what are your favorite songs by EW&F? Discuss...

My first recollection of EWF was the That's The Way Of The World. As a child growing up in the seventies, that song touched me like no other. Whenever I was down, Keep You Head To The Sky was so inspiring. Shining Star gave me confidence like no other and Reasons (live version) showed me how powerful music can be when you have positive lyrics paired with excellent musicianship. So sad these type of songs are not marketable (so they say).
[Edited 10/23/08 17:53pm]

You know,I think 'That's The Way Of The World' was the first time I heard EW&F too.The title track and "Shining Star" were all over the radio.Don't ask me why,but the title track makes me think of a rainy Saturday afternoon.Weird,huh? Maybe it was raining one day when I heard it as a kid? lol.But yeah,that's got to be my earliest memory of hearing EW&F.In the summer of 1976,I remember hearing "Getaway" on the radio alot.That song was HUGE! R&B radio played it to death.In the 70s,it seemed like these guys had a new hit single every other month,lol.The hit songs came one after the other.

[Edited 10/23/08 6:18am]

Mighty Mighty
Boogie Wonderland
Let's Groove
The Changing Times
Getaway
September
Shining Star
Reasons (Live Version)
Devotion
After The Love Is Gone
Keep Your Head To The Sky

vainandy said:

Reasons
Devotion
Keep Your Head To The Sky
I Think About Lovin' You (probably my all-time favorite!!!!)
That's The Way Of The World
Be Ever Wonderful
Love's Holiday
After The Love Has Gone
September
Where Have All The Flowers Gone
Can't Hide Love
Sing A Song
Boogie Wonderland

Okay, okay...I think that's enough for now! Damn, I think I forgot just how many songs of their's I dig! I need to pull out my ol' EWF 3-disc box set again!

Some of the greatest music ever laid on vinyl...

Faves include:

Devotion
TTWOTW
Fantasy
Mighty Mighty
September
Pride

and that honestly only scratches the surface....


I think the greatest compliment to an artist is no matter how prolific and time-tested their music is, that it is near to impossible to improve on their tunes.

EWF stands out to me as one of those quintessential groups for which it just does not seem possible to remake their music and improve on it.....I listened to Interpretations, and the countless Jazz artists who have remade thier songs, and while some do justice to the original I just dont think that any have been able to put their own stamp on the songs.

The musicianship is of such a high standard that you can listen to each piece, brass, bass, percussion, vocals and wonder just how close to perfect the music is.

Fantasy, for me, is one of those songs that is as close to perfect as music gets...production, strings, whatever.....Classes could be taught on how intricate it gets....

And I have not even started on the message in the music.....Maurice was so in tune with his desire to make great music that it is no surprise the success they had....and the best part is that EWF is still out there and doing it well.....high profile gigs and great concerts....you can truly be proud to be fan all those many years after it all began.
[Edited 10/23/08 11:13am]

vainandy said:

I knew I was forgetting something!!! Thanks VainAndy!
I'll be bumping this from now thru Inauguration Day!

The Changing Times

shiiit,the music of Earth Wind and Fire was the soundtrack 2 my family's history from "last days and time" through "Faces"....lol


brazillian rhyme
got to get you into my life
wait
where have all the flowers gone ?
in the stone
zanzibar
all about love
burnin biyo
fantasy
on your face
hertitage
saturday night
the ways of the world
and love goes on
yearnin learnin
sunday mornin

its my dad''s favorite band so naturally passed on to me, i borrowed some cds from him. he has all their songs and records, nothing can beat the vinyl sound, a personal favorite is "in the stone", what an awesome track and that intro is crazy, i used to ahve that turned up super loud. Another song that i went crazy with when I first heard it was "jupiter"'

shining star
fantasy
keep your head to the sky
reasons
let''s groove
september
fantasy
after the love has gone

i love all the hits but also their older stuff and lesser known latin vibe tracks. to me the best band ever.

My favorite song is Imagination.


The pure heavenly soul of P's falcetto and the lovely angel like background vocals just compliment his screams at the end. Its ...like a journey.

When my wife was at college she had a Columbia House subscription, and bought an Earth Wind & Fire CD thinking it must be relaxing new age background music for yoga...

booyah said:

LAAAWD she was lost!




My other favorite is

Where Have All The Flowers Gone? Classic remake. SO much more soulful and dramatic than the original.



Last but not least Reasons / Devotion live


Need I say more?

Power (live performance '72)




http://www.youtube.com/wa...u-_PoTownc



Studio version

IMO, in the 70s decade, EW&F raised R&B/Crossover to its highest heights.
There has been no "band" on their level (in terms of quality & longevity) since then.
(Prince doesn't count as he's a solo artist)

All classic EW&F tunes had these signature elements...

~Great uplifting songs
~The balance between Maurice's macho and Phillip's more delicate vocals
~The uplifting lyrics
~The harmonies
~The sharp horn section
~The rhythm section arrangements, especially the guitar parts.

...which made them such a great band.



My first experience with them came via the...



...Head To The Sky album. (1973)

3 songs from that album (Keep Your Head To The Sky, Evil & The World's A Masquerade) remain some of my favorite EW&F tunes.





...All 'N All & I Am (Boogie Wonderland excluded ) are my all time favorite EW&F albums


Other favs...

Mighty Mighty
Africano/Power
Saturday Night
Love's Holiday
Be Ever Wonderful
In The Stone
Can't Let Go
After the Love Has Gone
Wait

...



tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

...

Damn... favorite Earth Wind and Fire....OK...

Side By Side
I'd Rather Have You
Love's Holiday
Be Ever Wonderful
Fantasy
Wait
Devotion
On Your Face
Earth Wind And Fire
Imagination
Lady Sun
Can't Hide Love
Sailaway
I'll Write A Song For You
Open Our Eyes
Love is Life ( new version)
Where Have All The Flowers Gone
Can't Let Go
Time Is On Your Side
Mighty Mighty
World Is A Masquerade

...Just to name a few...

Actually, another big favorite is the other Brazilian Rhyme piece, Milton Nascimento's "Ponta De Areia" ...

--originally there was an interlude snippet of this piece, right before "Be Ever Wonderful" on the "All N All" album...they finally included the full version on the EWF Box Set, with full orchestration by Eumir Deodato....





...
[Edited 10/23/08 19:11pm]

There aren't too many EW&F songs that I don't like (lol) but these are my favs....

"Help Somebody" (1971)
"Love Is Life" (1971)
"Beauty" (1971)
"I Think About Loving You" (1971)
"Where Have All The Flowers Gone" (1972)
"I'd Rather Have You" (1972)
"Power" (1972)
"Evil" (1973)
"Keep Your Head To The Sky" (1973)
"The World's A Masquerade" (1973)
"Clover" (1973)
"Mighty Mighty" (1974)
"Feelin' Blue" (1974)
"Tee Nine Chee Bit" (1974)
"Caribou" (1974)
"Shining Star" (1975)
"All About Love" (1975)
"Yearnin Learnin" (1975)
"Reasons" (1975)
"See The Light" (1975)
"Devotion (live)" (1975)
"Sunshine" (1975)
"Celebrate" (1975)
"Can't Hide Love" (1975)
"Getaway" (1976)
"On Your Face" (1976)
"Imagination" (1976)
"Earth Wind And Fire" (1976)
"Fantasy" (1977)
"Jupiter" (1977)
"Runnin'" (1977)
"Be Ever Wonderful" (1977)
"Got To Get You Into My Life" (1978)
"September" (1978)
"Love Music" (1978)
"In The Stone" (1979)
"Can't Let Go" (1979)
"After The Love Has Gone" (1979)
"Let Your Feelings Show" (1979)
"Boogie Wonderland" (1979)
"Wait" (1979)
"You And I" (1979)
"Pride" (1980)
"And Love Goes On" (1980)
"Sailaway" (1980)
"Let's Groove" (1981)
"My Love" (1981)
"I've Had Enough" (1981)
"Wanna Be With You" (1981)
"Fall In Love With Me" (1983)
"Side By Side" (1983)
"Magnetic" (1983)
"Could It Be Right" (1983)
"We're Living In Our Own Time" (1983)
"System Of Survival" (1987)
"Here Today And Gone Tomorrow" (1987)
"Victim Of The Modern Heart" (1987)
"Thinking Of You" (1987)
"Every Now And Then" (1987)
"Good Time" with Sly Stone (1990)
"Daydreamin" (1990)
"Takin' Chances" (1990)
"Anything You Want" (1990)
"Even If You Wonder" (1993)
"Wouldn't Change A Thing About You" (1993)
"Love Across The Wire" (1993)
"Honor The Magic" (1993)
"Keep It Real" (1996)
"In The Name Of Love" (1996)
"All In The Way" (2003)
"Where Do We Go From Here" (2003)
"Never" (2003)
"This Is How I Feel" (2005)
"The One" (2005)

SoulAlive said:

my God, what's there to say? well in short, best band ever in my book

I grew up on EWF and Stevie Wonder, and to this day they top my list as favorite group and solo act

Now I know how to get Dancelot to come back to this site....just start an EW&F thread

theAudience said:

I've tried but I can't seem to pick a favorite EW&F album For many many years,I chose 'All N' All' as my favorite but then several years ago,I decided that 'I Am' is my favorite.These days,I'm leaning towards 'Spirit' as my favorite...lol...these guys have no shortage of outstanding albums.

SoulAlive said:

That is sooo true SoulAlive....

I was always partial to All N' All, hence my screen name....but there is so much to discover on many of their other albums especially those lesser known songs that as U say, from time to time my opinions change....

If I just HAD to pick one, I probably would say Spirit right now, because of On Your Face (which happily they have brought back and are playing in their current shows), Spirit, Earth Wind and Fire, Imagination and Burning Bush, songs which capture some of their most moving haunting vocals, music and lyrics...

Allnall said:

A few weeks ago,Paligap did a thread about the song "Earth Wind and Fire".It's such a powerful,spiritually rich song! That song sums up what EW&F is all about.

I remember hearing Mr.White's speaking part from All About Love while cleaning the house....

We want to take this moment to run
Down a couple of things about things
We see everyday.

Now, I want you to stop whatever youre doing.
Youre doing. just stop.
You know, they say there s beauty
In the eyes of the beholder which I say is not a fact.
cause you are as beautiful as your
Thoughts, right on.

You know, for instance, we study all
Kinds of sciences, astrology, mysticism,
Religion, so forth we did.
And like coming from here place, all these things help
Because of your inside your inner self
Have mercy!

Now. theres an outer self we got to deal with
The one that likes to go to parties,
One that likes to dress up and be cool
And look pretty, all ego-trips and all this.

Hear you all, Im trying to tell you,
You gotta love you. and learn all the beautiful things around you,
Trees and birds. and if there aint no beauty,
You got to make some beauty. have mercy!
Listen to me, yeah!

I was in a VERY low state of mine that,,,,and this lil' corny part really uplifted me

Since Uncle Neal brought up the "uplifting lyrics" point.
[Edited 10/24/08 6:23am]

Harlepolis said:

Awwwww...yeah!!!!!

Mr. Maurice White.....Legend

EW&F SONG OF THE DAY: "Where Do We Go From Here"


This song has an interesting history.It was released in 2003 on their CD 'The Promise' but it was actually recorded in 1978,during sessions for the 'I Am' album.You can clearly hear that Phillip's lead vocal sounds just like it did in the 70s! The track was "updated" just a little for inclusion on 'The Promise' but thankfully,it still sounds like an old track.

There's a rumor that EW&F were planning to release a new album in 1978,but got sidetracked by a few other projects (a lengthy world tour and the 'Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band' movie and soundtrack).According to this rumor,their record company decided to release a 'Best Of' album instead.The rumored album,if it had been released,was set to contain these songs (along with several others):

"Love Music"
"Diana"
"Dirty"
"Where Do We Go From Here"
"September"

"Dirty" and "Diana" appear on the 'I Am' remaster as bonus tracks.
"Love Music" and "September" appears on the 1978 'Best of' album.
"Where Do We Go From Here" was finally released on 'The Promise' in 2003.

That's the Way of the World Live.
My family drove from Chicago to N.Y to New Jersey to Montreal to Toronto to the Falls to North Carolina and back. All while listening 2 that a 8-track. I loved it all the way.

Did they do much jazz/funk stuff like Sweetbacks theme? I love that track! I wanna hear more shit like that! But it seems like they mostly did more polished R&B from what I can see.... who's the guru around here?

_

Thanks to my mom I grew up with all the EWF album's, here's my favorite cuts:

Evil
Keep Your Head To The Sky
Mighty Mighty
Devotion
Feelin Blue
Shning Star
Happy Feelin - My fav EWF cut hands down!!!
Reasons
All About Love
Yearnin Learnin'
That's The Way Of The World
Africano
Sing A Song
Can't Hide Love
Sunshine - My Second Favorite
Getaway
Saturday Night
Imagination
Biyo
On Your Face
Serpentine Fire
Runnin'
Jupiter - My Third Favorite
Be Ever Wonderful
Lover's Holiday
September
In The Stone
Boogie Wonderland
After The Love Is Gone
And Love Goes On
Let's Groove
Take It To The Sky
I've Had Enough

nd33 said:

After TTWOTW they were too polished to turn back. It just got slicker and slicker. By the time of I AM it was hopeless. Still a great band, but recent records are not to my tastes and most would agree they're unnecessary to appreciate the band. Stick with the early albums: HEAD TO SKY DAYS & TIME, OPEN OUR EYES NEED OF LOVE