Earth, Wind & Fire

[Soulstation1]

We need an E W & F thread

they are playin' tonite in tucson!

it seems like it's gonna rain and they are playing outdoors.

anyone see them recently?

ss1

[Free For All]

I'm a big fan of EW&F. It was horn bands like them as well as Chicago, The Crusaders, Tower of Power and BS&T that started me down the path to jazz in the 70s. My favorite recording would have to be All 'N All. Fantasy, Serpentine Fire as well as tunes from other recordings including That's The Way Of The World, Getaway, Shining Star are all favorites. The Greatest Hits CD (cranked, of course) was a party favorite back in the 80s. I hear their live show is awesome. I've not seen them live but I'm sure you'll have a good time ss1- let us know how it was!

[Harold_Z]

"Shining Star", "Way Of the World", and "Got To Get You Into My Life". Great stuff.

[Harold_Z]

Any way of knowing how many of the original guys are still with it?

[Jazzmoose]

"Shining Star", "Way Of the World", and "Got To Get You Into My Life". Great stuff.

This may be the only group that came out of that "Sgt. Pepper" fiasco lookin' good!

[DrJ]

LOL, Jazzmoose!

BIG Earth, Wind, and Fire fan...in fact, even back in junior high (77-78), during my diehard Zeppelin/Yes/Eagles/etc, feathered hair youthful foolishness, when I wouldn't have been caught dead listening to most of what I perceived as "dance oriented" music, I owned THAT'S THE WAY OF THE WORLD and played it to death, particularly the rockish "Shining Star," but I followed them through all their albums and phases from that point on. EW&F I would guess served as a major bridge for MANY of us early teenaged suburban FM rockers into the world of funk and soul.

These guys could PLAY and WRITE and SING and ARRANGE like nobody's business! All Music Guide has this to say about the visionary Maurice White:

"White, a former session drummer for legendary Chicago-based labels OKeh Records and Chess Records (Etta James, Fontella Bass, Billy Stewart, Ramsey Lewis, Sonny Stitt's 1966 LP Soul in the Night, the Radiants, among others), aspired to form a band like no other pop music had ever known."

Pretty heavy credentials for a "dance band" musician, eh?

[JSngry]

Also, White subbed for Elvin w/Trane on a Chicago engagement once.

I'm told that Andrew Woolfolk was a student of Joe Henderson's at some point. And Don Myrick, GREAT player, even if not an "official" member. He was around that late '60s/early 70s Cadet scene that was producing some pretty interesting music, "commercial", but with a twist. So, as Tony mentioned, was White.

EWF's Warner Brothers albums (their first two) present a VERY different band, one with much looser, political, and, at times, free-jazz leanings than they cane to be known for. Although not "essential", they make for interesting listening historically.

This is DEFINITELY one of my favorite bands!

For me, the peak of EWF was when they were working in tandem with producer Charles Stepney. Their Columbia albums had been building in coherency and identity, but when Stepney stepped in, out came THAT'S THE WAY OF THE WORLD, one of the greatest records anybody's ever made, period. They followed that up with GRATITUDE, one of the greatest LIVE albums anybody's ever made, period, and it included a side of Stepney-produced studio material, including "You Can't Hide Love", one of my favorites. Then, somewhere during the production of SPIRIT, Stepney dies and White was left on his own. I'll not say that that was the beginning of the end, far from it. But Stepney seemed to have the knack of countering White's "heaviness" with a "lightness" that was damn near irresistable on both intellectual and emotional levels. Left to his own devices, White turned out some MONSTER productions, the likes of which have yet to be equalled. For a while there, EWF was appealing to EVERYBODY, including "serious" musicians, and that seldom happens with a "pop" band, especially a SOUL band ("serious" musicians tend to gravitate towards the more "esoteric" pop stuff). It was truly great music, great playing, and near-superhuman production that still appeals greatly to me today. I wish more pop music aspired to such a level of positivism, in both lyrics and performance. But I'm getting old, so what do you expect me to say?

Still, I myself missed the touch that Stepney brought, and if I have JUST a little less enthusiasm for the post-Stepney work, it's a difference that nobody but me would notice in a lineup. It's not that without him was less special, it's just that with him was more special, if that makes any sense.

[John L]

Also, White subbed for Elvin w/Trane on a Chicago engagement once.

Now that's an interesting piece of trivia!

I started listening to Earth, Wind, and Fire with the "Head to the Sky" album. I still really love that record, especially "Evil." That was an original and dynamic sound. But it was short lived.

I remember when I first heard "Shinning Star" on the radio. I couldn't believe that it was the same EWF. It sounded to me like a Kool and the Gang ripoff. (It came out on the heels of the incredibly dynamic and underrated "Wild and Peaceful.") But the album "Way of the World" eventually won me over in a big way.

When "Let's Groove" hit the charts in 1981, I didn't think to much about it at the time. Now it is one of the first tracks that I reach for when I want to boogie.

Edited August 17, 2003 by John L

[Jazzmoose]

Well, once again you guys are damaging my wallet! I saw the 2 disc The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire in the store today and decided to give it a shot. Wow! What memories!! You know, listening to this, I can almost remember the seventies as a good time!

[Soulstation1]

i did not attend the concert and have regretted every day since.

i am removing my head from my .....

reasons is one of my jamzzz

also that's the way of the world.

maurice white WAS there and i'd say philip bailey was too.

i have not confirmed bailey yet, but i know he's been playin' with them.

i didn't know that m. white has parkinson's.

a ewf ?

in the dvd "drumline" they play a ewf song. maybe 1/4 into the dvd.

they do not give credit info at the end of the dvd.

my friends and i can not figure it out.

is it "love music"?

i don't own the dvd and have only the greatest hits cd.

my sister has the box set and my mom has the original lps.

ss1

[Guest GregM]

EWF's SACDs are definitely worth picking up over the CDs. Gratitude, All'n All and a "new" release of an old concert that was very well recorded: Alive in '75. They were at the peak of their powers. The All'n All JSACD has reference-quality sound. Incredible stuff.