I've never gotten into their discography, so what are their best albums?

They're my favorite band,and these are my favorite albums by them:

Spirit (1976)

Touch The World (1987)

my faves:

"That's The Way Of The World" 1975

"Gratitude" 1975

"Spirit" 1976

"All-n-All" 1977

"I Am" 1979

"Raise" 1981

"Powerlight" 1982

TD3 said:

It's a deservice in my opinion to start when Earth, Wind, & Fire gained popularity. Some of there best work was before...

I agree. I merely said the ones I mentioned were my personal faves.

In truth, I consider their entire catalog "essential".

TD3 said:

It's a deservice in my opinion to start when Earth, Wind, & Fire gained popularity. Some of there best work was before... "That's The Way Of The World". 1.Earth, Wind, & Fire (1971) 2.The Need For Love (1972) 3.Last Days and Time (1972) 4.Head To The Sky (1973) 5.Open Your Eyes. (1974)

That's so true. Those first albums, including the Warners stuff is criminally underrated. Last Days And Time is a masterpiece.

EWF was before my time. However, my dad played their albums all the time when I was a kid and I didn't realize how inspiring and creative their music was until I got older. I've purchased a lot their music thru iTUNES. My favorie albums are:

1) Last Days and Time (might be my favorite album simply because of "Remember the Children" track alone)

2) Thats The Way of the World

3) Spirit

4) All N All

5) Open Our Eyes

JamFanHot said:

TD3 said:

It's a diservice in my opinion to start when Earth, Wind, & Fire gained popularity. Some of their best work was before...

I agree. I merely said the ones I mentioned were my personal faves.

In truth, I consider their entire catalog "essential".

It's wonderful to see them chane, grow, and evolve. Everytime I thought they "put a stamp" on it, they added another.

Personally I'm a bit weird in that I love the synthy early '80s albums like Raise and Powerlight... as a starter for someone graduating from a compilation, though, I guess anything from '75 to '79 would do. And as someone else said, the early '70s stuff is awesome.

[Edited 6/17/12 15:15pm]

ChickenMcNuggets said:

TD3 said:

ChickenMcNuggets said:

Personally I'm a bit weird in that I love the synthy early '80s albums like Raise and Powerlight... as a starter for someone graduating from a compilation, though, I guess anything from '75 to '79 would do. And as someone else said, the early '70s stuff is awesome.

[Edited 6/17/12 15:15pm]

I go back and forth from their different decades. I've so worn out the eighties... I've been groovin to E.W.& F's early seventies stuff for a while now.

70s were great! You cant definitly tell a slight difference from that versus their 80s material. I still love Earth Wind and Fire. One of the greatest bands ever!

it's hard for me to pick a favorite EW&F album.At one time,I thought 'All N' All' was my favorite,but then I became obsessed with 'I Am' these days,'Spirit' seems to be the one I listen to the most.

SoulAlive said:

it's hard for me to pick a favorite EW&F album.At one time,I thought 'All N' All' was my favorite,but then I became obsessed with 'I Am' these days,'Spirit' seems to be the one I listen to the most.

Its a never ending shell game.

Yep, I went through my 'I AM' & 'Spirit' phase.... then a couple of years I was stuck on 'Gratitude.'

TD3 said:

SoulAlive said:

it's hard for me to pick a favorite EW&F album.At one time,I thought 'All N' All' was my favorite,but then I became obsessed with 'I Am' these days,'Spirit' seems to be the one I listen to the most.

Its a never ending shell game.

Yep, I went through my 'I AM' & 'Spirit' phase.... then a couple of years I was stuck on 'Gratitude.'

they certainly have an abundance of great albums

SoulAlive said:

TD3 said:

Its a never ending shell game.

Yep, I went through my 'I AM' & 'Spirit' phase.... then a couple of years I was stuck on 'Gratitude.'

they certainly have an abundance of great albums

They really do. I'm getting back into Last Days And Time and Head To The Sky. EW&F are one of those bands, next to WAR, The Ohio Players, The Isleys, and others, who put out quality concept albums over a long period of time.

silverchild said:

SoulAlive said:

they certainly have an abundance of great albums

They really do. I'm getting back into Last Days And Time and Head To The Sky. EW&F are one of those bands, next to WAR, The Ohio Players, The Isleys, and others, who put out quality concept albums over a long period of time.

Head To The Sky is an early masterpiece.Those songs are mesmerizing! "Clover" is my favorite.

SoulAlive said:

silverchild said:

They really do. I'm getting back into Last Days And Time and Head To The Sky. EW&F are one of those bands, next to WAR, The Ohio Players, The Isleys, and others, who put out quality concept albums over a long period of time.

Head To The Sky is an early masterpiece.Those songs are mesmerizing! "Clover" is my favorite.

Amen! It is a sonic masterpiece and essential headphone album as well. I have the album with DSD mastering...EARGASM! "Keep Your Head To The Sky," "Clover," "Evil," and "The World's A Masquerade" are head busters. The whole album is earthshattering really. I actually dig it more than Open Our Eyes, which is generally thought to be their commercial and artistic breakthrough.

TD3 said:

It's a disservice in my opinion to start when Earth, Wind, & Fire gained popularity. Some of their best work was before... "That's The Way Of The World". 1.Earth, Wind, & Fire (1971) 2.The Need For Love (1972) 3.Last Days and Time (1972) 4.Head To The Sky (1973) 5.Open Your Eyes. (1974) ============================ [Edited 6/17/12 11:27am]

I'll start with the last two. I don't care for the first two at all. I do like a few songs

off Last Days and Time.

Does anyone have any love for 1993's 'Millenium'? I think it's one of their best latter-day albums.Interestingly,this album was released on Warner Brothers...the same label that dropped them from the roster in 1972

HQGetty Images

SoulAlive said:

Does anyone have any love for 1993's 'Millenium'? I think it's one of their best latter-day albums.Interestingly,this album was released on Warner Brothers...the same label that dropped them from the roster in 1972

HQGetty Images

Still haven't gotten the chance to swipe this one and Heritage up...

Heritage gets a bad rap from many people,but I don't think it's the big disaster that people say it is Yes,MC Hammer nearly ruins a couple of tracks,but there are some great songs throughout:

"Good Time" with Sly Stone

"Anything You Want"---great slow jam

"For The Love Of You"---I wish MC Hammer wasn't on this song but it's still a killer groove

"Daydreamin"---shoulda have been a single

SoulAlive said:

Heritage gets a bad rap from many people,but I don't think it's the big disaster that people say it is Yes,MC Hammer nearly ruins a couple of tracks,but there are some great songs throughout:

"Good Time" with Sly Stone

"Anything You Want"---great slow jam

"For The Love Of You"---I wish MC Hammer wasn't on this song but it's still a killer groove

"Daydreamin"---shoulda have been a single

I think I remember "Daydreamin'" and "For The Love Of You." Those were the joints right there. I gotta swipe those two soon.

SoulAlive said:

Does anyone have any love for 1993's 'Millenium'? I think it's one of their best latter-day albums.Interestingly,this album was released on Warner Brothers...the same label that dropped them from the roster in 1972

HQGetty Images

Yep. I didn't like it enough to wanna put it up there with their hardcore classics, but liked "Sunday Morning", "Divine" & couple others. It was a cool album to hear from them circa '93.

JamFanHot said:

SoulAlive said:

Does anyone have any love for 1993's 'Millenium'? I think it's one of their best latter-day albums.Interestingly,this album was released on Warner Brothers...the same label that dropped them from the roster in 1972

HQGetty Images

Yep. I didn't like it enough to wanna put it up there with their hardcore classics, but liked "Sunday Morning", "Divine" & couple others. It was a cool album to hear from them circa '93.

"Wouldn't Change A Thing About You" is a standout track....one of their best.I can't believe that it wasn't a single.Ditto for "Love Across The Wire".

SoulAlive said:

JamFanHot said:

Yep. I didn't like it enough to wanna put it up there with their hardcore classics, but liked "Sunday Morning", "Divine" & couple others. It was a cool album to hear from them circa '93.

"Wouldn't Change A Thing About You" is a standout track....one of their best.I can't believe that it wasn't a single.Ditto for "Love Across The Wire".

All this talk about Millenium, and no love shown for "Bloodbrothers"?

One of my favorite EWF tracks of all time......I recall Maurice and Phil and Verdine discussing the album and talking about how this song represented their bond as friends and colleagues throughout their time in EWF......Verdine said that when he heard the song, he had tears in his eyes........I just love the horn outro.......

The only issue I have ever had with Millenium is the production sound.....the reliance on drum machines, etc.....but I agree with the other comments related to the fave songs off the album (Sunday Morning, LATW, Wouldnt Change...., and the Chi-Town Blues track which was a biography of Maurice in his early days as a musician.

Truth be told, the only album that I do not ever listen to is IN the Name of Love.....despite the fact that it returned EWF to live instrumentation....I do like the Title Track, and the opening track, but I get twisted when I hear Sheldon on lead vocals.....sorry...I know he represented EWF well in Maurice's absence, and his guitar play in concert wasnt bad.....but I just couldnt find alot of love for him....

Really tough to pick out a fave EWF album......there is so much to love and discover on almost each one they have put together.......

If I was forced at knife-point to pick my favorite.....it might be Allnall, mainly because the production was pristine, top-notch.....there was not one filler track on the album...and it had a cohesiveness from beginning to end.....

Right there neck and neck is I Am......percolating guitar and percussion throughout from In the Stone all the way thru to You and I....."Wait" is a gem that is sooooo underrated.....

And honorable runner up (despite the fact that I know many EWF fans on the Org dont share this view) is Faces.....

Yes, some of the songs might tend towards a sameness....and only a few are maybe key EWF tracks (Let Me Talk, Pride, Back on the Road, Take it to the Sky...a later version of sorts of TTWOTW).....but the balance of the material is still worthwhile and in a different environment (to the one that existed then) could have been received by the fans in a more forgiving light)

But from the early 70s thru to Illumination, you really cant go wrong with EWF....I dont think anyone would say that their more recent material is useless or embarrassing....so, their legacy has basically stayed intact for over 40 years......even considering the fact that with Maurice's declining health, he has not been able to be the powerhouse vocalist he once was...but, the material still represents the uniqueness that is EWF....

[Edited 6/19/12 5:55am]

Faces has some great moments and I admit,since it has been remastered,I have a whole new appreciation for it.

I had to back track on, "The Promise" album.

Love that album got E,W,& F sound written all over it.

SoulAlive said:

Faces has some great moments and I admit,since it has been remastered,I have a whole new appreciation for it.

Faces is a masterpiece, IMO. I listen to that bad boy more than I Am.

TD3 said:

I had to back track on, "The Promise" album.

Love that album got E,W,& F sound written all over it.

The Promise is so vastly underrated, it's not even funny. That's what Illumination should've been more of, even though that was a good record as well. It is a traditional EW&F record with some of that modern flair that is dope.

silverchild said:

TD3 said:

I had to back track on, "The Promise" album.

Love that album got E,W,& F sound written all over it.

The Promise is so vastly underrated, it's not even funny. That's what Illumination should've been more of, even though that was a good record as well. It is a traditional EW&F record with some of that modern flair that is dope.

TOTALLY. Talk about a nice return to form, late career. It's a good one.