972 Earth, Wind and Fire - That’s the Way of the World (1975)

 972 Earth, Wind and Fire - That’s the Way of the World (1975)

Soundtrack album - Soul




About the Act:

Earth, Wind and Fire, or EWF for short, are an American Soul band (orginating from Chicago) with continuous existence from 1969 until now. They are a big band and have had quite a turnover of members, but the driving force was mostly Maurice White, who shared vocal duties with Philip Bailey.

They followed in the legacy of Funk, but have spanned genres including R&B, Soul, Funk, Disco and Pop. They have been one of the most commercially successful bands of all time and have been well-regarded by their peers and critics.


About the Album:

This was the sixth studio album by EWF, and is in fact a soundtrack album to a film of the same name. The band predicted that the film would be a flop, so released the album before the film was released. The album was a big success and the film was indeed, a flop. The album gained critical attention, mostly good (although some complained it was over-blown). It topped the American album charts.


My History with this Album:

None at all.


Review:

The 70s were my musically formative years, and at this time (1975) this sort of music abounded in the charts. I generally dismissed it out of hand, preferring British Rock of various kinds.  In some ways it has been hard for me to put aside that prejudice when listening to this album. It is very stereotypical 70s music of this type, funky/dancy numbers and big, overblown dramatic ballads, with messages that border on preaching, including the mostly spoken "All About Love". The vocal delivery is very much in the genre, with asides like "get it ornnn" that hark back to blacksploitation. 

But it is worth seeing through the cliches. Having experimented with listening to various forms of Funk in the last few years has helped in that respect. The band are really tight and the musicality is great, really strong and competent. The track "Africano" is a great Funk track with elements of Jazz and Afrobeat in it.  A kalimba (thumb piano) is used at various points to excellent effect. The harmonic structure is sophisticated and interesting. There is no way around it, these guys are amazing musicians, and musically, this album is really something: varied and inventive, embracing Funk, African influence, Soul and Latin. 

The vocals are very competent, but dangerously close to being self-parodying. If you can embrace an inner 70s child you can kind of step into the package by mentally donning an Afro and Flairs, a shirt open to the naval and a big, big medallion. It's a great big slice of 70s soul-cake.


7.5/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5tXZfxvr2VaWibD74nw8VL

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcSy3etBG3X9GAOiXbPiyuTd42hCm37kw

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That%27s_the_Way_of_the_World



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