SoulAlive said:

mrwiggles said:

SoulAlive said: I pulled out the old Faces vinyl last night and spun it entirely. I thought I remembered liking this better than it hit me last night. It did not hit. All the songs started to sound similar and it wore on me. I got bored with it. There is no reason for me to cue it up again. Now I did have Powerlight in the early 80's on a cassette and wore it out until it wouldn't play anymore. Loved Side By Side.

that's my only issue with Faces.It's a 2-record set,but it's too much of the same thing.The songs are good for the most part,but in order to make a 2-record set interesting,you gotta branch out and go in a few different directions

It wouldnt be EWF if they did that..People are expecting the EWF that they knew up til that point.

Which for any artist..You expect a certain sound..."Their Sound" ..

So if they deviate from it..It can turn listeners off..

funkdoctorrock said:

RJOrion said:

SoulAlive said:

just imagine if an entire side of that album was devoted to the jazzy,Afro and latin sounds that they do so well.It would have been an interesting diversion from the 4-minute R&B songs that make up most of the album.Double albums give you the room to do something like that.

the song "Faces" is so long it took up almost a half of the 4th side, and it has the jazzy,Afro and latin sounds you mention, all in one song ...but yes a whole side, or a whole LP of EW&F Jazz joints would have been ill...you could even make a Best Of EWF Jazz playlist from their existing joints, starting maybe with:

Belo Horizante

Caribou

Runnin

Faces

Sun Goddess

See The Light

Honor The Magic

Zanzibar

Clover

Africano

Drum Song

Energy

Bad Tune

RJOrion said:

SoulAlive said:

just imagine if an entire side of that album was devoted to the jazzy,Afro and latin sounds that they do so well.It would have been an interesting diversion from the 4-minute R&B songs that make up most of the album.Double albums give you the room to do something like that.

the song "Faces" is so long it took up almost a half of the 4th side, and it has the jazzy,Afro and latin sounds you mention, all in one song ..

but that's exactly the type of song that the album needed more of an entire side of complex,jazzy Afro/latin grooves.Would have made the album so much more interesting,imo.On a 2-record set,there's plenty of room to branch out and step out of their comfort zone.Many years ago,I recall Maurice saying that those amazing interludes that are on various EW&F albums....those actually go on for much longer,but they're edited down to fit on the album.On a 2-record set,space is not an issue! Give us those intriguing tracks!

The general consensus among many EW&F fans is that Raise is "their last great album" or "the last album that really sounded like EW&F",but I'm one of those fans who thinks differently.I think they continued to make great music into the 90s,too.1993's Millenium is a very stong album that's filled with excellent songs.Unlike Heritage,there is no trendy,New Jack Swing production,hip-hop beats or unnecessary guest rappers.This is pure Earth,Wind and Fire.Highlights include "Love Across The Wire","Sunday Morning","Blood Brothers","Honor The Magic", and my favorite "Wouldn't Change A Thing About You".There's even a Prince-produced track "Super Hero".Who else really enjoys this album?

SoulAlive said:

The general consensus among many EW&F fans is that Raise is "their last great album" or "the last album that really sounded like EW&F",but I'm one of those fans who thinks differently.I think they continued to make great music into the 90s,too.1993's Millenium is a very stong album that's filled with excellent songs.Unlike Heritage,there is no trendy,New Jack Swing production,hip-hop beats or unnecessary guest rappers.This is pure Earth,Wind and Fire.Highlights include "Love Across The Wire","Sunday Morning","Blood Brothers","Honor The Magic", and my favorite "Wouldn't Change A Thing About You".There's even a Prince-produced track "Super Hero".Who else really enjoys this album?

Bloodbrothers is one of my fave EWF songs from the later years....
The only issue I have with this album is the non-reliance of real drums, etc...music is great, but too much EWF is lost with the drum machines thruout

I remember at the time when Maurice first came out and told the world he had Parkinsons, and I thought, Chi-Town Blues was a decent way for Maurice to bow out if it the disease took its toll
Happily, that was not to be.
Whilst later albums were not the true EWF tour-de-force of earlier years, there were gems sprinkled everywhere

She Waits

Show Me the Way

DayDreamin

Welcome

Loves Dance

SoulAlive, I'm in the "between the vision & fulfillment" chapter when Maurice first came to LA. His words and general attitude even excude the same energy in his music. I'm loving it so far.

Hamad said:

SoulAlive, I'm in the "between the vision & fulfillment" chapter when Maurice first came to LA. His words and general attitude even excude the same energy in his music. I'm loving it so far.

SoulAlive said:

RJOrion said:

Electric Universe wasnt as bad as its reputation...what killed that album, was releasing "Magnetic" as the 1st single...1st joint should have been "Touch" or maybe "Moonwalk"..."Magnetic" was just a horrible song that sounded nothing like EW&F...

The 80s was a tough time for funk bands who were popular in the 70s.The musical landscape was changing,synths and drum machines had taken over,and big bands with horn players were becoming obsolete.Cameo,Kool & The Gang and Bar-Kays were funk bands who were able to successfully adapt to the changes,for a few years at least.I can certainly understand why Maurice felt the need to make some changes.I liked "Magnetic" it has a very futuristic sound that I enjoyed.I think that "Could It Be Right" should have been a single......it would have been a big pop/adult contemporary hit,ala "After The Love Is Gone".

I could understand to with Maurice wanting to update EWF a bit because like you stated Cameo, Bar-Kays, Lakeside, and Midnight Star were starting to dominate R&B radio with their synth funk sound and Kool & The Gang was taking EWF spot on the charts as the universal pop band. I wasn't a fan of Electric Universe through and through but Magnetic and Moonwalk were the album highlights for me.

I think Could It Be Right could have worked in 1980 following After the Love Has Gone but not in 1983.

RJOrion said:

SoulAlive said:

The 80s was a tough time for funk bands who were popular in the 70s.The musical landscape was changing,synths and drum machines had taken over,and big bands with horn players were becoming obsolete.Cameo,Kool & The Gang and Bar-Kays were funk bands who were able to successfully adapt to the changes,for a few years at least.I can certainly understand why Maurice felt the need to make some changes.I liked "Magnetic" it has a very futuristic sound that I enjoyed.I think that "Could It Be Right" should have been a single......it would have been a big pop/adult contemporary hit,ala "After The Love Is Gone".

yeah...definitely right about the demise of the funk/r&b bands due to drum machines replacing drums, nd synths replacing horns...(prince's rise to prominence can share some of the blame)...but EWF had done better genre switching songs than Magnetic though..."Boogie Wonderland" (disco), and "Changing Times" (new wave/pop) were much better attempts at crossing over than Magnetic...

Changing Times was my shit. I actually draw some parallels with Changing Times and Magnetic.

Roland Bautista played some kick ass guitar on both.

SoulAlive said:

The general consensus among many EW&F fans is that Raise is "their last great album" or "the last album that really sounded like EW&F",but I'm one of those fans who thinks differently.I think they continued to make great music into the 90s,too.1993's Millenium is a very stong album that's filled with excellent songs.Unlike Heritage,there is no trendy,New Jack Swing production,hip-hop beats or unnecessary guest rappers.This is pure Earth,Wind and Fire.Highlights include "Love Across The Wire","Sunday Morning","Blood Brothers","Honor The Magic", and my favorite "Wouldn't Change A Thing About You".There's even a Prince-produced track "Super Hero".Who else really enjoys this album?

I'll be honest I wouldn't consider Millenium great but is an interesting listen now considering the state of music now. In 1993 I know for a fact I wasn't the only EWF fan disappointed with Millenium. I remember I even bought the cassette because right away I only dug Even If You Wonder and Sunday Morning. The record store owner told me those were the only 2 songs he dug but I also started to dig Blood Brothers and Honor The Magic which was 2 short. I thought Divine was their attempt at New Jack on this album. I think they missed the ball when they released a weak pop tune Spend The Night as the second single instead of Even If You Wonder which took me back to the classic EWF sounding In The Stone. I will have to give this another listen because I do remember turning my nose up at most of the songs on Side 2. I think I kind of liked Chicago Blues a bit. During 1993 though I thought this was weird uneven listen and sadly when the band performed Sunday Morning on a few shows you could tell something wasn't right with Maurice.

[Edited 3/17/18 21:00pm]

Looking at the EWF period post Powerlight you tend to forget about The Promise and Illumination.

Thanks All N All for reminding me. Maurice was all over The Promise as well as the signature EWF sound. I loved the interludes on the album. All In The Way, Hold Me , Never, She Waits, and Maurice was back at it on the Kalimba on Wiggle and The Promise interludes. To me the Promise was the last classic sounding EWF album but it's easy to forget about this album because of some of the bad period in between. I even liked some of Illumination but this album was the one album that they bought in outside producers. Album highlights include Pure Gold, Show Me The Way, and Love's Dance. Sadly this would be Maurice's last stint with the band in the studio.

phunkdaddy said:

RJOrion said:

SoulAlive said: yeah...definitely right about the demise of the funk/r&b bands due to drum machines replacing drums, nd synths replacing horns...(prince's rise to prominence can share some of the blame)...but EWF had done better genre switching songs than Magnetic though..."Boogie Wonderland" (disco), and "Changing Times" (new wave/pop) were much better attempts at crossing over than Magnetic...

Changing Times was my shit. I actually draw some parallels with Changing Times and Magnetic.

Roland Bautista played some kick ass guitar on both.

to me,the track "Electric Nation" sounds alot like "Changing Times"....but not nearly as good.

phunkdaddy said:

SoulAlive said:

The general consensus among many EW&F fans is that Raise is "their last great album" or "the last album that really sounded like EW&F",but I'm one of those fans who thinks differently.I think they continued to make great music into the 90s,too.1993's Millenium is a very stong album that's filled with excellent songs.Unlike Heritage,there is no trendy,New Jack Swing production,hip-hop beats or unnecessary guest rappers.This is pure Earth,Wind and Fire.Highlights include "Love Across The Wire","Sunday Morning","Blood Brothers","Honor The Magic", and my favorite "Wouldn't Change A Thing About You".There's even a Prince-produced track "Super Hero".Who else really enjoys this album?

I'll be honest I wouldn't consider Millenium great but is an interesting listen now considering the state of music now. In 1993 I know for a fact I wasn't the only EWF fan disappointed with Millenium. I remember I even bought the cassette because right away I only dug Even If You Wonder and Sunday Morning. The record store owner told me those were the only 2 songs he dug but I also started to dig Blood Brothers and Honor The Magic which was 2 short. I thought Divine was their attempt at New Jack on this album. I think they missed the ball when they released a weak pop tune Spend The Night as the second single instead of Even If You Wonder which took me back to the classic EWF sounding In The Stone. I will have to give this another listen because I do remember turning my nose up at most of the songs on Side 2. I think I kind of liked Chicago Blues a bit. During 1993 though I thought this was weird uneven listen and sadly when the band performed Sunday Morning on a few shows you could tell something wasn't right with Maurice.

"Wouldn't Change A Thing About You" should have been the second single,imo.It's a nice,breezy song where Philip Bailey absolutely shines.A really,really great song!

phunkdaddy said:

Looking at the EWF period post Powerlight you tend to forget about The Promise and Illumination.

before those albums,there was Avatar,released in the US under a different title,In The Name Of Love.What do you think of this project? I noticed that Maurice was singing less.A few songs feature guitarist Sheldon Reynolds taking the lead.

I like the track "Keep It Real"

[Edited 3/17/18 23:08pm]

phunkdaddy said:

RJOrion said:

Sheldon Reynolds was wack...i didnt like Roland Bautista (in his 2nd stint) either...any EW&F guitar player after 1980 only exacerbated how badly they missed Al McKay...Bautista was a good rock guitarist, but he didnt have the rhythmic feel, and couldnt "pick it", and couldnt play the melodic chord changes like McKay did...... [Edited 3/18/18 9:31am]

I didn't care for Sheldon Reynolds either. I remember me and a homie was watching them perform on an awards show or something and he asked where the hell did EWF get that big doofus from.

Roland was cool but neither of these cats were Al McKay or Johnny Graham.

Show Me The Way came out a full year before the album was released. Phillip said in the liner notes(Illumination)it started out as a solo project with him before it morphed into an EWF album.

"Got To Get You Into My Life" by Earth Wind & Fire (1978)----EW&F doing a Beatles song.....around the time that this song came out,that's when I realized how "big" Earth Wind & Fire were becoming.By this point,their songs were crossing over onto the pop charts and reaching the Top 10 with ease....and here they were,not only doing a Beatles song but also appearing in the 'Sgt.Peppers Lonely Hearts Club' movie.Their performance is a highlight of that film.1978 was a very big year for them.In addition to this song,they also had another monster hit ("September"),successful tour and a well-received 'Best Of' album.

RJOrion said:

i liked "In The Name Of Love"...it seemed like they had caught up with the rest of r&b and didnt sound so dated..."Revolution", "In The Name Of Love", "Right Time", "Fill You Up" were good songs...to me, this album was better than Millenium, Promise, or Heritage...Millenium had too much filler and sounded cluttered...and Promise sounded like they were trying too hard to sound like Earth Wind & Fire, if that makes any sense...In The Name Of Love was more cohesive and efficient...just like Illumination...

I gave Millenium a spin earlier today. Still dug a few songs but still majority of it was cluttered

with filler like you said. I tried to get into Superhero but it's just too canned cheese for me. It just seemed like this album was all over the place with pop, New Jack, and too less of the EWF sound. My highlights from the album are Even If You Wonder, Sunday Morning, Honor The Magic, and the Kalimba interludes. Other decent songs Two Hearts, Blood Brothers, and Chicago Blues.

[Edited 3/19/18 17:34pm]

phunkdaddy said:

RJOrion said:

Millenium had too much filler and sounded cluttered.

I gave Millenium a spin earlier today. Still dug a few songs but still majority of it was cluttered

with filler like you said. I tried to get into Superhero but it's just too canned cheese for me. That one is okay. It just seemed like this album was all over the place with pop, New Jack, and too less of the EWF sound. My highlights from the album are Even If You Wonder, Sunday Morning, Honor The Magic, and the Kalimba interludes. Other decent songs Two Hearts, Blood Brothers, and Chicago Blues.

Wow,I can't believe that Millenium isn't getting more love when I purchased that CD in 1993,I thought it was brilliant and I still do.It seemed liked Maurice learned his lesson after Heritage,took his time and crafted a strong,consistent EW&F album filled with great tunes.Neither of you guys mentioned the excellent,Thom Bell-written ballad "Love Across The Wire" or the breezy,melodic "Wouldn't Change A Thing About You".I demand that you both go back and listen to those two wonderful tracks

All throughout the first half of 1987,I was hearing that Earth Wind & Fire had gotten back together and were recording a new album.I was thrilled.They had been gone since 1983 and I was really missing them.Maurice and Philip released solo albums during that time,but I was really longing for another EW&F album.Touch The World was released in the fall of '87 and I think it's a very good album.Highlights include the first single "System Of Survival","You And I","Victim Of The Modern Heart","Here Today And Gone Tomorrow",and "Evil Roy".One track,"Thinking Of You" (which was the second single) features the Emotions on background vocals and it sounds just like old times....classic EW&F sound.Unlike the previous album,Electric Universe,this time around they don't totally abandon their classic sound.They simply update it just a little and the results are very,very impressive.

[Edited 3/18/18 23:23pm]

SoulAlive said:

SoulAlive said:

All throughout the first half of 1987,I was hearing that Earth Wind & Fire had gotten back together and were recording a new album.I was thrilled.They had been gone since 1983 and I was really missing them.Maurice and Philip released solo albums during that time,but I was really longing for another EW&F album.Touch The World was released in the fall of '87 and I think it's a very good album.Highlights include the first single "System Of Survival","You And I","Victim Of The Modern Heart","Here Today And Gone Tomorrow",and "Evil Roy".One track,"Thinking Of You" (which was the second single) features the Emotions on background vocals and it sounds just like old times....classic EW&F sound.Unlike the previous album,Electric Universe,this time around they don't totally abandon their classic sound.They simply update it just a little and the results are very,very impressive.

[Edited 3/18/18 23:23pm]

this lp was out at a bad time in my life...i only remember getting into "System Of Survival" and seeing "Thinking Of You" getting played for the Soul Train Line on TV (thank you Rosie Perez )...i dont even listen to that lp much anymore...dark times...