| The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | July 30, 2002 | |||
| Recorded | 1973-1983 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Label | Columbia/Legacy | |||
| Producer | Maurice White, Al McKay, Charles Stepney, Joseph Wissert, Leo Sacks | |||
| Earth, Wind & Fire chronology | ||||
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The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire is a compilation album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire issued in July 2002 by Columbia/Legacy. [2] The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire has been certified Gold in the US by the RIAA. [3]
With the LP came a sampler which featured remixes of Can't Hide Love and Let's Groove. During October 2002 the remix sampler was issued as a single and got to No. 4 on the UK Dance Singles Chart. [4] [5]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| Blender |  [7] |
| PopMatters | (favourable) [8] |
| Newsday | (favourable) [9] |
| SoulTracks | (favourable) [10] |
Mark Anthony Neal of PopMatters proclaimed "The Essential Earth, Wind, and Fire, chronicles the best music of arguably the most popular R&B/soul band of the last three decades." [8] Barry Walters of Blender, who gave a four out of five star rating, opined "the 34 tracks on The Essential encompass these funky spiritualists’ many sides, from preachy (“All About Love”) to sensual (“Can’t Hide Love”) to ecstatic (“Boogie Wonderland”)." [7] With a 4.5 out of 5 star rating Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic wrote "The single-disc Greatest Hits remains the choice for the casual and the curious listener due to its concise concentration of classics, but anybody who wants a thorough retrospective should choose this." [6] Howard Dukes of SoulTracks also called the album "a collection that will definitely get the party started". [10]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Originally from | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mighty Mighty" | Maurice White, Verdine White | Open Our Eyes , 1974 | 3:02 |
| 2. | "Evil" | M. White | Head to the Sky , 1973 | 4:56 |
| 3. | "Devotion" | Philip Bailey, M. White | Open Our Eyes | 4:49 |
| 4. | "Keep Your Head to the Sky" | M. White | Head to the Sky | 5:09 |
| 5. | "Kalimba Story" | M. White, V. White | Open Our Eyes | 4:01 |
| 6. | "Shining Star" | Bailey, Larry Dunn, M. White | That's the Way of the World , 1975 | 2:50 |
| 7. | "That's the Way of the World" | Charles Stepney, M. White, V. White | That's the Way of the World | 5:45 |
| 8. | "Yearnin' Learnin'" | Bailey, Stepney, M. White | That's the Way of the World | 3:39 |
| 9. | "All About Love" | Dunn, M. White | That's the Way of the World | 5:30 |
| 10. | "Reasons" | Bailey, Stepney, M. White | That's the Way of the World | 4:58 |
| 11. | "Sing a Song" | Al McKay, M. White | Gratitude , 1975 | 3:23 |
| 12. | "Can't Hide Love" | Skip Scarborough | Gratitude | 4:09 |
| 13. | "Getaway" | Peter Cor, Beloyd Taylor | Spirit , 1976 | 3:45 |
| 14. | "Saturday Nite" | Bailey, McKay, M. White | Spirit | 4:03 |
| 15. | "Ponta de Areia (Brazilian Rhyme)/Be Ever Wonderful" | Dunn, Milton Nascimento, M. White | All 'n All , 1977 | 6:00 |
| 16. | "Open Our Eyes" | Leon Lumkins | Open Our Eyes | 5:03 |
| 17. | "Got to Get You into My Life" | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band , 1978 | 4:03 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Originally from | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "September" | McKay, M. White, Allee Willis | The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 | 3:35 |
| 2. | "Serpentine Fire" | Sonny Burke, M. White, V. White | All 'n All | 3:50 |
| 3. | "Fantasy" | Eduardo DelBarrio, M. White, V. White | All 'n All | 4:36 |
| 4. | "I'll Write a Song for You" | Bailey, Steve Beckmeier, McKay | All 'n All | 5:22 |
| 5. | "Drum Song" | M. White | Open Our Eyes | 5:09 |
| 6. | "In the Stone" | M. White, David Foster, Willis | I Am , 1979 | 4:25 |
| 7. | "Can't Let Go" | Bill Myers, M. White, Willis | I Am | 3:28 |
| 8. | "After the Love Has Gone" | Bill Champlin, David Foster, Jay Graydon | I Am | 4:25 |
| 9. | "Wait" | Foster, M. White, Willis | I Am | 3:39 |
| 10. | "You and I" | Foster, M. White, Willis | I Am | 3:31 |
| 11. | "Let Me Talk" | Bailey, Dunn, Ralph Johnson, McKay, M. White, V. White | Faces , 1980 | 4:08 |
| 12. | "And Love Goes On" | Dunn, Foster, Brenda Russell, M. White, V. White | Faces | 4:04 |
| 13. | "You" | Foster, Russell, M. White | Faces | 5:30 |
| 14. | "Let's Groove" | Wayne Vaughn, M. White | Raise! , 1981 | 5:32 |
| 15. | "Fall In Love With Me" | Wanda Vaughn, Wayne Vaughn, M. White | Powerlight , 1983 | 5:49 |
| 16. | "Side by Side" | Wayne Vaughn, M. White | Powerlight | 5:31 |
| 17. | "Boogie Wonderland" (with The Emotions) | Jon Lind, Willis | I Am | 4:48 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Originally from | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sun Goddess" | M. White, Lind | Gratitude | 7:41 |
| 2. | "Celebrate" | M. White, Bailey, Stepney | Gratitude | 3:06 |
| 3. | "Spirit" | M. White, Dunn | Spirit | 3:12 |
| 4. | "On Your Face" | M. White, Stepney, Bailey | Spirit | 4:33 |
| 5. | "Imagination" | M. White, Stepney, Bailey | Spirit | 5:16 |
| 6. | "Runnin'" | M. White, Dunn, del Barrio | All 'n All | 5:51 |
| 7. | "Jupiter" | M. White, V. White, Dunn, Bailey | All 'n All | 3:11 |
| 8. | "System of Survival" | "Skylark" | Touch the World | 5:01 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Originally from | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mighty Mighty" | M. White, V. White | Open Our Eyes | 3:03 |
| 2. | "Devotion" | Bailey, M. White | Open Our Eyes | 4:50 |
| 3. | "Keep Your Head to the Sky" | M. White | Head to the Sky | 5:10 |
| 4. | "Kalimba Story" | M. White, V. White | Open Our Eyes | 4:02 |
| 5. | "Shining Star" | Bailey, Dunn, M. White | That's the Way of the World | 2:50 |
| 6. | "That's the Way of the World" | Stepney, M. White, V. White | That's the Way of the World | 5:47 |
| 7. | "Reasons" | Bailey, Stepney, M. White | That's the Way of the World | 4:59 |
| 8. | "Sing a Song" | McKay, M. White | Gratitude | 3:24 |
| 9. | "Can't Hide Love" | Scarborough | Gratitude | 4:11 |
| 10. | "Getaway" | Cor, Taylor | Spirit | 3:45 |
| 11. | "On Your Face" | Bailey, Stepney, M. White | Spirit | 4:34 |
| 12. | "Saturday Nite" | Bailey, McKay, M. White | Spirit | 4:01 |
| 13. | "Got to Get You into My Life" | Lennon, McCartney | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band | 4:03 |
| 14. | "September" | McKay, M. White, Willis | The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 | 3:35 |
| 15. | "Serpentine Fire" | Burke, M. White, V. White | All 'n All | 3:51 |
| 16. | "Fantasy" | DelBarrio, M. White, V. White | All 'n All | 4:38 |
| 17. | "I'll Write a Song for You" | Bailey, Beckmeier, McKay | All 'n All | 5:24 |
| 18. | "Drum Song" | M. White | Open Our Eyes | 5:09 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Originally from | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Boogie Wonderland" (with The Emotions) | Lind, Willis | I Am | 4:49 |
| 2. | "In the Stone" | M. White, Foster, Willis | I Am | 4:25 |
| 3. | "Can't Let Go" | Myers, M. White, Willis | I Am | 3:29 |
| 4. | "After the Love Has Gone" | Champlin, Foster, Graydon | I Am | 4:39 |
| 5. | "You and I" | Foster, M. White, Willis | I Am | 3:33 |
| 6. | "Let Me Talk" | Bailey, Dunn, Johnson, McKay, M. White, V. White | Faces | 4:08 |
| 7. | "And Love Goes On" | Dunn, Foster, Russell, M. White, V. White | Faces | 4:05 |
| 8. | "You" | Foster, Russell, M. White | Faces | 5:31 |
| 9. | "Let's Groove" | Wayne Vaughn, M. White | Raise! | 5:39 |
| 10. | "Fall in Love with Me" | Wanda Vaughn, Wayne Vaughn, M. White | Powerlight | 5:52 |
| 11. | "Magnetic" | Martin Page | Electric Universe , 1983 | 4:22 |
| 12. | "Dance Dance Dance" | Taylor, M. White | Rock & Rule soundtrack, 1986; released as a digital single in 2012 | 3:13 |
| 13. | "System of Survival" | "Skylark" | Touch the World , 1987 | 5:00 |
| 14. | "Sunday Morning (Radio Mix)" | Sheldon Reynolds, M. White, Willis | Millennium , 1993 | 4:12 |
| 15. | "Pure Gold" | Bobby Avila, Issiah Avila, Tony Tolbert, James Harris III, Terry Lewis | Illumination , 2005 | 4:41 |
| 16. | "The Way You Move" | Patrick Brown, Carlton Mahone, Antwan Patton | Illumination | 4:17 |
| 17. | "My Promise" | Siedah Garrett, Austin Jacobs, Darrin Simpson | Now, Then & Forever , 2013 | 3:22 |
The following accolades attributed to The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire. [11]
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blender | U.S. | 500 CDs You Must Own: Rhythm & Blues | 2003 | Alphabetical order |
Earth, Wind & Fire is an American musical group. Their style and sound span various music genres such as jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin, and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales of over 90 million records worldwide.
All 'n All is the eighth studio album by the American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released in November 1977 by Columbia Records. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. All 'n All has also been certified Triple Platinum in the US by the RIAA, Gold in Canada by Music Canada and Silver in the UK by the BPI.
That's the Way of the World is the sixth studio album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released on March 3, 1975, by Columbia Records. It was also the soundtrack for a 1975 motion picture of the same name. The album rose to No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 and Top Soul Albums charts. That's the Way of the World has also been certified Triple Platinum in the U.S. by the RIAA. In 2002, the band released live version of the album, recorded in 1975 – That's the Way of the World: Alive in '75.
Gratitude is a double live album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire, issued in November 1975 by Columbia Records. The album spent six weeks atop the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and three weeks atop the Billboard 200 chart. Gratitude has also been certified Triple Platinum in the US by the RIAA.
"Shining Star" is a song by Earth, Wind & Fire's album That's the Way of the World, issued as a single in January 1975 on Columbia Records. The song rose to No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the Billboard Hot Soul Songs chart, becoming their first single to top both charts. It has also been certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.
Spirit is the seventh studio album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released on September 28, 1976, by Columbia Records. The album rose to No. 2 on both the Billboard 200 and Top Soul Albums charts. Spirit has also been certified Double Platinum in the US by the RIAA.
Open Our Eyes is the fifth studio album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released on March 25, 1974 on Columbia Records. The album rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and No. 15 on the Top Pop Albums chart. Open Our Eyes has been certified Platinum in the US by the RIAA.
I Am is the ninth studio album by the American band Earth, Wind & Fire released in June 1979 on ARC/Columbia Records. The LP rose to number 1 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and number 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. I Am has been certified Double Platinum in the U.S. by the RIAA, Platinum in the UK by the BPI and Platinum in Canada by Music Canada.
"September" is a song by the American band Earth, Wind & Fire released as a single in 1978 on ARC/Columbia Records. Initially included as a track for The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1, "September" was very successful commercially and reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart, No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart. The song remains a staple of the band's body of work and has been sampled, covered, remixed, and re-recorded numerous times.
The Promise is the eighteenth studio album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire released in May 2003 on Kalimba Music. The album peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 5 on the Billboard Top Independent Albums chart.
Wolf Tracks: The Best of Los Lobos is the third compilation album by the American rock band Los Lobos, released in 2006 by Rhino Records. It contains twenty tracks originally released between 1983 and 2002, except for the previously unissued album outtake "Border Town Girl".
Last Days and Time is the third studio album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released in October 1972 on Columbia Records. The album rose to No. 15 on the US Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and No. 9 on the UK Blues & Soul Top British Soul Albums chart.
The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 2 is the second greatest hits album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire, which was released in November 1988 upon Columbia Records. The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 2 has been certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.
Head to the Sky is the fourth studio album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released in May 1973 on Columbia Records. The album rose to No. 2 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and No. 27 on the Billboard 200 chart. Head to the Sky has also been certified Platinum in the US by the RIAA.
That's the Way of the World: Alive in '75 is a live album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire issued in April 2002 on Columbia/Legacy records.
Earth, Wind & Fire: Live is a DVD released by the band Earth, Wind & Fire in 2001 on Image Entertainment, and Polygram Video. The DVD has been certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.
"Mighty Mighty" is a song by R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire, released as a single in 1974 on Columbia Records. The single reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart and No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Memorial Collection is a 2009 compilation album of American singer–songwriter and rock and roll pioneer Buddy Holly's master takes and hit singles, including some rare recordings. Along with Down the Line: Rarities, this album was released to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Holly's death.
"Guiding Lights" is a song by the band Earth, Wind & Fire, released as a single in 2012 by Sony Music/Legacy. The song reached No. 16 on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs chart and No. 30 on the Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart.
"My Promise" is a song by the band Earth, Wind & Fire, released as a single in 2013 by Sony Music/Legacy. The song reached No. 28 on the Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart and No. 30 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs chart.
