The album is half-good.The highlights are:

"Touch"---great midtempo synth/pop track
"Could It Be Right"---one of their best ballads ever.Shame on Columbia for not releasing it as a single.It's just as strong as "After The Love Has Gone",imo.
"We're Living In Our Own Time"---wonderful synth ballad with a great lead vocal by Philip Bailey.
"Magnetic---relentless,edgy technofunk.This is the type of song that would have been a huge hit for a band like Human League or Talking Heads.



The other tunes are nothing to write home about.But an album with four decent tracks is okay with me.

DavidEye said:

yea, I agree. I think the best is "Touch"- and "Magnetic">let´s dance in the static...<

urbanfox3105 said:

did you ever see the "Magnetic" video? It is absolutely dreadful

Magnetic is a good EWF song. I have played this album since it was released. If you are from the hip hop generation, your assessment is questionable.

DavidEye said:

no, tell me about it!

urbanfox3105 said:

It's hard to even describe,but I'll try.The guys are walking around a busy nightclub(?) where two dudes in space gear are battling each other.One of the fighters is known as "Magnetic" and this is the guy that EW&F are cheering on.It's like EW&F stepped right inside a gigantic video game.Very silly and tacky,like alot of videos from this period.You can see it on their videos compilation DVD called "The Collection".It was released last year.

DavidEye said:

Ah, I think I've seen this "Magnetic"-guy on their Live Show DVD of 1981. Maurice throws lighning on this evil guy while the band keeps playin the "Jupiter"-theme. After defeating him they end the show with "Let´s Groove".

DavidEye said:

Ah, I think I've seen this "Magnetic"-guy on their Live Show DVD of 1981. Maurice throws lighning on this evil guy while the band keeps playin the "Jupiter"-theme. After defeating him they end the show with "Let´s Groove".

My uncle has this album. I dont care for it to much. I like fall in love with me and side by side but the rest of the album sucks.

urbanfox3105 said:

Yeah , but because of the Jupiter-funk behind it , the atmosphere was much better and less tackier with that Darth Vader kinda actor on the stage in 1981 . Especially the intro of the concert is awesome . After the space-character has thrown a blasting explosion with smoke , a huge Laser-vision animation of an eagle appears onscreen . This is accompanied by powerfull horns . When the eagle transforms in the famous EW&F eagle , you can seen suddenly see Reece , Philip , Ralph & Verdine standing in a shadowy light on a sort of platform . I men , this is classic stuff and absolutely not tacky ( imo ) . Check it on their commercial-released dvd from 1981 . Btw ...this so-called "Magnetic"-looking actor from the 1981-concert is not-at-all looking the same as the actor in the Magnetic-video . Totally different costumes .
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[Edited 12/9/05 9:44am]

yea u#re right! the intro is fantastic, their dance-steps the lights, the effects, everything- do u like the "where have all the flowers gone" interlude? I never heard anyone sing that impressive like Philip Bailey did!

urbanfox3105 said:

classic masterpiece with those " Flowers "

AWWWWWhen this concert came on tv for the first time i waz like
Couldn't believe all the action that was going on .... especially the concert-intro with special-fx got me amazed .
What about the drum-kit which appears out of the floor with Freddie White ? .....
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[Edited 12/9/05 14:37pm]

angela74 said:

you got the wrong alBum,angela!

we´re talkin bout this masterpiece:

urbanfox3105 said:

That what Im talkin about. Dont get me wrong Earth, wind & fire are one of my favorite groups but electric universe i dont care for . only 2 songs.

My uncle has this album. I dont care for it to much. I like fall in love with me and side by side but the rest of the album sucks.

angela74 said:

Hey Angela , are you shure ?
The 2 trax U mentioned appear on "Powerlight" ( 1983 )

100MPH said:

Awww my bad. I cant believe I got that Album confused with power light. I dont like power light then with the exception of those 2 jams. What year did Electric Universe came out. Im sorry for the misunderstanding.

angela74 said:

if you dislike "Powerlight" you will hate "Electric Universe"

urbanfox3105 said:

What year did Electric came out?

angela74 said:

If I rememeber correctly,'Powerlight' was released in early 1983.'Electric Universe' was released by late 1983.That's two albums in one year.

DavidEye said:

yep, I remember it like yesterday.. Powerlight was a flop concerning sales & charts, so they got into some sort of panic.. they rushed back into the studio, putting together new "hip" material and tried to follow current trends and sounds... and then the fiasco.. critics AND fans ripped Electric Universe apart, and it failed commercially.. then the fell into a 4 or 5 year hiatus...

angela74 said:

If I rememeber correctly,'Powerlight' was released in early 1983.'Electric Universe' was released by late 1983.That's two albums in one year.

Dancelot said:

the irony is that....people criticized 'Electric Universe' for it's heavy use of synths and drum machines,yet they embraced the 1987 comeback album 'Touch The World',which basically follows a similiar formula.