EWF w/Raphael Saadiq. It sounds so beautful don't you agree?

http://www.mosesmediainc....theway.mp3

This is really good!
Way over my expectations!
/peace Manki

Hotlegs said:

good. it's time old school acts stop trying to appeal to young folks who don't get a damn about their music any way. play to your base and say fuck the rest.

intha916 said:

Raphael finally...showed Earth Wind and Fire how to produce their records again.

the guitars/bass/drums/keyboards/horns/vocals and Raphael gets in a lead part. If he does the whole lp like that it's gonna be trouble with the fans.




Its like the eighties and nineties didnt exist and they are rewriting a new chapter with the album.

Trickology said:

intha916 said:

Good answer. I am with ya all the way! WHh bother about sad people who like Usher anyways?

HamsterHuey said:

I'm with you guys all the way on that. Fu*k them sad R&B loving phoneys.

Thanks for the link, been looking forward to hearing that tune for a good while now

back to the song...


i love it...i'd prefer that rapheal didnt steal the song away halfway through..its a classic EWF tune and Maurice's presence starts to be missed a bit when Raphael sings....


but thats a minor complaint..this track is a classic!!

The song has grown on me,but I still think it's kinda uneventful

this song is okay....not bad,but not outstanding either.Hopefully,there will be stronger tracks on the album.

HamsterHuey said:

Well I actually like Usher's album lol. But I don't need EWF trying to sound like him.

It's a good tune. Maybe it's just the mp3 file, but the horns sound canned. Are they real? I agree with sosgemini about Raphael. His presence isn't a bad thing, but it makes it feel like it's not an EWF track.

RipHer2Shreds said:

I've felt that way about the last few EWF albums. Funny thing is, this feels more like a true EWF song with Raphael than those of the last few years they have done on their own.

intha916 said:

As much as I love EWF, I never bought The Promise. I heard mixed things about it. Any good?

The new single sounds great -- truly authentic EWF.

I would make just one change. I would have Maurice sing all of Raphael's parts (with the possible exception of the ad-libs at the end). His voice doesn't fit the track IMO.

todd305 said:

Maurice presence on this track is definitely missed. I wonder why he didn't participate. I wonder is due to a health problems.

RipHer2Shreds said:

'The Promise' is a spectacular album! Alot of beautiful songs on that disc,and a few surprises too.The opening track "All In The Way" is classic EW&F,and it even features The Emotions on background vocals just like in the old days.The Latin-flavored "Never" is similiar to their 1978 hit "Fantasy"...breezy and intoxicating.I said this CD has a few surprises and one of them is the song "Where Do We Go From Here".This is an outtake from the 'I Am' sessions in late 1978!.They updated the music just a little bit,but Philip Bailey's vocals are from the 1978 recording.A wonderful track!! One of their best songs ever....those harmonies!! Wow!!!

Other great songs include "Suppose You Like Me",which is a collaboration with ?uestlove,and the album conludes with "Dirty",another outtake from the 'I Am' period.They really funk it up on this jam! Be warned though: there's not alot of uptempo funk on this album.It's mostly a slowjam fest,but that's fine,because nobody does slowjams like EW&F.What I really like about this album is,the guys are just doing their thing.There's no silly hip-hop beats,no guest rappers,no ridiculous "Mr.Biggs"-type posturing....it's just a solid,sexy EW&F album.I only hope their new CD is this good.

intha916 said:

I respectfully disagree.Their last two albums (1996's 'Avatar' and 2003's 'The Promise') kept the old EW&F sound alive.Songs like "Keep It Real","In The Name Of Love","All In The Way" and "Never" are true EW&F songs that largely ignore current trends.

The new album features a bunch of current producers (Organized Noize,Jam and Lewis,Floetry,Raphael,etc) which makes me wonder if it will sound like a "real" EW&F album.I pray that it's not a trendy,hip-hop sounding fiasco.

Hotlegs said:

Actually,Maurice does appear on the track! That's him singing with Raphael,right?

Yeah, it's Maurice and Raphael on leads ...Philip Bailey's the one who's curiously missing this time....(unless that's his falsetto on the fade out...)

Btw, I really loved Avatar(the earlier, Japanese version of "In The Name Of Love") but for some reason that last album, The Promise didn't move me, not sure why...in fact, the only song I really liked was "Why", and I thought "Dirty" was too brief...
...I think that some of my disappointment may have been due to the fact that, in interviews, Maurice indicated that Promise would include the likes Of Larry Dunn and Al Mckay, ...and when it arrived, not only were they not included, but Sheldon Reynolds was gone...I'm glad Maurice wanted to do more vocally, but his voice just isn't as strong as it used to be, and I thought that on Avatar, Sheldon really added some support, and blended nicely with Maurice and Philip...It did have a lot of ballads, but I just didn't like the songwriting...

I really like what I've heard from the new album though...


...
[Edited 1/18/05 8:47am]

DavidEye said:

Sounds like it's worth listening to. I'll pick it up. How is Diana any different than the version that's already on the re-issued version of I Am? Is it at all?

DavidEye said:

I did like The Promise as well. You're spot-on with your descriptions.

kmoj in mpls has been spinnin this track quite a bit lately...i don't care for it. i wonder if my dad's heard this at all...

RipHer2Shreds said:

Actually,"Diana" doesn't appear on 'The Promise'.I think you're referring to "Dirty",which appears on both 'The Promise' and the remastered 'I Am'.It's the exact same version.

paligap said:

I agree with you about 'Avatar'.I really love that CD too.Sheldon was one of EW&F's most talented "newer" members and it's a shame that he is no longer with the band.Not only is a superb guitarist,but he's a great vocalist as well.His contributions to 'Avatar' are outstanding.

to those of you missed my previous thread with info about the new album,here you go....


Earth Wind and Fire 'ILLUMINATION' (due in March)

Love Together (produced by Raphael Saadiq)
The One (produced by Organized Noize)
Love's Dance (produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis)
Show Me The Way (produced by Raphael Saadiq)
This Is How I Feel (featuring Sleepy Brown,produced by Organized Noize)
Work It Out (produced by Raphael Saadiq)
Pass You By (produced by Raphael Saadiq)
Elevated (featuring Floetry,produced by Darren Henson and Keith Pelzer)
To You (produced by Brian McKnight)
Let Me Love You (featuring Floetry,produced by Darren Henson and Keith Pelzer)
Instrumental (produced by Vikter Duplaix)
Bonus track: The Way You Move (with Kenny G.)


additional info and comments---


***the album version of "Show Me The Way" is over 8 minutes long(!)

***the opening track "Love Together",also produced by Raphael Saadiq,is already available on the CD 'UNITY: The Official Athens 2004 Olympic Games Album'.If you go to a site like Amazon or CDUniverse,you can hear a sound sample of it.

***The track with Kenny G "The Way You Move" has also been released already.It's on Kenny's latest CD.

***Oddly,this CD has a song called "Let Me Love You".If you'll recall,the last album 'The Promise' also has a song with that title.I wonder if this is a remake,some kind of remix,or an entirely different song?

***Outtakes from this project include "Happiness","Autumn" and the song that would have been the title track,"Illumination".

DavidEye said:

I was, indeed, referring to Dirty. I was thinking Dirty, and Diana was typed...perhaps Dirty Diana?

Dirty Diana,lol.
[Edited 1/19/05 4:36am]

DavidEye said:

It really puzzles me that you feel the way you do about those albums. I know we share the same love of EWFs material. I just didn't hear "the sound" in their last couple outtings. It's been since 93s Millennium that I can honestly say EWF has made an EWF album. I picked up Avatar but was very dissappointed in that album from day one. I tried to allow it to grom on me but it never did. I passed altogether after hearing promise. Although I do have an mp3 of "Dirty" which is a cool cut. I think this new album holds promise as there seems to be a real effort to take away the quiet storm vibe of the last album and replace it with the feel good vibe we all want. I guess we'll just agree to disagree on this.

As for this album turning out to be a "trendy, hip hop sounding fiasco" I think they have already done that. It was called Heritage. We can all agree we don't want to see another album like that.

intha916 said:

Actually,I think 'Heritage' unfairly gets a bad rap

Yes,there are a few embarassing moments ("Wanna Be The Man" is one of their worst singles ever) but there are also some strong funk tracks ("Good Time" with Sly Stone..."Takin Chances") and some wonderful slower tracks ("Daydreamin","Anything You Want","Welcome").Ignore MC Hammer's lame rap on "For The Love Of You" and it's a great track.Don't get me wrong.I think this album is far from a masterpiece,but it's not nearly as bad as it's reputation suggests,lol.There's enough great songs there to make you forget about the few weak moments.

I'm surprised that you could dismiss 'The Promise' so easily.Several tracks on this CD have the "classic" EW&F sound.In fact,a few of these tunes ("Where Do We Go From Here" and "Dirty") were actually composed during their late-70s heyday (I suspect that the opening track "All In The Way" is also from the vaults as well).There's no trendy,hip-hop posturing anywhere on this disc.

But at least we agree on 'Millenium'.That's a solid album almost from beginning to end.Get rid of the filler tracks "The L Word" and "Just Another Lonely Night" and you have their most consistent album since 'Raise'.
[Edited 1/20/05 3:44am]