Catcher10
Earth, Wind & Fire are my most listened to and without a doubt my favorite R&B group....All due to this album. This their 9th album, show cases the amazing musical creativity of Maurice White. After the group took a long trip to Brazil and I also believe Egypt, they were inspired by the sites and sounds of both. This album has many musical references to Brazil, the album artwork is directly related to Egypt with futuristic references in the artwork too. It started with the pyramids and then ends with space flight....
Serpentine Fire starts the album and sets the bar very high. The slow beat of drums, percussion, cow bells and rhythmic motion helps this one get the album going. Maurice's singing is some of the best here, and ofcourse the EW&F horn section (eventually named the Phenix Horns) is at its best on this one.
Fantasy, the megahit of this album. About a man who takes a ride on a spaceship to find his dreams, finds the place called Fantasy. Verdine White's bass playing is so tight, sets the pace on this one clearly and Phillip Bailey's amazing voice...just superb.
Then we get one of the many "interludes" of this album, which is kind of a EW&F trademark. This first one features Maurice playing his kalimba, which is an African finger piano, as he plucks it to make the distinctive African sound, again this becomes a trademark sound of EW&F. Jupiter continues their theme of space/fantasy travel and features Al McKay's great rhythm guitar work and some of my favorite EW&F horn work. The whole group shows off their vocals on this one.
Earth, Wind & Fire are known for many things, on this album they solidified one long standing attribute of the group.....the funky, hot, mesmerizing love songs. Back in the 70's in Jr high, I soooo remember doing the thang on the dance floor with that cute girl to the tunes of Earth, Wind & Fire. To this day if I play a bunch of their slow songs, the wife knows what comes next! This album has three of the most amazingly written slow/love songs in R&B Loves' Holiday, I'll Write A Song For You and Be Ever Wonderful.
The 2nd one features Phillip Bailey at his best vocally, so smooth in his falsetto voice...also some great 12 string acoustic work by Al McKay. Maurice White sings lead on the other two, but Maurice and Phillip together is vocal harmony, literally.
Magic Mind, a quick funky tune featuring all the singers at their best, catchy chorus keeps this one afloat. Runnin' (instrumental) just showcases the groups high level of instrumental talent, starting with a nice keyboard/synth entry by Larry Dunn. Much Brazilian musical influence on this one, percussion, horns, drums and the trademark EW&F vocal harmonies.
EW&F encompass all that is good about music....Jazz, Fusion, Blues, Rock and World musical influences. This album has it all. A perfect place to start if you have any interest in one of the most influential R&B groups of the 70' and 80's......I have seen them live 6 times, their shows are amazing, you will not sit down, your feet, body, head are moving the whole time.
Nothing less than 5 stars....simply a classic.