Earth, Wind & Fire Album: “Live in Rio”

Earth Wind and Fire aka "the baddest band in the land" were a phenomenal force of nature. One can never get enough Earth Wind and Fire live. Especially during their prime years.

After a short dialog by Verdine and Maurice, Live in Rio hits hard with explosive horns, funky percussion, Verdine's head-bobbing bass & the incredible vocals the world has come to love. The audience participation is infectious and fuels the energy on the stage. Maurice works the crowd into a call and response frenzy on songs like "Can't Let Go" and "Get Away". He brings everyone to their feet on "Serpentine Fire". There are even female backing vox on this set.

The Phenix horns are blazing and fierce, punching with perfect syncopation and pitch. Case in point? The extraordinary opening to "In the Stone", "Magic Mind"'s last minute and the incomparable cover of the Beatles' "Got to Get you Into my Life". Johnny Graham is working the guitar like a 9 to 5, while Larry Dunn puts it down on keyboards as only he can. Phillip's smooth falsetto soars on "Fantasy" and "After the Love is Gone" is simply one of the best live versions ever put on an EWF album. This version even features a spoken intro in Portuguese. "Rio After Dark" features a spicy trombone solo by Louis Satterfield and drum solo by Maurice's brother Fred White. The disco anthem, "Boogie Wonderland" and universally loved "September" close out the set, which should have been LONGER!!!!

Today's musicians (ie: Prince) have definitely incorporated the sounds of EWF in their music. It's too bad there aren't more musically adventurous LIVE bands out these days. So. What are you waiting for? Get this joint now!!!! Peace. CLB.

While we patiently wait for a new EWF studio CD, 'Live In Rio' should make the time pass faster. Taken from EWF's 1980 world tour, this CD MAINLY focuses on material from the classic 'All n All' & 'I Am' CDs, and that's a bonus because many of the songs on 'Live In Rio' have NEVER been available as 'live versions' before. The sound quality of 'Live In Rio' also benefits from today's remastering process, so your system will get a workout! The only song which was previously available is 'Brazillian Rhyme', which was a bonus track on the remastered version of 'All n All' (1999, Legacy/Sony). The downside of 'Live In Rio' is that it's too short (BARELY 56 MINUTES LONG!!!), and many classics were left off of the CD ('Reasons', 'That's The Way Of The World', and 'Sun Goddess' to name a few!!). This EWF concert CD seems somewhat incomplete without these 'signature songs'!! My verdict:'Live In Rio' is an essential addition to every EWF completist's collection. New EWF fans shuld start off with BOTH the 'Gratitude' (remastered edition!) & 'Alive In 75' CDs. 'Live In Rio' is COOL, but it's not up there with 'Gratitude' & 'Alive In 75'. [I just added the BONUS TRACK 'Ain't No Remedy' to my CD, and it was worth waiting for! This track was recorded during sessions for 'The Promise' in 2003!!!!]

Peace, SD of Chakasworld

Earth Wind & Fire Live, and in their prime! This is all an EWF

fanatic like me has to hear! This live concert is PHENOMENAL!

Maurice, Philip, the Pheonix horns, all at the peak, of

perfection! The only thing that could top this, is having this

concert on dvd! Soon I hope! Make yourself very happy, buy this

fantastic EWF live concert, ASAP!

The "Live in Rio" recording comes from a tour date in Brazil during EWF's 1979-1980 "Tour of the World" outing. I remember catching this tour back in 1979. The musical pace is very fast (compared to "Gratitude" and "Alive in 75") and very BASS heavy. Expect your subs to get a very decent workout on "Rock That". The CD offers the best live recording of "In the Stone", while "Serpentine Fire" is TIGHT (odd hearing the female chorus). "Fantasy" has Phillip Bailey hitting his highs, of course, and the guitars and keyboards have a nice flavor. "Can't Let Go" has more amazing horns, but then trifles into disco. "Getaway" offers more of the same. "Brazilian Rhyme Theme", leads into the -horn-o-amazing- "Magic Mind". Toward the end of the song, Maurice tries to disrupt the horns by leading the band to play in a confusing manner. "Runnin" is executed very nicely. The rest of the CD is anti-climactic except for "Rio After Dark"(minus the drum solo) and "Got to get you into My Life". The audio quality of "Live in Rio" exceeded my expectations. In fact, a few well-known music reviewers mistakenly believed that the CD was recorded within the last year!

The first time I heard this CD, I was immediately hooked! To truly appreciate this show, you've gotta listen to it on a good Digital Audio System. You can feel the joy in this performance. It's so powerful, it moves me emotionally!!! Earth, Wind & Fire's music and The Phenix Horns have always touched my heart. I want to meet Maurice White one day, give him a big hug and thank him personally for sharing his gift of EWF with me and the entire world!!!! My eyes are tearing up already!!!