Earth Wind & Fire will release a new CD on May 20.Titled 'The Promise Of The New',this is their first album of new music since 1997.The album was produced by longtime leader Maurice White,and it will be released on his independent label Kalimba Records,with distribution by Sony.Here is the *tentative* tracklist...


Earth Wind & Fire 'The Promise Of The New'---



"Wonderland" featuring Angie Stone
"Soul"
"Whatever Happened" (from the 'Undercover Brother' movie soundtrack)
"Why"---a ballad with Maurice on lead vocals
"Never" featuring Gerald Albright
"All In The Way"
"She Waits" featuring guitar by Carlos Rios
"Fun And Free"
"Ain't No Remedy"
"So Lucky" featuring ?uestlove
"Heaven"
"Thank You For The Love"
"The Promise Of The New"



A song recorded with Eric Benet,"I Wanna Be Loved" is not likely to appear on the album,although this could change.The band will be touring extensively this summer,and Maurice White will be joining the guys at a few shows!!




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[This message was edited Thu Mar 13 2:25:43 PST 2003 by DavidEye]

DavidEye said:

My.My,My how times have changed? Maurice White&Stevie WOnder taken years too drop Albums.remember how they dropped them like flies??well I guess Maurice&Crew couldn't get that deal with Def Jam Classic SOul Label?and back too Sony?? DAMN!.looking forward too hearing it.I wasn't feeling Phillip's Last Solo Album.as for the track with Eric Benet? unless it's a B-Side&when was the last time EWF dropped a Single? you might just as well Down-Load it because it won't drop.El Debarge who is real close too Maurice White is suppose to be Co-Writing a Song with Him on the Album.I can't remember which one now though do you?? Peace

Good to hear the Maurice is doing some vocal work on the new album. I'm just hoping for a real EWF album and not somthing like they released in 97.

intha916 said:

Yeah,1997's 'In The Name Of Love' was a snooze-fest,wasn't it? Too many Quiet Storm ballads,not enough funk,and not enough of Maurice's vocals.

mistermaxxx said:

Supposedly (and I heard this from a very reliable source) Eric Benet wrote several songs for the album.Maurice liked them,but the other members weren't too impressed so the songs were shelved.Wyclef also contributed several songs that were also discarded.

DavidEye said:

Co-sign. I don't mind the ballads but balance it out a little with some vintage uptempo EWF funk.

DavidEye said:

Yep,,Clef produced a song 4 them which you can find in the "life" soundtrack.

DavidEye said:

Benet sure could use Exposure since Warners is through with His Ass.Wyclef lost them off His Label&His material just didn't fit for a EWF Album.maybe for a Song on a Soundtrack but not Album Owrthy IMHO.

The CD is now titled 'Promise Of The New' and the release date is May 20.It will be released on Maurice White's independent label Kalimba Records.

DavidEye said:

not a A good sign when considering it's been talked about for 3 Years now&gone through so many changes.

God I can't wait for this cd. Do you know if ?uestlove from the Roots is still on it?

chickengrease said:

I Hope Not.Please don't let Him Be.

mistermaxxx said:

Whasrong with you mayne?!?!?!

chickengrease said:

?uestlove was working with the guys awhile back,but I don't know if he appears on the new album.Why don't you ask Maurice White? Go to his official site,click on "message board" and leave a question for him.He answers our questions all the time.The site is...

www.startalk.org

mistermaxxx said:

Yeah,this CD has taken forever to get off the ground.They started working on it in 1999,when they signed a record deal with Wyclef's label Refugee Camp Records.Wyclef and Eric Benet contributed several tracks,and it seemed like the album would be released.However,in 2000,the deal fell through and Wyclef's label folded.Maurice scrapped many songs and started all over.At one point,the fellas were gonna sign with Def Jam Classics,a new label devoted to old School R&B acts.When that deal apparently fell through,they decided to release it independently.

It's sad that the older acts are having all these problems with the record companies.They are having major problems just getting new music out there.But the May 20 release date sounds like a sure thing.

DavidEye said:

Record Labels are hard on Older Acts especially R&B Acts.they also did some stuff with El Debarge but I don't know if it will make the cut? El&Maurice are real tight.

speaking of maurice and el...anyone else out there who thinks that "in the storm" is one of the most underrated albums of all time?

motherafrica said:

I'd say over the past Decade&Change but not over all-time because El Debarge IMHO Wrote Better Songs with Debarge but made better Solo Albums."In the Storm" was tight but some of the Up-Tempo stuff could have been trimmed IMHO.but I Liked the Album.