| The Ultimate Collection | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | July 1999 | |||
| Genre | R&B, disco | |||
| Label | Columbia Records | |||
| Producer | Maurice White, Charles Stepney | |||
| Earth, Wind & Fire chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Ultimate Collection | ||||
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The Ultimate Collection is a compilation album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire released in July 1999 on Columbia Records. [1] The album reached No. 34 upon the UK Albums Chart. [2]
The album cut "September '99" reached No. 1 on the RPM Canadian Dance Songs chart, No. 4 on the UK Dance Singles chart and No. 25 on the UK Pop Singles chart. [3] [4] [5] [2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [6] |
| The Guardian | [7] |
| Uncut | [8] |
| Mixmag | [9] |
With a 5 out of 5 stars rating Kit Aiken of Uncut called the album "near perfect" and "invaluable". [8] Andy Kellman of AllMusic gave a 3.5 out of 5 stars rating and noted "A truly "ultimate" Earth, Wind & Fire compilation would offer a larger assortment of highlights from the band's catalog, but this is a decent one-disc/20-track overview." [6] With a 4 out of 5 stars rating, Toby Manning of Mixmag wrote "Earthy, Fiery? No just elemental." [9] Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian also gave a 5 out of 5 stars rating and declared "in fact, apart from ballads like 'That's the Way of the World', its hard to find a track on The Ultimate Collection that doesn't sparkle on the dance floor." [7]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Boogie Wonderland" | 4:49 |
| 2. | "Shining Star" | 2:50 |
| 3. | "That's the Way of the World" | 5:43 |
| 4. | "After the Love Has Gone" | 4:25 |
| 5. | "Can't Hide Love" | 4:08 |
| 6. | "September" | 3:35 |
| 7. | "Got to Get You into My Life" | 4:10 |
| 8. | "Sing a Song" | 3:22 |
| 9. | "Gratitude" | 3:27 |
| 10. | "Serpentine Fire" | 3:50 |
| 11. | "Fantasy" | 4:37 |
| 12. | "In the Stone" | 4:26 |
| 13. | "Reasons" | 4:59 |
| 14. | "Saturday Nite" | 4:02 |
| 15. | "Let's Groove" | 5:36 |
| 16. | "Getaway" | 3:57 |
| 17. | "September '99 (Phats & Small Remix)" | 3:43 |
| 18. | "Let's Groove (Merchant of Menace remix)" | 3:45 |
| 19. | "Boogie Wonderland (Stretch/Vern remix)" | 3:43 |
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Pop Albums [2] | 34 |
Earth, Wind & Fire is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin, and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million records worldwide.
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