Millennium (Earth, Wind & Fire album)

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Millennium
Earth, Wind & Fire Millennium.jpg
Studio album by
Earth, Wind & Fire
ReleasedSeptember 14, 1993
Recorded1992–1993
StudioSonic Lab,

Capitol Studios and Andora Studios (Hollywood, California)

Contents

Genre
Length63:55
Label Reprise Records
Producer Maurice White
Earth, Wind & Fire chronology
The Very Best of Earth, Wind & Fire
(1992)		Millennium
(1993)		 The Very Best
(1994)
Singles from Heritage
  1. "Spend The Night"
    Released: 1993
  2. "Sunday Morning"
    Released: 1993
  3. "Two Hearts"
    Released: 1993

Millennium is the sixteenth studio album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire released in September 1993 on Warner Bros. Records. [1] The album reached No. 8 on the US Billboard Top R&B Albums chart, No. 39 on the US Billboard 200, No. 18 on the Japanese Pop Albums chart and No. 29 on the Dutch Album Top 100. [2] [3] [4] [5] Millennium has also been certified Gold in Japan by the RIAJ. [2]

Overview

Millennium marked the band's return after 21 years to Warner Bros. Records. The album was also produced by EWF's founder and leader Maurice White. [1]

Artists such as Prince and Ronnie Laws appeared on the LP. [1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Associated Press (favourable) [7]
Boston Globe (favourable) [8]
Buffalo News Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Orlando Sentinel Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Dayton Daily News Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [11]
Detroit Free Press (favourable) [12]
The Independent (favourable) [13]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [14]
Morning Call (favourable) [15]
USA Today Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [16]

With 4 out of 5 stars the Buffalo News commented "EW&F, one of the few groups that kept black popular music alive when disco ruled, has poured new life into a proven musical formula. Its latest project contains a plethora of kalimbas, blaring horns, and converging Afro-Cuban and Latin rhythms. Add the stratospheric voices of EW&F founder Maurice White, and star-lead vocalist Philip Bailey, and behold: a revamped re-creation of the message-laden, massaging tunes the band was known for in its heyday." [9] Steven Wine of the Associated Press claimed "Millennium is EWF's best record since their artsistic peak in the 1970s, when such albums as Gratitude and That's the Way of the World deftly mixed R&B,funk and jazz." [7] Tom Sinclair of Vibe proclaimed that EWF "demonstrate they still have the knack for constructing mellifluous R&B on the visonary/romantic tip". [17]

Paul Willistein of The Morning Call wrote "There are more than half a dozen standouts among the disc's 16 tracks, making this a must have for longtime fans." [15] Renee Graham of The Boston Globe noted that Millennium "returns the band to its funk/r&b roots". [8] With a three out of four star rating James T. Jones IV of USA Today found that the band "returned to their trademark sound: snappy horns, kalimba (thumb piano), falsetto harmonies, Afro-Cuban influences, instrumental interludes and philosophical lyrics." [16] Derek Ali of the Dayton Daily News gave a 3.5 out of 5 stars rating saying "With its Millennium album, Earth, Wind & Fire proves its one of those rare groups that can maintain a musical style for several decades while keeping pace with today's sounds". [11] Gary Graff of the Detroit Free Press wrote "EWF returns to the joyous R&B that made it famous, landing smooth if not exactly landmark results." [12] Andy Gill of The Independent stated "if it's an old-style R&B sensibility you're after, the new Earth, Wind & Fire album may be just the ticket." [13]

The Buffalo News placed the album on its list of the best R&B/Hip-Hop albums of 1993. [18] Millennium was also nominated for a Soul Train Music Award within the category of Best R&B/Soul Album - Group, Band or Duo. [19]

Singles

The track "Sunday Morning", earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. [20] Released as a single, it peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart, No. 20 on the Hot R&B Singles chart and No. 35 on the Adult Contemporary chart. [21] [22] [23]

The album cut "Spend the Night" reached Nos. 36 and 42 on the Billboard Adult R&B Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts, respectively. [24] [25]

Covers

The Prince-penned track, "Super Hero", was covered by the New Power Generation featuring the Steeles for the soundtrack to the film Blankman . [26] [27]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Even If You Wonder"Nicky Brown, Jeffrey Cohen, Jon Lind, Maurice White 4:38
2."Sunday Morning" Sheldon Reynolds, Maurice White, Allee Willis 4:39
3."Blood Brothers"Nicky Brown, Jon Lind, Brock Walsh, Maurice White5:23
4."Kalimba Interlude"Maurice White0:31
5."Spend The Night"Dawn Thomas4:24
6."Divine" Philip Bailey, Ken Barken, Roxanne Seeman 4:33
7."Two Hearts" Burt Bacharach, Philip Bailey, Maurice White5:06
8."Honor The Magic"Freddie Ravel, Maurice White3:05
9."Love Is The Greatest Story"Faye Freenberg, David Lawrence, Maurice White4:38
10."The "L" Word""Nicky Brown, Jon Lind, Maurice White, Allee Willis4:34
11."Just Another Lonely Night"Linda Stokes, Michael Stokes4:38
12."Super Hero" Prince 4:10
13."Wouldn't Change A Thing About You"Philip Bailey, Frankie Blue4:47
14."Love Across The Wire"Philip Bailey, Thom Bell, Maurice White3:34
15."Chicago (Chi-Town) Blues"Nicky Brown, Jon Lind, Brock Walsh, Maurice White4:58
16."Kalimba Blues"Maurice White0:35

Personnel

Earth, Wind & Fire

Additional musicians

Strings (Tracks 3 & 5)

Production

Charts

Album
YearChartPosition
1993U.S. Billboard 200 39
U.S. Billboard Top R&B Albums8
Japanese Pop Albums (Oricon)18 [2]
Dutch Albums (Dutch Album Top 100)29 [3]
Sweden Albums (Sverigetopplistan)50 [28]
Singles
YearSingleChartPosition
1993"Spend the Night"Japanese Pop Singles (Oricon)33 [2]
U.S. Billboard Adult R&B Airplay36
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles42
"Sunday Morning"U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles20 [23]
U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 4031 [29]
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs35 [21]
U.S. Billboard Adult R&B Songs10 [30]
Canada RPM Top Singles 33 [31]
Dutch Singles (Dutch Single Top 100)26 [32]
Japanese Pop Singles (Oricon)2 [2]
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Top 4034 [33]
U.S. Billboard Hot 10053
"Blood Brothers"Japanese Pop Singles (Oricon)53 [2]
"Two Hearts"U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles88

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ) [34] Gold100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Earth, Wind & Fire: Millennium. Warner Bros. Records. September 1993.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN   4-87131-077-9.
  3. 1 2 "Earth, Wind & Fire: Millennium". dutchcharts.nl.
  4. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Millennium (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard.com.
  5. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Millennium (Billboard 200)". Billboard.com.
  6. ↑ Henderson, Alex. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Millennium". AllMusic.
  7. 1 2 Wine, Steven (December 25, 1993). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Millennium (Reprise)". Associated Press. p. 25 – via newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 Graham, Renee (October 21, 1993). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Millennium (Reprise)". Boston Globe . p. 108 – via newspapers.com.
  9. 1 2 "In Brief". The Buffalo News . November 5, 1993.
  10. ↑ Gettelman, Parry (October 22, 1993). "EARTH, WIND & FIRE". orlandosentinel.com. Orlando Sentinel.
  11. 1 2 Ali, Derek (October 8, 1993). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Millennium". Dayton Daily News . p. 72 – via newspapers.com.
  12. 1 2 Graff, Gary (October 11, 1993). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Millennium". Detroit Free Press . p. 43 – via newspapers.com.
  13. 1 2 Gill, Andy (September 16, 1993). "ALBUMS / Return of the vox Pop: Andy Gill on Iggy Pop and the week's new releases". The Independent . p. 31.
  14. ↑ Johnson, Connie (November 14, 1993). "In Brief". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  15. 1 2 Willistein, Paul (December 4, 1993). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Millennium". The Morning Call . p. 77.
  16. 1 2 Jones, James T. IV. (October 4, 1993). "Three '70s R&B acts bring grooves to '90s". USA Today . p. 04D. ProQuest   306599814.
  17. ↑ Sinclair, Tom (September 1993). Earth, Wind & Fire: Millennium. Vol. 1. Vibe Magazine.
  18. ↑ Simon, Jeff (December 13, 1993). "FROM OUR CRITICS -- FROM YOUR HOLIDAY GIFT LISTS". The Buffalo News . p. 81.
  19. ↑ Sandler, Adam (February 1, 1994). "Jackson, Braxton top Soul Train nominees". variety.com. Variety.
  20. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire". Grammy.com.
  21. 1 2 "Earth, Wind & Fire: Sunday Morning (Adult Contemporary Songs)". Billboard.com.
  22. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Sunday Morning (Adult R&B Songs)". Billboard.com.
  23. 1 2 "Earth, Wind & Fire: Sunday Morning (Hot R&B Songs)". Billboard.com.
  24. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Spend The Night (Adult R&B Songs)". Billboard.com.
  25. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Spend The Night (Hot R&B Songs)". Billboard.com.
  26. ↑ "How Prince Became a 'Super Hero'". diffuser.fm.
  27. ↑ "Blankman: Original Soundtrack". allmusic.com.
  28. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire". sverigetopplistan.se.
  29. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire: (Rhythmic Songs)". Billboard.com.
  30. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Sunday Morning (Adult R&B Songs)". Billboard.com.
  31. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Sunday Morning (RPM Top Singles)". Bac-lac.gc.ca.
  32. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Sunday Morning". dutchcharts.nl. Dutch Charts.
  33. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire: (Mainstream Top 40)". Billboard.com.
  34. ↑ "Japanese album certifications – Earth, Wind and Fire – Millennium" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan . Retrieved July 2, 2020.Select 1995年4月 on the drop-down menu
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