SoulAlive said:

"Slightly"..

I think you're being too kind.

I do agree it, was a return to form.
[Edited 3/17/10 9:20am]

SoulAlive said:

The whole album was great from start to finish. I loved how each
song segued into the next song on side two.

SoulAlive said:

Mine, too!

NuPwr319 said:

If I tried to put together a top 5 fave, they'd change every 5 seconds.

StarMon said:

Tis true!

NuPwr319 said:

So,those are your Top 5 EW&F albums too? I didn't think that anyone else would put 'Touch The World' into their Top 5,lol.I think that album is so underrated.

I love this album! My 2nd favorite EW&F album.

StarMon said:

'Faces' has some good songs and it's produced very well,but it's too much of the same thing.There's not enough variety in the music,which is a no-no when you're doing a 2-record set.They had alot of room to strech out and experiment,but they chose to play it safe.

StarMon said:

Do it anyway! I wanna see your list.

phunkdaddy said:

It's a strong album There are some cool uptempo,funky jams ("Let's Groove","You're A Winner"),some excellent slow jams ("Wanna Be With You","My Love") and even a rock-flavored number ("The Changing Times").It could be argued that this is their best album of the 80s.

TD3 said:

I agree.The EW&F interludes were always interesting because they're like extensions of the songs.....or like a cool prelude to the next track.One of their best interludes is the one that comes after "In The Stone",leading into "Can't Let Go".

This album proved to me that EWF was in another league compared to their contemporaries when it came to the quality and depth of music they were responsible for. They really could do it all so effortlessly.....I can only think of Stevie as someone who was putting out similarly polished and meticulously crafted music.

They were both more technically advanced musically or production-wise as anyone else who was making music at that time...and in most cases, since then up to today.

Even though alot of critics (and some fans) complained that EWF was getting more slick, turning more to pop than funk, it is hard to find another artist who at that time was able to turn out dense, sophisticated and meticulously arranged and produced material, regardless of how "pop" it might have been.

Strip away the vocals, and you still have music that has so many layers to it, and can stand alone as a work of art.
[Edited 3/19/10 9:10am]

SoulAlive said:

In no particular order,

These are core:

Earth, Wind & Fire - Open Our Eyes
Earth, Wind & Fire - Head to the Sky
Earth, Wind & Fire - That`s The Way Of The World
Earth, Wind & Fire - Gratitude

the 5th choice could forever change with these:

Earth, Wind & Fire - Spirit
Earth, Wind & Fire - I Am
Earth, Wind & Fire - All 'N All
Earth, Wind & Fire - Raise
Earth, Wind & Fire - That's the Way of the World: Alive In '75,
I can't get enough of the live version of Mighty Mighty

Earth, Wind & Fire - Powerlight
Earth, Wind & Fire - Earth, Wind and Fire

Earth, Wind & Fire - Touch The World can also go in as one of the 5th elements.

StarMon said:

I love this album! A surprisingly strong album,considering that it was recorded in the late 80s (a time when "real R&B and funk" was going through a transistional period).

Touch the World was a good album but i wouldn't
put it in the great catergory. The album cooks on
the first side but when you flip it over to the second
side it's just mediocre. The only songs i dug on the
second side really was the title track and Victim of the
Modern Heart but even those tracks pale in comparison to
the first side of the album and don't even sniff the
quality of their classic material.

phunkdaddy said:

Here Today And Gone Tomorrow isn't that bad.
Considering what came before it 'Faces' not included, I wouldn't call it great either.

I do think it's more palatable than 'Faces', IMO.

phunkdaddy said:

Touch the World was good, as you say....but not great. SOS and Thinking of You were great EWF tunes.....and funnily enough, I agree with you about side 2.....title cut and Victim of a Modern heart.....but the album as a whole is not quite up to par with their legendary hits...

The Promise actually in many ways, does for me come close to very, very good....save it is a little too mellow, and I wish they used real drums throughout as opposed to on She Waits and Dirty.....I liked Illumination alot....especially the uptempo stuff.....but the more I think about it is the more that The Promise comes in a head of it as far as quality music....It is much more in the true vein of EWF music IMO...

(1) All N All
(2) TTWOTW
(3) I Am
(4) Gratitude
(5) Spirit/Open Our Eyes (cant separate them)

Honorable mention: The Promise, then Raise

Allnall said:

The Promise was real good. The album was a little too mellow like
you stated but it was true to the EWF sound. Illumination was okay too.
There were a few songs there i wasn't feeling either but Show Me the Way To
Your Hear,Pure Gold,and Love's Dance were excellent. I would put
Illumination in the category of Touch The World

phunkdaddy said:

I think Side Two is perfect "Every Now And Then" is a superb ballad in the vein of "After The Love Is Gone"....."Here Today And Gone Tomorrow" is Quiet Storm heaven,featuring soaring vocals by Philip Bailey...."Money Tight" and "Victim Of The Modern" are strong uptempo tracks that could have been singles.The title track is nicely done,but it's not a favorite of mine.

I'll give TTW another listen. I know for sure i didn't
like Money Tight. It was pretty much a filler track for
me. Other than the first side of the album,Victim of the
Modern Heart was my favorite track. You and I was nice too.
It's ironic they had a You and I on the I Am album and
another on TTW.

phunkdaddy said:

These two songs alone make Side Two worth checking out


and then the whole thing concludes with "Victim Of The Modern Heart",a brilliant song.

StarMon said:

I'm gonna go ahead and say that 'Touch The World' is EW&F's best album of the 80s.'Raise' would be a close second.

I think the weakest EW&F album is 'Powerlight'.The two singles are great...."Fall In Love With Me" and "Side By Side" both have that classic EW&F sound.Elsewhere,there is the feeling that they were finally running out of ideas.The tunes are mediocre and stale.

Ironically,I like their next album 'Electric Universe' alot,even though it got horrible reviews by fans and critics After 'Powerlight',it was clear that they needed to change their sound and while they didn't succeed commercially,I think 'Electric Universe' is an interesting album.Their 'classic sound' is nowhere to be found here,but I really like the futuristic sound of it all.The pulsing "Magnetic sounds fresh and energetic,with a relentless arrangement that never lets up."Touch" is another strong tune."Could It Be Right" is one of their finest pop ballads,and "We're Living In Our Own Time" deserves attention as well.

Allnall said:

'The Promise' is a superb album.My only complaint is,there are too many slow tracks.You are correct,it's "too mellow".I bought the Japanese import and it contains additional bonus tracks ("Soul" and "So Lucky") that are uptempo and funky.These tunes even out the album,so that it's not too mellow.It's too bad that these songs weren't included on the regular release.






'Illumination' is a solid album.I especially like "This Is How I Feel" and "The One".With strong promotion,those two songs could have been big hits.

Any love for 'Heritage'?



Just like with 'Electric Universe' (an album that most fans dislike),I like much of 'Heritage',despite the horrible reviews,lol.The album is far from perfect and the hip-hop influence is distracting at times,but there are several good tunes on this album...

"Takin' Chances"---A strong opener that almost could have been a single.
"Good Time" with Sly Stone---This sounds more like a Sly Stone track featuring EW&F...lol...he sings the verses on his own.Lives up to its title.
"Anything You Want"---one of the few tunes with the 'classic' EW&F sound,this is a cool slow jam.
"Daydreamin"---BEST song on the album!!
"For The Love Of You"---a perfect jam ruined by an unnecessary MC Hammer rap.

Heritage is unfortunate because it gets canned due to the inclusion of rap. Legendary groups such as EWF were pioneers, and so to many, including myself, it was like they were chasing a trend because they had run out of their own ideas.....and so it didnt really sound like the EWF we knew and loved.

My standouts on Heritage were Daydreamin' and Welcome.....the drums and horns were the standout in both...as well as the vocal layers, Maurice/Phil....both were strong, punchy tunes and were true EWF in the best sense.

It was a good album, but not great.....I dont play it all as much as their others, save for the 2 songs I listed above.

Powerlight is an immaculately produced and sounding album.....glossy in feel, and instrumentation. and maybe that is where the fault lay.....Yes, Fall in Love with Me and Side By Side were EWF tunes, but the slickness in the production of the album caused it to be less funky and in a strange way, tired sounding.

In terms of 80s albums, I rank them below:

(1) FACES (yeah, I know the rap on this, they didnt stretch out, some songs sound the same, and some say that could be reduced to one album....well, to me, if you took the best songs on that double-album and filtered to one CD, those songs would make it tops for me)

(2) RAISE ( well, Let's groove might be overplayed...but the point is, it is a great tune, forceful and EWF thru and thru...and in any event, it is an classic tune whether U truly like it or not.....plus, there are enough other tunes with punch and rhtyhm to put this high up there...honorable mentions go to You Are a Winner and Changing Times)

(3) TOUCH THE WORLD (a welcome return for EWF after their hiatus.....there are enough good tunes here to keep it in the ranks of overall esential albums for the group

(4) Powerlight (In spite of the shortcomings noted above, it is a better overall effort than Electric Universe....which only resonates for me with "TOUCH"

(5) Electric Universe (Not useless, but certainly not essential.....nothing earth-shattering or unique...it sounds lazy and not really inspired....a true EWF stumble before the hiatus
[Edited 3/23/10 6:11am]

This is how I would rank their 80s albums....


[1)'Touch The World' (1987)---Yes,I truly think this is their best 80s album.Like 'I Am',this is one of those albums where every song could have been a single.The uptempo songs are catchy and hook-laden,and the ballads are excellent.The songs are slick and heavily synthesized (like most late-80s music),but it still sounds like an Earth Wind and Fire album.The classic elements are there.


2) 'Raise' (1981)---A strong album all the way through.After the disappointing 'Faces',this was a return to form.Standout tracks are "Let's Groove","Wanna Be With You","I've Had Enough" and "The Changing Times".

3) 'Electric Universe' (1983)

4) 'Faces' (1980)

5) 'Powerlight' (1982)

Allnall said:

I think the hip-hop elements were totally unnecessary.They didn't need MC Hammer on two tracks.I have a feeling that the record company pushed them in this direction.It's a shame because,the songs are strong on their own."For The Love Of You" is a kickass jam.....until MC Hammer ruins it with a lame rap.

The other song featuring Hammer,"Wanna Be The Man" is atrocious.Probably the WORST EW&F single ever.

Still,there are enough good tunes here that save the day.It's not quite the fiasco that some fans and critics say it is,lol.

okay, I didn't wanna do this, but I think my EWF 80s rankings would look like this

(1) Faces - yes, I said it

(2) Raise

(3) Powerlight

(4) Touch the World

(5) Electric Universe




as for the 90s and 00s "The Promise" stands high above the rest