At the 2013 Soul Train Awards,
Jennifer Hudson sang "I Can't Describe," the first single from her third album, which was ten months away from being released. Produced and written by
Pharrell Williams, the song could pass for a synthesizer-less cover of a bounding early-'80s post-disco jam created by
Kashif and his associates for
Melba Moore or
Evelyn King. For the Soul Train performance,
Hudson was joined by
King and
Chaka Khan (as well as guest rapper
T.I.), and the backing band easily slipped into
King's
Kashif collaboration "I'm in Love" and
Rufus & Chaka's "Do You Love What You Feel." It was a bold way to honor those who came before
Hudson, who previously drew from '70s and early-'80s styles in the likes of "Spotlight" and "Everybody Needs Love." That spirit fills
JHUD, a predominantly uptempo affair with a big chunk of material that recalls the disco and more electronic post-disco eras.
Williams provides two other songs in a similar mode, both of which are uncomplicated but stimulating, built on rumbling/throbbing basslines. One of them, unfortunately, is spiked by
Iggy Azalea. For "It's Your World,"
Hudson turns to fellow Chicagoans
Terry Hunter and
R. Kelly. The drum intro is almost identical to that of
Roy Ayers Ubiquity's "Running Away," while what follows is closer to the 1978 version of the vibraphonist's "Sweet Tears," graced with soft electronic piano and made harder with house-strength kick drums.
Hudson, however, is in full-on diva mode, promising to make her duet partner's dreams come true. Some of the songs could have been fronted by anybody.
Hudson occasionally sounds disconnected from the material, but the singer, as powerful as ever, still leaves her indelible mark on everything -- even "Walk It Out," a pattering
Timbaland/
J-Roc production that one can imagine being fronted by
Justin Timberlake. Fans of
Hudson's gospel-fied ballads get one treat at the very end -- a stirring but incomplete/unedited-sounding
Mali Music collaboration that lasts seven minutes and quickly fades out.