Earth, Wind & Fire Album: “The Best Of Earth, Wind & Fire Volume 1 [Remaster]”

This reminds me of CHICAGO IX-- every single song worth hearing over and over-- but it could stand to be longer. In addition to the obvious hits ("Shining Star", "Getaway", "Fantasy"-- the 45 edit is included here) were 3 "new" songs-- "September", "Love Music" and "Got To Get You Into My Life" (from the Peter Frampton / Bee Gees SGT. PEPPER movie-- EWF's version must rate as one of the most AUDACIOUS reinventions of any Beatles cover!). GREAT disc! But, if you want more, try the recent EWF'S GREATEST HITS, or maybe better, the import EWF: THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION. Any way, this stuff is SO GOOD you can't lose!

Earth,Wind & Fire made spotty albums,huh?Well I MUST be dreaming because I have ALL of EWF's 1970's albums (including

their two legendary Warner Brothers CD's) and can't find a bad moment on ANY of them so guys-PLEASE speak to your critics!

This isn't bad either since you can't find the classic "September" or the simmering "Love Music" on any other

album.So don't listen to critics! (and see my other EWF reviews).

I forgot how great this CD is. I used to have it in my player a long time ago and lost it in a move. Every track just makes you smile and sing....a must have.

This is a rough guess, but I'd say there are about a trillion EWF comps on the market, mostly either generic hit collections or tacky theme roundups. This is actually one of their better comps, as it contains MOST of their best songs up until 1978. Not all, though. I won't even get into the sorely missed deep cuts, because some obvious ones were skipped: Head to the Sky, Devotion (especially that great live version off of Gratitude), Kalimba Story, Serpintine Fire, Mighty Mighty, I'll Write a Song for You and It's All About Love are just radio staples, why aren't they included? (I would've complained about lacking After the Love is Gone, but it turns out that came out a year after this comp was released, so I can't really). Yes, I understand vinyl was restrictive at the time, but in these days of CD those songs could've been tacked on as bonus tracks (one of the few instances I'd support the use of bonus tracks), but instead they tack on these stupid, useless Megamix things... yeah. Fact is, you can't sum up the career of a band at the height of their powers in ten tracks, no matter how good nine of those ten are. I could've done without Love Music - it's certainly not BAD, and they could've picked far worse. But I don't see what it has over It's All About Love, Head to the Sky, Devotion, Serpintine Fire, Mighty Mighty or Kalimba Story.

But hey... this has September! September's a classic, man! And this was the first time it was put on a studio album, for whatever that's worth. Same with their great cover of The Beatles' Got to Get You Into My Life - I'm a Beatle freak, but I must say, this cover beats even their original. And there's plenty of fine funk stuff: Shining Star, the aforementioned September and Got to Get You Into My Life, Singasong and Getaway, as well as some wonderfully amazing ballads like Reasons, Fantasy, Can't Hide Love and That's the Way of the World, so this makes for a fitting intro for the group. But don't make the mistake I did in thinking this is all you need - it was about three years after buying this before I finally picked up an EWF studio album, and of course I had waited about three years too long. Don't stop here - I recommend That's the Way of the World, Gratitude, All in All, Open Our Eyes and Spirit as well - but this is good.

Earth, Wind & Fire were a large ensemble that incorporate, jazz, soul and funk into their music. Their first volume of greatest hits contains their brightest and best and shows the various stylings that they could get into. "Got To Get You Into My Life" is a funkified cover of the Beatles' hit, "Fantasy" is soaring, uplifting number with great harmonies and "Can't Hide Love" is sensual ballad. "Getaway" is a percolating number with a blazing horn riff, "That The Way Of The World" moves on smooth tip and "September" is bright bouncy and catchy ear candy. "Shining Star" was their lone number one pop single, "Reasons" has a torch song quality with Philip Bailey hitting some extremely high notes and "Sing A Song" sums up the band's positive attitude.