Electric Universe (album)

Last updated
Electric Universe
Electric Universe (Earth, Wind & Fire album - cover art).jpg
Studio album by
Earth, Wind & Fire
ReleasedNovember 4, 1983
Recorded1983
StudioThe Complex (Los Angeles, California)
Genre
Length37:40
Label Columbia
Producer Maurice White
Earth, Wind & Fire chronology
Powerlight
(1983)		Electric Universe
(1983)		 The Collection
(1986)
Singles from Electric Universe
  1. "Magnetic"
    Released: November 1983
  2. "Touch"
    Released: January 1984
  3. "Moonwalk"
    Released: April 1984

Electric Universe is the thirteenth studio album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released in November 1983 on Columbia Records. [1] The album rose to No. 8 on the US Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and No. 40 on the US Billboard 200 chart. [2] [3] Electric Universe also reached No. 17 on the Swedish Pop Albums chart, No. 18 on the UK Blues & Soul Top British Soul Albums chart, No. 20 on the Japanese Pop Albums chart and No. 22 on both the Dutch Pop Albums and Swiss Pop Albums charts. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Contents

Overview

Electric Universe was produced by Maurice White for Kalimba Productions. [1] With the album came a unique new wave and synth-pop sound for the band. [9] [10]

Artists such as David Foster, Martin Page, Michel Colombier and Pamela Hutchinson and Wanda Vaughn of The Emotions featured upon the album. The album was also reissued in 2015 with six bonus tracks and two demos. [9] [11]

As well, Electric Universe was featured in an August 2016 episode of Mass Appeal's YouTube series Rhythm Roulette. [12]

Singles

The lead single, "Magnetic" peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart and No. 36 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. [13] [14] "Touch" reached No. 23 on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart and No. 36 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs chart. [15] [16]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [17]
Knight Ridder 7/10 [18]
The Morning Call (favourable) [19]
Omaha World Herald Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [20]
Record Mirror Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [21]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [22] [23]
The Village Voice B [24]

Harry Sumrall of the San Jose Mercury News said "Electric Universe is from first note to last an engaging record." [25] Gary Graff of the Detroit Free Press exclaimed: "Plug in the planets! This is the best disc this outfit has put together in quite some time." [26] Connie Johnson of the Los Angeles Times proclaimed that "the album focuses on dance and romance as opposed to the more serious ideals of cosmic bliss and brotherhood that this eight-member aggregation usually espouses. EWF is still master of the contemporary big-band style: busy but not bloated. The overall feel is jubilant and the Emotions-like harmonies on the bouncy "Moonwalk" are mildly affecting." [10] Lennox Samuels of The Dallas Morning News declared that Electric Universe "shows the bands resilience. Unlike the previous offering Powerlight this LP should please fans." Samuels added "Although most of the cuts here are characterized by mellow overtures, midway through the disc, colourful kalimba choruses and airy harmonies capture the high spirits of this nine member aggregation". [27] While calling the album a "letdown" Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave a B graded review. [24] Roger Catlin of the Omaha World Herald, in a four out of five star review, declared "Synthesizers and new technology get a workout here, but there is still fine vocalizing at the core - but also too many ballads". [20] With a three out of five stars review Matty Karas of Rolling Stone described Electric Universe as being full of "sensuous, and at times, rock oriented dance material". [22] [23] Pam Lambert of The Wall Street Journal exclaimed "After more than a decade together, Earth, Wind and Fire continue to chart new ground". She added, "In Maurice's otherwordly universe of synthesized sound, individual instruments like guitars and keyboards are drowned into the overall sonic mix. But, by way of compensation, this does focus attention on the group's trademark,their multitextured vocals." [28]

Phyl Garland of Stereo Review wrote "Although 'Electric Universe' does not scintillate with Earth, Wind & Fire's usual brilliance, it's skilfully crafted and worth a listen". Garland noted EW&F's performance was "not among their best", but still called the album a "very good recording". [29] [30] Rick Shefchik of Knight Ridder, in a 7/10 review stated "Fearing more of Maurice White's cosmic pablum, I was glad to notice the shift to concrete r&b on Side One, while the band retains its breathy mix of horns and voices". Shefchik added "White relinquished his songwriting role on the first three songs, and even the ones he did write seem to benefit from a less starry-eyed perspective. Unless, of course, you count Electric Nation and Spirit of a New World." [18] Prentis Rogers of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote: "In fact, the entire album holds up well lyrically and musically with a noticeable but not overpowering rock flavor. It may not signal a return to the group's standard of staying a note or two ahead of its contemporaries, but this is EWF's best album in recent years." [31]

Don McLeese of the Chicago Sun Times also gave Electric Universe an honourable mention in his list of the top ten albums of 1983. [32]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Magnetic" Martin Page 4:19
2."Touch" Jon Lind, Martin Page4:54
3."Moonwalk" David Porter, Desmond O'Connor4:08
4."Could It Be Right" Allee Willis, David Foster, Maurice White5:15
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."Spirit of a New World"Brian Fairweather, David Foster, Martin Page, Maurice White4:29
6."Sweet Sassy Lady"Lisa Vaughn, Maurice White, Wanda Vaughn, Wayne Vaughn 4:08
7."We're Living in Our Own Time"Allee Willis, Maurice White, Michel Colombier 5:18
8."Electric Nation"Brian Fairweather, Martin Page, Maurice White4:30
2015 Expanded Edition Bonus Tracks [9] [11]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
9."Magnetic" (Extended Dance Remix)Martin Page6:24
10."Magnetic" (Instrumental)Martin Page5:49
11."Magnetic" (7" Version)Martin Page3:52
12."Spirit of a New World" (Demo Version)Maurice White, Martin Page, David Foster, Brian Fairweather4:35
13."El Solitario (We're Living In Our Own Time)" (Demo Version)Maurice White, Michel Colombier, Allee Willis5:14
14."Here's to Love" (Instrumental)Maurice White4:22
15."Club Foot"Maurice White3:59
16."Milky Way"Maurice White5:23

Credits

Earth, Wind & Fire

Additional musicians

Production

[11]

Reissue

[11]

Charts

Albums
YearChartPosition
1983U.S. Billboard Top Soul Albums8
U.S. Billboard 200 40
Sweden Albums (Sverigetopplistan)17 [4]
UK Blues & Soul Top British Soul Albums18 [5]
Japanese Albums (Oricon)20 [6]
Dutch Albums (Dutch Album Top 100)22 [7]
Swiss Albums (Swiss Hitparade)22 [8]
German Albums (Offizielle Charts)37 [33]
Singles
YearSingleChartPosition
1983"Magnetic"U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles 10 [13]
Belgian Singles Ultratop 50 Singles 16 [34]
N.L Dutch Single Top 100 18 [35]
U.S. Billboard Dance Club Songs 36 [14]
US Billboard Hot 10057
U.K. Blues & Soul Top British Soul Singles23 [36]
1984"Electric Nation" Dutch Single Tip 7 [37] [38]
"Touch"U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles 23 [15]
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs 36 [16]
"Moonwalk"US Billboard Hot Soul Songs67

Sales

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Japan—100,000 [39]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Earth, Wind & Fire: Electric Universe". 45worlds.com.
  2. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Electric Universe (Top Soul Albums)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  3. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Electric Universe (Billboard 200)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  4. 1 2 "Earth, Wind & Fire". sverigetopplistan.se. Sverigetopplistan.
  5. 1 2 "Top British Soul Albums". Blues & Soul . No. 398. December 27, 1983.
  6. 1 2 Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN   4-87131-077-9.
  7. 1 2 "Earth, Wind & Fire: Electric Universe". dutchcharts.nl. Dutch Charts.
  8. 1 2 "Earth, Wind & Fire: Electric Universe". hitparade.ch. Swiss Hitparade.
  9. 1 2 3 V. Henderson, Alex (June 2015). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Electric Universe [Expanded Edition]". alexvhenderson.com.
  10. 1 2 Johnson, Connie (December 18, 1983). "The Record Rack". Los Angeles Times . p. 347.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Earth, Wind & Fire: Electric Universe (Expanded ed.). Columbia Records. 2015.
  12. ↑ "Rhythm Roulette: Iman Omari". youtube.com. Mass Appeal. August 18, 2016. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20.
  13. 1 2 "Earth, Wind & Fire: Magnetic (Hot R&B Songs)". Billboard.com.
  14. 1 2 "Earth, Wind & Fire: Magnetic (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard.com.
  15. 1 2 "Earth, Wind & Fire: Touch (Hot R&B Songs)". Billboard.com.
  16. 1 2 "Adult Contemporary Songs" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Vol. 96, no. 9. Billboard. March 3, 1984. p. 23.
  17. ↑ Henderson, Alex. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Electric Universe". allmusic.com. AllMusic.
  18. 1 2 Shefchik, Rick (January 12, 1984). "Waylon's latest shows why he used his friends". Muncie Evening Press . Knight Ridder. p. 13 – via newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ Willistein, Paul (December 17, 1983). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Electric Universe, Philip Bailey: Continuation". newspapers.com. Morning Call. p. 82.
  20. 1 2 Catlin, Roger (December 13, 1983). "Latest English Beat Album Is Like a Collection of Hits". newspapers.com. Omaha World Herald. p. 14.
  21. ↑ Hill, Simon (December 17, 1983). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Electric Universe". Record Mirror . Vol. 30, no. 51. p. 14.
  22. 1 2 Karas, Matty (February 16, 1984). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Electric Universe". No. 415. Rolling Stone. p. 80. ISBN   9780684183329.{{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  23. 1 2 Karas, Matty (February 16, 1984). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Electric Universe". No. 415. Rolling Stone. p. 80. ISBN   9780684183329.{{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  24. 1 2 Christgau, Robert. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Electric Universe". robertchristgau.com. Village Voice.
  25. ↑ Sumrall, Harry (December 4, 1983). "Old Fire never dies - It just gest cooler". newsbank.com. San Jose Mercury News. p. 214.
  26. ↑ Graff, Gary (December 4, 1983). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Electric Universe". newspapers.com. Detroit Free Press. p. 74.
  27. ↑ Samuel, Lennox (December 1, 1983). "Triumphant Rock from the Rolling Stones". newspapers.com. The Dallas Morning News. p. 9.
  28. ↑ Lambert, Pam (19 January 1984). "Prime Cuts: Noteworthy Rock Records". The Wall Street Journal . ProQuest   397920155.
  29. ↑ Phyl Garland (April 1984). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Electric Universe" (PDF). Stereo Review . Vol. 49, no. 4. p. 85.
  30. ↑ Phyl Garland (April 1984). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Electric Universe" (PDF). Stereo Review . Vol. 49, no. 4. p. 86.
  31. ↑ Rogers, Prentis (December 31, 1983). "Record Reviews". newspapers.com. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. 71.
  32. ↑ McLeese, Don (January 5, 1984). "Top Ten: Critics picks 83's best pop discs". The Central New Jersey Home News . Chicago Sun Times. p. 61 – via newspapers.com.
  33. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Electric Universe". offiziellecharts.de. Offizielle Charts.
  34. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Magnetic". ultratop.be.
  35. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Magnetic (Dutch Top 40)". dutchcharts.nl.
  36. ↑ "Top British Soul Singles". Blues & Soul . No. 397. December 27, 1983.
  37. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Electric Nation". dutchcharts.nl. Dutch Charts.
  38. ↑ "DUTCH SINGLE TIP". dutchcharts.nl. Dutch Charts. February 25, 1984.
  39. ↑ Fujita, Shig (January 21, 1984). "International Repertoire Explosion Keys Upturn in Japanese Market" (PDF). Billboard. p. 9. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
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