World Famous Comics: The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol.1
The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol.1
By: Wind & Fire Earth Average Rating: Binding: Audio CD Format: Extra tracks, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered Label: Sony Number of Discs: 1 Release Date: July 27, 1999
Amazon.com: Like a lot of second-wave funk bands, Earth, Wind & Fire were adept at balancing slickness and rawness. While their albums were occasionally spotty, the outfit achieved truly miraculous moments like the rocking "Shining Star" and the gloriously syncopated "September." (Come to think of it, the screaming guitar of the former was also nicely set off by its rhythmic flow.) In a have-you-never-been-mellow decade, their positivity seemed mostly realistic. With something like their powerhouse transformation of "Got to Get You into My Life"--pulling one of the great Beatles covers out of the awful Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band movie--they could make even the most churlish listener believe anything was possible. --Rickey Wright
SHINING STAR FOR YOU TO SEE IF YOU GREW UP AND CAME OF AGE IN THE 1970'S LIKE I DID, A LOT OF THESE SONGS ARE JUST A PART OF THE SOUNDTRACK OF YOUR LIFE UP UNTIL NOW. I LOVED EWF THEN AND I STILL LOVE THEM NOW, THEY CROSSED A LOT OF BOUNDARIES, HAD SOME SMASH HITS, AND WHEN I SAW THEM OPEN UP FOR SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, THEY BROUGHT THE HOUSE DOWN. THERE ARE SO MANY GREAT HITS HERE ON THIS CD, YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF SINGING ALONG WITH A LOT OF THESE SONGS.
A Gentler Time Nice smooth sound for a great group of the 70's. Great cd to have if you are looking for this groups greatest hits. I think this cd will bring back fond memories of a slower less hectic decade.
The "Hybrid Theory" of its day! A great inclusion to what is mostly a Classic Rock collection. Like Blood, Sweat, and Tears before them and maybe Chicago, but jazzy soul. Underappreciated during the Disco years, this time-tested material still sounds GREAT! Of much greater interest than merely the Soul or Jazz audiencences, it's one fine album!
Most of the best, but where's the early stuff? This is a rough guess, but I'd say there are about a trillion EWF comps on the market, mostly either generic hit collections or tacky theme roundups. This is actually one of their better comps, as it contains MOST of their best songs up until 1978. Not all, though. I won't even get into the sorely missed deep cuts, because some obvious ones were skipped: Head to the Sky, Devotion (especially that great live version off of Gratitude), Kalimba Story, Serpintine Fire, Mighty Mighty, I'll Write a Song for You and It's All About Love are just radio staples, why aren't they included? (I would've complained about lacking After the Love is Gone, but it turns out that came out a year after this comp was released, so I can't really). Yes, I understand vinyl was restrictive at the time, but in these days of CD those songs could've been tacked on as bonus tracks (one of the few instances I'd support the use of bonus tracks), but instead they tack on these stupid, useless Megamix things... yeah. Fact is, you can't sum up the career of a band at the height of their powers in ten tracks, no matter how good nine of those ten are. I could've done without Love Music - it's certainly not BAD, and they could've picked far worse. But I don't see what it has over It's All About Love, Head to the Sky, Devotion, Serpintine Fire, Mighty Mighty or Kalimba Story. But hey... this has September! September's a classic, man! And this was the first time it was put on a studio album, for whatever that's worth. Same with their great cover of The Beatles' Got to Get You Into My Life - I'm a Beatle freak, but I must say, this cover beats even their original. And there's plenty of fine funk stuff: Shining Star, the aforementioned September and Got to Get You Into My Life, Singasong and Getaway, as well as some wonderfully amazing ballads like Reasons, Fantasy, Can't Hide Love and That's the Way of the World, so this makes for a fitting intro for the group. But don't make the mistake I did in thinking this is all you need - it was about three years after buying this before I finally picked up an EWF studio album, and of course I had waited about three years too long. Don't stop here - I recommend That's the Way of the World, Gratitude, All in All, Open Our Eyes and Spirit as well - but this is good.
Best of EWF Does it get any better than this? Check the songs before you buy another CD, some of these songs are duplicated on another CD. Still, great sounds.
Anything Goes Trivia
Last Kiss
Megaton Man
Trevor
