Oh happy, happy, joy, joy!

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http://www.huffingtonpost...89405.html

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NEW YORK -- Earth, Wind and Fire initially wanted to release its new album around the 2012 presidential election, but the band realized it wasn't satisfied with the songs it created.

"We have a lot more bells and whistles in place now and the record is better," singer Philip Bailey said in a recent interview.

"Now, Then & Forever," the group's first album in eight years, will be released Sept. 10. Bailey said the band called co-founding member Larry Dunn and others to help produce its latest sound.

"I said, `Let's go back to the drawing board,'" he recalled. "It's a great representation of who Earth, Wind and Fire is now, but not departing from the classic sound."

"It doesn't sound like we're trying to be anyone other than Earth, Wind and Fire," added bassist Verdine White.

The band – which includes founder Maurice White and Ralph Johnson – has worked on the album for two years. Its new single, "My Promise," was released Monday and was co-written by Academy Award nominee and Grammy winner Siedah Garrett. Fans who pre-order the album will have their names put in the album packaging.

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I wonder...is this an album of all-new songs? Or an album featuring remakes of the old songs,with a few new tunes?

SoulAlive said:

I wonder...is this an album of all-new songs? Or an album featuring remakes of the old songs,with a few new tunes?

All new material....10 new songs:

http://www.nowthenandforever.com/

Love it!

Allnall said:

SoulAlive said:

I wonder...is this an album of all-new songs? Or an album featuring remakes of the old songs,with a few new tunes?

All new material....10 new songs:

http://www.nowthenandforever.com/

Thanks for the link. Pre-Order before July 3 and they'll put your name on a poster that comes with the CD.

This is exactly how I want EWF to sound. Cool to see Larry Dunn back in the fold too.

Oooh i'm gettin' my groove on to this!!

Can't wait to buy the album.

Think Imma gonna buy tix to their show in September!

purplethunder3121 said:

Think Imma gonna buy tix to their show in September!

Diggin' it! Reminds me of "Fall In Love With Me" from "Powerlight!"

[Edited 6/24/13 17:30pm]

Diggin' it! Reminds me of "Fall In Love With Me" from "Powerlight!" They still sound BANGIN'!

Sounds like a fun song! I love how they stay true to their sound and don't try to conform themselves to "whats currently in" in the music industry unlike some other groups...'cough' Bar-kays 'cough'

This could be good. I will check it out.

I am also very happy that they stayed true to their core sound.....many of the current artists...Bruno Mars, J. Timberlake have clearly used some EWF influences in their music, so it is high time that the Mighty Elements are now taking the opportunity to do what they do best.

Missing Maurice of course.....damn that Parkinson's...but Phil carries the torch...hearing lots of Verdine's bass underpinning the groove...

I had to laugh at a recent fan review I recall seeing on one of the various blogs somewhere...who commented that it was as if the group woke up from an almost 40 year coma to release something reminiscent of their best.......

Allnall said:

I am also very happy that they stayed true to their core sound.....many of the current artists...Bruno Mars, J. Timberlake have clearly used some EWF influences in their music, so it is high time that the Mighty Elements are now taking the opportunity to do what they do best.

Missing Maurice of course.....damn that Parkinson's...but Phil carries the torch...hearing lots of Verdine's bass underpinning the groove...

I had to laugh at a recent fan review I recall seeing on one of the various blogs somewhere...who commented that it was as if the group woke up from an almost 40 year coma to release something reminiscent of their best.......

will Maurice be a part of this new album? Without him,it won't feel like an EW&F album to me

Verdine: June 2013 interview

[Edited 6/27/13 17:55pm]

so,did any of you pre-order this?

Allnall said:

I am also very happy that they stayed true to their core sound.....many of the current artists...Bruno Mars, J. Timberlake have clearly used some EWF influences in their music, so it is high time that the Mighty Elements are now taking the opportunity to do what they do best.

Missing Maurice of course.....damn that Parkinson's...but Phil carries the torch...hearing lots of Verdine's bass underpinning the groove...

I had to laugh at a recent fan review I recall seeing on one of the various blogs somewhere...who commented that it was as if the group woke up from an almost 40 year coma to release something reminiscent of their best.......

I can only imagine the group has to toe the line between fans who want the classic EWF sound and the ones who don't want them to sound like 1976 all over again. This new song is classic EWF but not quite the banger that All IN The Way was from The Promise album. That album was classic EWF through and through. EWF has experimented with different sounds and that was evident on their last release Illumination which was the first album they worked with outside producers. They even did a song with Will i am which was cool and one with Kelly Rowland and Big Boi This Is the Way I Feel which was totally different from EWF. I also remember them dipping into New Jack with Divine on Millenium. I look forward to this new cd but damn only 10 songs.

SoulAlive said:

so,did any of you pre-order this?

I did.

phunkdaddy said:

This new song is classic EWF but not quite the banger that All IN The Way was from The Promise album.

I agree "All In The Way" is a perfect example of EW&F staying true to their original sound.I really think that old school funk/R&B bands should just stick with their classic sound,instead of trying to update their style to fit in with today's music scene.There's no point,anyway.Young kids already have their own favorite artists to listen to.They're not gonna rush out and buy a CD from a band that was popular 30 years ago.That recent Bar Kays single was atrocious...total garbage.Thankfully,EW&F won't be going that route.

OlSchool said:

SoulAlive said:

so,did any of you pre-order this?

I did.

Me, too!

MickyDolenz said:

Verdine: June 2013 interview

[Edited 6/27/13 17:55pm]

Well ya learn something new everyday cause I'd have sworn in a court of law that Verdine White was born with a bass in his hand.

Thanks for posting.

And whoever says music legends can't rock long hair and perms forever...

phunkdaddy said:

Allnall said:

I am also very happy that they stayed true to their core sound.....many of the current artists...Bruno Mars, J. Timberlake have clearly used some EWF influences in their music, so it is high time that the Mighty Elements are now taking the opportunity to do what they do best.

Missing Maurice of course.....damn that Parkinson's...but Phil carries the torch...hearing lots of Verdine's bass underpinning the groove...

I had to laugh at a recent fan review I recall seeing on one of the various blogs somewhere...who commented that it was as if the group woke up from an almost 40 year coma to release something reminiscent of their best.......

I can only imagine the group has to toe the line between fans who want the classic EWF sound and the ones who don't want them to sound like 1976 all over again. This new song is classic EWF but not quite the banger that All IN The Way was from The Promise album. That album was classic EWF through and through. EWF has experimented with different sounds and that was evident on their last release Illumination which was the first album they worked with outside producers. They even did a song with Will i am which was cool and one with Kelly Rowland and Big Boi This Is the Way I Feel which was totally different from EWF. I also remember them dipping into New Jack with Divine on Millenium. I look forward to this new cd but damn only 10 songs.

Agree 100% with you re: The Promise........a very good album from EWF considering it was 30+ years past their glory days.....my one reservation, which was the same reason I has issues with Millenium, was that Maurice went with machine-driven production on most of the tunes....yes, it was pretty much classic EWF, but listening to a song like Never, I wonder how much better it would have been if real instruments, etc...had been incorporated.

I have some fond memories of Illumination since they played quite a few tracks from that CD when they toured back in 2005/2006, but, with Will I Am, and Sleepy Brown, I didnt really want my EWF blended like that, despite it was not a bad effort overall.

Legacy Groups such as EWF are always in a tough position if they have successfully survived being relevant 30+ yrs past their glory days.....if they try to sound too much like those glory days, some folk will say, they sound the same, and the music cant touch those classics so why are they bothering to keep recording, whereas if they try to incorporate current trends those same folk say they don't sound like themselves, and instead are trying to chase others instead of staying true to their sound and being confident in what they stand for....

Of course, this all depends if they are trying to please old Fire-Heads, such as myself, or newer kids who never heard of EWF, but know of them thru movies that continue to play their music, or commercials using their hits...or maybe they just want to keep being inspired and challenged themselves, and do what they want...which may not necessarily please any one of us....so it really seems like a potential no-win situation.

What is nice to see is that all age groups are represented at their shows so even though the kids, teenagers, or those in their 20s who may not care as much about the fact that an artist or group actually plays an instrument, or that they can actually sing without help of a machine, are at least being exposed to artists that had a vision in terms of what they wanted to do or at least cared enough about creating a unique approach to their craft that they stand apart from other artists of their era...

[Edited 6/28/13 5:51am]

The Promise is a superb album.My only complaint is that there are too many slow songs.I would have liked a better balance of uptempo tracks and ballads.But the production throughout is great and there really isn't a bad song on it.

SoulAlive said:

The Promise is a superb album.My only complaint is that there are too many slow songs.I would have liked a better balance of uptempo tracks and ballads.But the production throughout is great and there really isn't a bad song on it.

I dont disagree with you either.....for an album that mostly uses drum machines, and not live instruments, it is very good, and is very much in the EWF style....and yes, it is a little too ballad heavy....no argument there......I just think that it would have been so much better if EWF had recorded the album from top to bottom all live...that is their forte....Live music...

I recall that Maurice had to change ships at the last minute, so to speak, after listening to what Wyclef Jean had to offer EWF- Production and song-wise....and scrapped that entire project....including a song that Eric Benet had sung with Phil....

Anyway, I am happy with what I have heard so far from this upcoming new album.....even without Maurice's vocals, My Promise is a very good addition to EWF post 1981 (the last time I believe that one of their singles hit #1 on the RnB or Pop chart....SOS and Thinking of You I think topped the Dance charts during 1987)

[Edited 6/28/13 10:31am]

Allnall said:

SoulAlive said:

The Promise is a superb album.My only complaint is that there are too many slow songs.I would have liked a better balance of uptempo tracks and ballads.But the production throughout is great and there really isn't a bad song on it.

I dont disagree with you either.....for an album that mostly uses drum machines, and not live instruments, it is very good, and is very much in the EWF style....and yes, it is a little too ballad heavy....no argument there......I just think that it would have been so much better if EWF had recorded the album from top to bottom all live...that is their forte....Live music...

I recall that Maurice had to change ships at the last minute, so to speak, after listening to what Wyclef Jean had to offer EWF- Production and song-wise....and scrapped that entire project....including a song that Eric Benet had sung with Phil....

Yeah,there is footage of those recording sessions in the Shining Stars documentary.In one clip,Wyclef is playing a song for Maurice....it has big,orchestral intro and to me,Maurice looks like he is thinking "what the hell is this?"...LOL...I also remember Questlove submitted a song to EW&F but Maurice rejected it,saying it "sounds like 1975".It would be interesting to hear some of the many EW&F outtakes from the past.When they were recording the Touch The World album in 1987,they listened to (and rejected) numerous demos and songs,including one from Larry Blackmon of Cameo.

SoulAlive said:

Allnall said:

I dont disagree with you either.....for an album that mostly uses drum machines, and not live instruments, it is very good, and is very much in the EWF style....and yes, it is a little too ballad heavy....no argument there......I just think that it would have been so much better if EWF had recorded the album from top to bottom all live...that is their forte....Live music...

I recall that Maurice had to change ships at the last minute, so to speak, after listening to what Wyclef Jean had to offer EWF- Production and song-wise....and scrapped that entire project....including a song that Eric Benet had sung with Phil....

Yeah,there is footage of those recording sessions in the Shining Stars documentary.In one clip,Wyclef is playing a song for Maurice....it has big,orchestral intro and to me,Maurice looks like he is thinking "what the hell is this?"...LOL...I also remember Questlove submitted a song to EW&F but Maurice rejected it,saying it "sounds like 1975".It would be interesting to hear some of the many EW&F outtakes from the past.When they were recording the Touch The World album in 1987,they listened to (and rejected) numerous demos and songs,including one from Larry Blackmon of Cameo.

The song with Wyclef is called "Runaway." It wasn't for an EWF ablum, it was for and is on Wyclef's second solo album "The Ecleftic."

Runaway- Wyclef feat. Earth, Wind & Fire

[Edited 6/29/13 15:51pm]