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Earth, Wind & Fire

Earth, Wind & Fire

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Earth Wind & Fire: Gratitude

Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 7 February 1976

PROOF AT LAST that EWF deserve all the acclaim that's been heaped on them in the last couple of years. ...

Earth Wind And Fire: The Ultimate Collection/Gratitude/All ‘N’ All/That’s The Way Of The World (Columbia)

Review and Interview by Kit Aiken, Uncut, September 1999

THE SNAZZIEST, JAZZIEST dance crew of the period. Their ‘one world’ spirituality, sunny mysticism and conspicuous musicality makes them a real genre one-off. Never as ...

Audio interviews

Earth, Wind & Fire's Maurice White (1979)

Interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages audio, March 1979

Mr. White waxes philosophical about uplifting consciousness; contributing to the musical community; Philip Bailey and himself as singers; his fantasy lyrics and metaphysical lyrical vibrations; perfecting rawness; EW&F's over-the-top stage show; and society's problems.

File format: mp3; file size: 36.1mb, interview length: 37' 34" sound quality: ***

Maurice White and Philip Bailey (1988)

Interview by Simon Witter, Rock's Backpages audio, Fall 1988

Maurice White and Philip Bailey talk about the latest Earth, Wind & fire album Touch The World, changes in the band, outside producers and record company politics. Plus a short treatise on Egyptology!

File format: mp3; file size: 22.6mb, interview length: 24' 40" sound quality: ***

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The Black-Latin-Jazz-Rock-Vocal Bands

Profile by Vernon Gibbs, Soul Sounds, November 1972

THERE SEEMS to be a definite increase of interest among young Black and Third World musicians, who are either not technically equipped or deeply enough ...

Isaac Hayes: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Vernon Gibbs, New Musical Express, 18 August 1973

Brilliant Hayes: the bald facts ...

Earth Wind & Fire: Memories of Trane & Motown

Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Rolling Stone, 6 December 1973

CINCINNATI — MAURICE White and Phillip Bailey, the two lead singers and percussionists for Earth, Wind and Fire, are sitting in a rented Pontiac parked ...

Various Artists: California Jam Festival: Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario CA

Live Review by David Rensin, Zoo World, 23 May 1974

"Bastion Of Ennui" nets record gate. ...

War: War Live (United Artists UALA193-J2); Earth Wind & Fire: Open Our Eyes (Columbia KC 32712)

Review by Vernon Gibbs, Crawdaddy!, July 1974

THE TRUE TEST of any band is in live performance. Prima donna "entertainers" can escape with sickly back-ups and pass muster simply on the force ...

Earth, Wind and Fire: 'Turn on the funk motor'

Profile by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 17 May 1975

...ordered Godfather James Brown, and the welter of street-funk bands has been unstoppable. EARTH WIND AND FIRE are this month's chart faves. BOB FISHER examines ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Sonic Elements

Report and Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Downbeat, 19 June 1975

PHILADELPHIA IS a violent town. In the hotel where Earth, Wind and Fire are staying, an enraged woman (who has been given a passkey by ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: A Creative Explosion

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 2 September 1975

TO UNDERSTAND the true power of Earth, Wind & Fire, you have to understand that these are nine people with a message. A universal message ...

Santana, Earth Wind and Fire: Hippodrome, Birmingham

Live Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 13 September 1975

Lift-off on schedule for Santana tour ...

Earth, Wind, Fire, Dry Ice and Conviction

Interview by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 20 September 1975

MAURICE WHITE, of the above qualifications, talks to CLIFF WHITE (no relation) about the New Thing in soul music. ...

Santana and Earth Wind and Fire at Hammersmith Odeon

Live Review by Max Bell, New Musical Express, 20 September 1975

ONE OF THE ironic features of Columbia's prestigious double billing, Earth Wind And Fire/Santana is that in America right now the kudos for star spot ...

Earth Wind and Fire

Book Excerpt by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 September 1975

SO BRITAIN has finally tasted the elements. Earth Wind & Fire, nine piece California-based self-contained band/group, have been described by most American music journalists at ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Signs Rise for Shining Stars

Interview by David Rensin, Rolling Stone, 29 January 1976

LOS ANGELES – "Music is a sacred thing and we take it very seriously," Earth Wind & Fire founder/percussionist Maurice White offers during a rehearsal ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Soul & Inspiration

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 10 August 1976

Earth, Wind & Fire is all about inspiration, says bass player Verdine White... about saying something relevant to the people. And, despite their huge success, ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976

Fiery ELP of soul ...

Earth Wind & Fire: Spirit (CBS 81451)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 December 1976

IT HAS taken a mighty, mighty album to knock Stevie Wonder off the top spot in the States — albeit for one week because Stevie ...

Earth, Wind & Fire, the Emotions: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 14 December 1976

EW&F: simply magnifico! ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Spirit

Review by Joe McEwen, Rolling Stone, 16 December 1976

THE SONGS OF Earth, Wind and Fire combine pure urban fantasy with the type of facile brotherhood messages that also crop up in the music ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Spirit (CBS); The Blackbyrds: Unfinished Business (Fantasy)

Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 29 January 1977

Cliff White on recent soul ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Spirit (CBS 81451) ****

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, February 1977

A PLATEAU album for Maurice White's group, and with the death of co-producer Charles Stepney, that raises a few questions for the future. On the ...

Rappin' with Maurice White (of Earth, Wind and Fire)

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 May 1977

JUST AS their American run of successes seems to be on a temporary wane, so supergroup Earth Wind & Fire achieve their British breakthrough – ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Musical Giants

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 20 December 1977

ONE OF the gratifying success stories of this musical decade belongs unquestionably to a group who have literally become giants in the music world. We ...

Earth, Wind and Fire: All 'n All (CBS 80051)

Review by Barry Cain, Record Mirror, 7 January 1978

Smooth as their sequined shirts ...

Maurice White: From Sessionman To Producer

Interview by Sam Sutherland, Record World, 7 January 1978

EVEN IF Maurice had chosen to retire as a musician in the early '70s, his mid-decade emergence as a producer would guarantee him prominence: White's ...

Earth Wind and Fire: All 'n All

Review by Joe McEwen, Rolling Stone, 26 January 1978

AT THEIR WORST, Earth, Wind and Fire indulge in some of the most pretentious excesses in current black music. As on past Earth, Wind and ...

Earth Wind & Fire: All 'N' All (CBS 86051)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 January 1978

ANY ALBUM that can go straight into the American charts at No. 1 and sell more than two million in its first month can't be ...

Earth Wind & Fire: All 'n All (Columbia JC 34905)

Review by Bruce Malamut, Crawdaddy!, February 1978

EARTH WIND & Fire have come a long way from the jazzed-out horns, elasticized rhythms and coolness (unique for avant-soul) of their first album. ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: All 'n All

Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 11 February 1978

CBS HAVE A problem. To be sure, it's the sort of ticklish little teaser that most record companies would be glad to scratch, but a ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: How does he do it?

Report and Interview by Barry Cain, Record Mirror, 18 February 1978

Barry Cain doesn't know either ...

Earth, Wind and Fire, Deniece Williams, Pockets: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale NY

Live Review by Wayne Robins, Newsday, 22 February 1978

Earth, Wind and Fire puts on a flashy show ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Flying Sorcerers

Report and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 25 February 1978

Earth, Wind & Fire are the biggest soul group in the world – their albums now go platinum. But Britain will have to wait until ...

Earth Wind & Fire: Maurice White

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 28 February 1978

WITHOUT A shadow of doubt, Earth Wind & Fire is the most successful group that our music has ever given the world. In fact, after ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: One Nation Under a Groove

Interview by Sylvie Simmons, Sounds, 24 February 1979

COSMIC KARMA QUESTIONNAIRE COMPILED BY SYLVIE SIMMONS ...

Earth, Wind and Fire: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by David Hancock, Evening News, London, 5 March 1979

Down to Earth... the Fire is dying ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 10 March 1979

WOW!!! SHEER excellence!!! You weren't there? You are square!!! (you thought it was the other way round? You still living to those snobby chic guidelines? ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Maurice White's Band of Hope

Report and Interview by Vivien Goldman, Melody Maker, 10 March 1979

There's more to America's biggest soul band than bread and circuses. VIVIEN GOLDMAN followed them to Staffordshire to talk about the Bible, spinal fluid, reincarnation, ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 10 March 1979

PITY THE poor reviewer covering a show of the astonishing calibre of Earth, Wind & Fire's weekend extravaganza at the Empire Pool. ...

Earth, Wind & Fire

Profile by Cliff White, Smash Hits, 31 May 1979

Would you believe that this lot are out to improve your minds? Gosh, and here were we thinking that they'd come just to boogie! ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Progress Is The Key

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, July 1979

THERE SEEMS TO BE absolutely no question that in terms of consistency, universal and international acceptance and popularity, Earth, Wind & Fire have no peers. ...

Earth Wind & Fire: I Am

Review by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 23 August 1979

MAURICE WHITE, Earth, Wind and Fire's presiding genius, ranges across popular music like a robber baron, selecting only the tastiest artifacts for his collection. ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: I Am (ARC/Columbia); Teddy Pendergrass: Teddy (Philadelphia International)

Review by Robot A. Hull, Creem, September 1979

Dear brothers and sisters: If you are interested in being a part of the Universal Community of Mellow Truth, sip a glass of wine and please pay attention. In ...

Earth, Wind and Fire: When you feel the feeling you're feeling

Interview by Barry Cain, Record Mirror, 29 September 1979

BARRY CAIN gets that feeling when he meets Earth, Wind and Fire's Maurice White ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Faces

Review by Danny Baker, New Musical Express, 25 October 1980

ANY GROUP can only pack so much stuff. The stuff that oils and inspires their moves, greases songs, a magic stuff that flows through a ...

Maurice White: How the Black Man Bleached his Soul…

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, January 1981

... or how Earth, Wind & Fire guru Maurice White deserted Memphis to achieve Nirvana in Hollywood. ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Raise! (CBS)

Review by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 14 November 1981

RAISE HIGH THE COSMIC BOOTY ...

Whites Are Missing Good Rock By Blacks

Overview by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore Sun, 15 November 1981

IF YOU LISTEN to Baltimore's album-oriented rock (AOR) radio stations or any of dozens of similar stations around the country, you're unlikely to hear any ...

Earth Wind & Fire: Omni Coliseum, Atlanta GA

Live Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 17 November 1981

THIS WAS the first time that Atlanta had seen Earth Wind & Fire in over a year and there was much speculation about their widely-publicised ...

Earth, Wind and Fire: Living On A Met-Plane

Interview by Danny Baker, New Musical Express, 21 November 1981

EARTH, WIND & FIRE'S MAURICE WHITE GETS METAPHYSICAL. BRINGING QUESTIONS OF HIS OWN DANNY BAKER ASKS: DO YOU BELIEVE MY FRIEND IN WHAT YOU CLAIM? ...

Earth, Wind and Fire Return to Form

Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Rolling Stone, 4 March 1982

NEW YORK CITY — Maurice White, the guiding force behind Earth, Wind and Fire, is seated in the middle of a posh Manhattan hotel suite. A party ...

Earth, Wind and Fire: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 11 March 1982

IN THE last 10 years, black music in America has moved steadily away from raw, personal expression towards a more sophisticated presentation which acknowledges show ...

Earth Wind And Fire: Ecstasy At The Dawn Of Creation!

Live Review by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 20 March 1982

Earth Wind And Fire: Wembley Arena, London ...

Earth Wind & Fire: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by David Hepworth, Smash Hits, 1 April 1982

OVER THE TOP WITH EARTH WIND & FIRE AT WEMBLEY ARENA OUR MAN IN BLOCK E: DAVID HEPWORTH ...

The Superstar: Much More Than The Just The music

Overview by Vernon Gibbs, Billboard, 5 June 1982

IT MAY be one of the most frequently misused of the music industry's accolades, since in a business full of stars there are few genuine ...

Singles Reviewed by MARK COOPER

Review by Mark Cooper, Record Mirror, 22 January 1983

THE GAP BAND 'Outstanding' (Polygram) Yet another soul concerto from The Gap Band with a monstrously hard-hitting handclap from the engine room and a vocal ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: Powerlight (CBS)

Review by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 12 February 1983

I SAY, let's not groove tonight. Sometimes Earth, Wind & Fire get down on a groove and flashily mess it around. Sometimes they just lie ...

Jennifer Holliday: Feel My Soul (Geffen)

Review by Steve Bloom, Record, January 1984

FEEL MY Soul is the best Earth, Wind & Fire album to come along in four years; produced by Maurice White, EW&F's founding father, it ...

Maurice White: White in Flight

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 11 September 1984

Maurice White talks to B&S — about EW&F's pause for thought, about his own solo album, about his productions for Barbra Streisand, and about some ...

Bailey's big break

Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 31 January 1985

Earthy Wind and Fire singer scores a hit ...

Philip Bailey: Labours of Love Made Easy

Profile and Interview by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 6 April 1985

PHILIP BAILEY used to sing with Earth Wind And Fire. Now he's teamed up alongside Phil Collins to reach Number One with 'Easy Lover'. SIMON ...

Philip Bailey: Rocky Mountain Soul from a Bible Belter

Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, July 1986

"Flute and harp add sweetness to a song; better than either, a sweet voice." (Ecclesiasticus 40:21) ...

Elemental: Earth Wind & Fire

Interview by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, Fall 1988

Monarchs of mind expansion and celestial 70s grooving, EW&F were the world's biggest pre-Wacko black superstars. Now they're back, as a 'people band', with a ...

A Schism Divides Black Pop Radical Rappers And Soul Stars – Or The Street Vs. The Sweet

Comment by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 31 December 1989

MYRIAD GENRES and subgenres make up the world of pop music, some complementary, some clashing. Look around, and you'll find heavy metal, hard rock, post-modern, ...

Earth Wind & Fire: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Paul Lester, Uncut, September 1997

NO ONE levitates tonight. Nor are there any Sphinxes. And the sequinned Egyptological-spaceman costumes are conspicuous by their absence. But we do get 12 instrumentalists ...

Earth Wind And Fire: Beacon Theater, New York

Live Review by Kandia Crazy Horse, PopMatters, 15 2003

MY TRAGEDY AS a music fanatic has always been one of being a spirit out of time. I have spent a goodly portion of my ...

Earth, Wind & Fire: The Promise

Review and Interview by Paul Lester, Uncut, June 2004

Doyens of orchestral disco celebrate 35th birthday with best album for aeons. ...

Earth, Wind and Fire: Relighting the Fire

Report and Interview by Robert Sandall, Daily Telegraph, 15 September 2005

MAYBE IT'S AN effect of the baking late-August heat, but the concert scene in Houston, Texas has gone all topsy-turvy. ...

Earth, Wind and Fire: The Way of the World

Profile and Interview by Bill DeYoung, Goldmine, July 2006

WITHOUT MAURICE WHITE, the 1970s wouldn't have been nearly as interesting. ...

Singing the cyber blues: Janelle Monaé's Metropolis

Overview by Kandia Crazy Horse, San Francisco Bay Guardian, 7 May 2008

AFROFUTURISM BEGAN in earnest with those "20 odd Negroes" brought to Jamestown. Truly, long-ago Africans brought to New World shores invented modernity on the fly, ...

Earth, Wind & Fire 'Promise' to Keep Rocking

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 5 August 2013

WHEN EARTH, Wind and Fire's bass player extraordinaire Verdine White speaks affectionately about his influential group playing shows in the mid-1970s, one is instantly transported ...

Earth Wind and Fire: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, Sunday Telegraph, 20 October 2013

Funk Pop's most durable act are still as interested in theatrics as music ...

see also Philip Bailey

see also Maurice White

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