Earth, Wind & Fire defined soul and R&B in the late 70s.
\nThe ultra-tight grooves, lush production, and falsetto vocals
\ncombined to make “the elements” not only a commercial smash, but
\nalso a group with real virtuosity and jaw-dropping songwriting
\nskills. In direct contrast to today’s soul music,
\nSpirit<\/i>‘s tracks are distinct yet cohesive; classic in an
\nalbum oriented sense, yet still sounding fresh enough to be
\ncontemporary. In short, these guys put current R&B\/soul
\nwannabes to shame.<\/p>\n
I’m always amazed at the brazen thievery performed by so-called
\nR&B artists these days. It’s almost cynical the way Sean Combs
\nsteals classic hooks at will. More disturbing is the way music
\nconsumers eat this crap up, validating Combs and his ilk as
\nsuperstars and verifying the death of originality in a genre that
\nneeds it to stay viable. Listening to
\nSpirit<\/i> will remind you that the real thing is still out
\nthere, and it has nothing to do with VH1 fashion awards or MTV’s
\nstranglehold on cultural phenomenons.<\/p>\n
Earth, Wind & Fire did not rely on tough posturing or simple
\nstyle to promote their sound, indeed the music speaks for itself
\neven 23 years later. Their uplifting message is fresh in this age
\nof scandal and degradation, as EW&F’s sweet harmonies and
\ncommercial (yet complex) arrangements sound vital in comparison to
\nthe cookie cutter hip hop beat that invariably backs virtually
\nevery R&B song to come out in the late 1990s.<\/p>\n
\nSpirit<\/i> has no filler. It’s immediately apparent EW&F
\nconcerned themselves with creating a quality album rather than a
\ncollection of one or two singles surrounded by garbage. Each track
\nsounds painstakingly constructed while retaining the fluidity that
\nis the hallmark of accomplished writers. Unfortunately the shift
\nfrom real albums to singles oriented music has by now affected
\nevery popular genre; a symptom of the record industry’s mandate to
\nmake money immediately and satisfy the share holders now that major
\nand independent labels are always somehow tied into
\nmega-conglomerates that have their talons in every media outlet.
\nAnyway…<\/p>\n
“Getaway” opens the album, and is a landmark funk tune anchored
\nby Verdine White’s impeccable bass figure. Horns blast and there’s
\na feeling of ecstatic release in the pristine vocals that float
\nhigh above the mix. The track is dense with percussion, yet there
\nis a feeling of open space. Ah, the miracle of good production. “On
\nYour Face” suggests we cannot live a lie…unhappiness inside is
\nbound to show on your face. Within the song the message sounds
\nneither corny nor self conscious (another striking difference
\nbetween today’s music, which is so utterly self conscious as to put
\nthe kibosh on guitar solos or any other avenue that might showcase
\na talent).<\/p>\n
The lush ballad “Imagination” flows with the beautiful harmonies
\nof EW&F. Strings add a critical sentimentality and are a large
\nfactor in this song’s success. I’m not usually inclined to ballads,
\nbut it’s hard to ignore the perfect production. It’s one of those
\nsongs that listeners can find something new within each time they
\nhear it. The title track is another ballad, expressing positivity
\nand unity within the framework of love. “Spirit” features Philip
\nBailey’s incredible falsetto.<\/p>\n
“Saturday Nite” joyously celebrates hanging with friends, and
\nthe drama associated with human interaction. Laughter peppers the
\ntrack as if to solidify the feeling that these guys had a lot of
\nfun making the album. It’s actually pretty common funk fare, but
\nthe vocals and tight sound puts “Saturday Nite” in the upper
\nechelon of party tunes. I’m sure there were plenty of 12″ dance
\nsingles featuring this song.<\/p>\n
“Earth, Wind and Fire” has a cool symphonic sound that propels
\nanother message. The flanged vocals ask, “Are you satisfied \/ in
\nyour life and time \/ does it fill your mind \/ all the hurt you
\nfind”. It’s a friendly groove, another strong song about unity. The
\nhorns on the second verse typify EW&F’s plentiful creativity;
\nthey perfectly complement the vocals and add another layer to the
\nsong that only makes it more interesting. “Earth, Wind and Fire” is
\ncertainly epic enough to honor its namesake.<\/p>\n
Synthesized bleeps open the next track, but this slight
\ndeparture is no problem, since the song is called “Departure” and
\nthe track breaks into a stylish funk groove that features heavy
\ninterplay between sax, guitar, keys, and synth. Essentially they’re
\ngiving the talented players an opportunity to show off their chops
\nin a funktified setting. It’s amazing how the group manages to
\nsound so real, especially considering how produced this album is.
\nWhat I mean is, “Departure” could theoretically be one step away
\nfrom smooth jazz, but the musicians manage to put that extra ounce
\nof muscle in the track that gives it a distinct rawness. At the end
\nthere is a hearty “Whew!” by the band. Very cool.<\/p>\n
“Biyo” and “Burning Bush” run together as intro and song
\nrespectively. One can infer from the title that “Burning Bush” is
\nspiritually based. It is a beautiful song, again showcasing the
\ninspired singing and insightful arrangement of EW&F. It closes
\nout an album that is unified in sound and lyric, and leaves the
\nlistener on a note of positive affirmation (last clich\u00e9, I
\nswear).<\/p>\n
I hope I didn’t gush too much, but
\nSpirit<\/i> is that impressive upon the first and subsequent
\nlistens. The lushness of the album is almost too sweet at times,
\nand I’ve found myself listening to this album in short spurts
\nrather than one long chunk of time. I hesitate to brand it as a
\nmood piece, because it is not that specifically challenging,
\nhowever I do tend to put it on only in certain situations. I also
\nneglected to put the album in perspective with the other EW&F
\nreleases of this era, as it’s always interesting to take an album
\nout of context at listen to it solely on its own merit. Highly
\nrecommended.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":24959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[6073],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-36164","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-earth-wind-fire","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36164\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36164"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=36164"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=36164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}