show Me the Way”  

🎙 Jon Batiste • 💿 We Are • 🏷 Verve • 🗓 3.19.21

[📷: Verve]