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Reply #90 posted 03/22/18 2:30pm

SoulAlive

RJOrion said:

SoulAlive said:

albums_touchtheworld.jpg

All throughout the first half of 1987,I was hearing that Earth Wind & Fire had gotten back together and were recording a new album.I was thrilled.They had been gone since 1983 and I was really missing them.Maurice and Philip released solo albums during that time,but I was really longing for another EW&F album.Touch The World was released in the fall of '87 and I think it's a very good album.Highlights include the first single "System Of Survival","You And I","Victim Of The Modern Heart","Here Today And Gone Tomorrow",and "Evil Roy".One track,"Thinking Of You" (which was the second single) features the Emotions on background vocals and it sounds just like old times....classic EW&F sound.Unlike the previous album,Electric Universe,this time around they don't totally abandon their classic sound.They simply update it just a little and the results are very,very impressive.

this lp was out at a bad time in my life...i only remember getting into "System Of Survival" and seeing "Thinking Of You" getting played for the Soul Train Line on TV (thank you Rosie Perez cool )...i dont even listen to that lp much anymore...dark times...

well,now that those "dark times" are long gone,give it another listen smile it really is a good album.If I had to choose my favorite 80s album by EW&F,it would either be this one or Raise.

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Reply #91 posted 03/22/18 3:02pm

Hamad

avatar

Love their contributions to Deniece Williams & The Emotions' albums the most, but I also love their work with Ramsey Lewis

Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future...

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Reply #92 posted 03/22/18 5:35pm

UnderMySun

SoulAlive said:

albums_touchtheworld.jpg

All throughout the first half of 1987,I was hearing that Earth Wind & Fire had gotten back together and were recording a new album.I was thrilled.They had been gone since 1983 and I was really missing them.Maurice and Philip released solo albums during that time,but I was really longing for another EW&F album.Touch The World was released in the fall of '87 and I think it's a very good album.Highlights include the first single "System Of Survival","You And I","Victim Of The Modern Heart","Here Today And Gone Tomorrow",and "Evil Roy".One track,"Thinking Of You" (which was the second single) features the Emotions on background vocals and it sounds just like old times....classic EW&F sound.Unlike the previous album,Electric Universe,this time around they don't totally abandon their classic sound.They simply update it just a little and the results are very,very impressive.

[Edited 3/18/18 23:23pm]

I would probably rank this as my 3rd favorite EWF album after Raise! and I Am. I have one question that I've been wondering about for like 30 years (can't believe it's been that long since it was released). Does anyone know who Skylark is? He/She/They are credited with writing System of Survival as well as additional background vocals. I remember a Video Soul interview at the time and Donnie Simpson flat-out asked Maurice if Skylark was really Prince. Maurice definitely said that it wasn't.

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Reply #93 posted 03/22/18 5:50pm

SoulAlive

as far as I know,Skylark is a real songwriter/producer....but yeah,he was really mysterious. smile Don’t know a lot about him.
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Reply #94 posted 03/22/18 5:57pm

SoulAlive

Interestingly,producer/artist Bobby Nunn submitted a track called “Rocket 2 U” which Maurice liked a lot and wanted to record it for the album.However,somehow MCA Records got a hold of the song first and wanted it for one of their groups...The Jets.It became a big hit for them.
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Reply #95 posted 03/23/18 11:43am

SoulAlive

I think most of us would agree that 1973's Head To The Sky is one of their finest albums music "Clover" is my favorite track

Image result for ewf head to the sky album

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Reply #96 posted 03/24/18 7:51pm

206Michelle

I love EW&F! I saw them in August 2016 at the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City and they were INCREDIBLE! It’s the BEST concert I’ve ever attended. (Unfortunately, I never got to see Prince live.)
Live 4 Love ~ Love is God, God is love, Girls and boys love God above
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Reply #97 posted 03/24/18 11:57pm

SoulAlive

How many of you seen the 1975 movie That's The Way Of The World and what do you think of it?

Image result for earth wind and fire that's the way of the world dvd

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Reply #98 posted 03/25/18 12:50am

Hamad

avatar

SoulAlive said:

How many of you seen the 1975 movie That's The Way Of The World and what do you think of it?



Image result for earth wind and fire that's the way of the world dvd








Once. And that’s too many. I didn’t know that the album was supposed to be a soundtrack too until these recent years.
Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future...

Twitter: https://twitter.com/QLH82
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Reply #99 posted 03/25/18 8:30am

RJOrion

SoulAlive said:

How many of you seen the 1975 movie That's The Way Of The World and what do you think of it?



Image result for earth wind and fire that's the way of the world dvd









i have the movie...i watch the opening scene over and over again (them tuning their instruments and then recording the song "Thats The Way Of The World")...ive watched the whole flick a few times but now i just skip through most of the dialogue...i just watch the scenes that have EWF acting or performing...not even a young Harvey Keitel could save this awful movie...its still a masteriece to me because of my lifelong EW&F worship...
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Reply #100 posted 03/25/18 8:52am

SoulAlive

yeah,the movie isn't very good at all.Such a shame that EW&F's brilliant songs weren't used effectively.

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Reply #101 posted 03/28/18 1:01am

SoulAlive

The excellent "Wanna Be With You" was the second single from Raise.It's a wonderful song and it even won a Grammy,if I'm not mistaken.

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Reply #102 posted 03/28/18 6:27am

LittleBLUECorv
ette

avatar

There early work is sooo underrated. Basically before That's the Way.
PRINCE: Always and Forever
MICHAEL JACKSON: Always and Forever
-----
Live Your Life How U Wanna Live It
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Reply #103 posted 03/28/18 7:06am

phunkdaddy

avatar

SoulAlive said:

as far as I know,Skylark is a real songwriter/producer....but yeah,he was really mysterious. smile Don’t know a lot about him.


I always wondered about Skylark too. I remember that Video Soul interview with
Maurice too where he said he received the track out of nowhere. I know Larry Blackmon was one of the producers on board at the time but Maurice turned the Blackmon tracks down because they sounded too much like Cameo. I always wondered if Larry pulled a Prince here and went under the pseudonym Skylark. lol
Some of Larry's best work outside of Cameo was on the two Ca$hflow albums.
Don't laugh at my funk
This funk is a serious joint
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Reply #104 posted 03/28/18 10:03am

SoulAlive

LittleBLUECorvette said:

There early work is sooo underrated. Basically before That's the Way.


yeah,those early albums are incredible!
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Reply #105 posted 03/28/18 1:45pm

SoulAlive

Image result for earth wind and fire open our eyes

1974's Open Our Eyes is one of EW&F's funkiest albums,containing electrifying funk jams like "Mighty Mighty" and "Tee Nine Chee Bit".

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Reply #106 posted 03/28/18 3:43pm

cindymay

Not a very original choice but this song speaks to my soul. love

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Reply #107 posted 03/28/18 6:27pm

Abdul

Some of my favorite EWF cuts

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Reply #108 posted 03/29/18 12:42am

SoulAlive

Earlier in this thread,I was saying that I wish the Faces album had more surprises,more instrumentals,more jazzy latin/Afro sounds.This song "Runnin",from the All N' All' album,is exactly what I'm talking about.This song is fiery and delicious! It's like a musical gumbo featruing all the essential ingredients.Gets me movin' everytime.

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Reply #109 posted 03/29/18 8:45am

RJOrion

phunkdaddy said:

SoulAlive said:

as far as I know,Skylark is a real songwriter/producer....but yeah,he was really mysterious. smile Don’t know a lot about him.


I always wondered about Skylark too. I remember that Video Soul interview with
Maurice too where he said he received the track out of nowhere. I know Larry Blackmon was one of the producers on board at the time but Maurice turned the Blackmon tracks down because they sounded too much like Cameo. I always wondered if Larry pulled a Prince here and went under the pseudonym Skylark. lol
Some of Larry's best work outside of Cameo was on the two Ca$hflow albums.



ive read somewhere that Skylark = Larry Blackmon...
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Reply #110 posted 03/29/18 9:57am

SoulAlive

Abdul said:

Some of my favorite EWF cuts

this is one of the best songs EVER music thumbs up!

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Reply #111 posted 03/30/18 9:13am

Allnall

SoulAlive said:

Abdul said:

Some of my favorite EWF cuts

this is one of the best songs EVER music thumbs up!

I think the timeless quality of the music that Maurice and crew put out is that I have yet to hear one artist that has markedly improved on the original. Or, put a new, intersting spin on a classic.

They might do a decent job, some Jazz intrumentals I have heard ("Serpentine Fire" for one) have done them justice, but dont ever surpass the Original.

Also, I think the marker they laid down with some of their classics, is that even if you strip away the vocals, the music and instrumentation that is left still percolates....best examples, for me, would be "Fantasy" or "TTWOTW".

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Reply #112 posted 03/30/18 1:38pm

SoulAlive

Allnall said:

SoulAlive said:

this is one of the best songs EVER music thumbs up!

I think the timeless quality of the music that Maurice and crew put out is that I have yet to hear one artist that has markedly improved on the original. Or, put a new, intersting spin on a classic.

They might do a decent job, some Jazz intrumentals I have heard ("Serpentine Fire" for one) have done them justice, but dont ever surpass the Original.

Also, I think the marker they laid down with some of their classics, is that even if you strip away the vocals, the music and instrumentation that is left still percolates....best examples, for me, would be "Fantasy" or "TTWOTW".

exactly

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Reply #113 posted 03/31/18 1:59pm

Missmusicluver
72

SoulAlive said:

1981's Raise is another great album,filled with top-notch songs like "I've Had Enough","The Changing Times","Wanna Be With You" and of course,the monster hit single "Let's Groove".

Image result for ewf raise CD

One of my fave albums by them and I was jamming to it the other day lol! My faves are "My Love", "Lady Sun" and "Wanna be with you". Love EWF, my fave R&B band of all time. Other albums are Spirit, All n All, Gratitude, That's The Way of the World, all timeless and just fabulous! biggrin

Love is God, God is love, girls and boys love God above~
The only Love there is, is the Love We Make~
Prince4Ever
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Reply #114 posted 04/02/18 10:44am

RJOrion

i enjoyed Raise, and it wasnt a bad album at all...i was just overwhelmed by the departure of Al McKay from the band, and the sudden shift in their sound that it caused...no more of his dynamic rhythm strumming and funky melodic picking giving Maurice's productions that distinct color...they started using synthesized basslines and basic pop melodies and diluted their trademark sound with cotemporary stylings...they never got their mojo back, after Raise and Powerlight...the stuff Al McKay produced with The Temptations ("Treat Her Like A Lady"), and Finis Henderson ("Skip To My Lou") right after he left the group, sounded more like Earth Wind & Fire, than Earth Wind & Fire did..Al McKay and Ernie Isley were two great guitarists who were overlooked in their importance to their bands' sound... my 3 favorite guitarists and musical influences, Prince, Al McKay and Ernie Isley...
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Reply #115 posted 04/02/18 1:37pm

SoulAlive

These days,whenever "Let's Groove" comes on the radio,it makes me smile.That song totally takes me back to a wonderful time,the fall of 1981.It's another one of those songs where Maurice sings the verses and Philip sings the chorus (like "September").....that proved to be a winning strategy for them.This song became an instant smash.

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Reply #116 posted 04/02/18 5:08pm

Thebigpill

EWF is my favorire group of all time, that being said. I hate,hate, hate the "I Am" Album. To me this where EWF sold out to the pop audience they were obivously aimming for. But, in doing so they lost a lot of fans who felt abandon. It's one of the things I always love and admire about Rick James, he never tried to sell to a "pop audience" if they came along fine, but he always kept it funky!!

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Reply #117 posted 04/02/18 5:34pm

SoulAlive

Thebigpill said:

EWF is my favorire group of all time, that being said. I hate,hate, hate the "I Am" Album. To me this where EWF sold out to the pop audience they were obivously aimming for. But, in doing so they lost a lot of fans who felt abandon. It's one of the things I always love and admire about Rick James, he never tried to sell to a "pop audience" if they came along fine, but he always kept it funky!!



I know that many longtime fans were disappointed with ‘I Am’ but I think it’s one of their strongest albums.They were expanding their sound,taking it to another level,which I don’t necessarily view as “selling out”.It still sounds like an EW&F album to me.All of the elements are there.The funk is still there.”After The Love Has Gone” is undeniably pop but on the same album,there is “You And I”,one of their most soulful slow jams.

..
[Edited 4/2/18 17:36pm]
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Reply #118 posted 04/02/18 5:48pm

RJOrion

"I Am" was the beginning of the end internally for EW&F because that was really the first lp that Maurice brought in outside help to write, produce and play on the core songs of the album, since the Great Charles Stepney died ... David Foster, Jay Graydon, and Alee Willis co-writing and producing most of the songs on that album pissed of cats like Phillip Bailey, Larry Dunn and Al McKay who were used to helping Maurice build the sound..those cats felt like the group didnt need any help, especially from white, pop-song writers...that said, that was a great album..."Cant Let Go" and "You And I" are 2 of the greatest EW&F songs ever....

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Reply #119 posted 04/02/18 6:15pm

SoulAlive

Yeah,Maurice spoke about this in his book....how some members didn’t like the idea of using outside songwriters/producers on the album.But it’s hard to argue against Maurice’s judgment...that album was huge! First two singles made it into the pop Top 10 at a time when (mostly) disco artists were dominating the charts.Maurice knew what he was doing.
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