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It is certainly safe to say Earth, Wind and Fire are pioneers in the world of music. With a forty-five-year career and a host of hits records making them one of America’s best selling artists, they have made a return at just the right time with their first album in eight years.
The American Funk band from Chicago, Illinois mark their ‘comeback’ with 10 new tracks to show the new wave of artists reviving disco music that the original masters of soul-funk-fusion are very much still a force to be reckoned with.
From a jazz lullaby in the form of ‘Splashes’ to the more experimental Latin-influenced opener ‘Belo Horizonte,’ this is a collection of songs that at times have more depth than meets the eye, on the whole though what you get is wonderful collection of easy-listening songs for a old-school dance hall.
Vocally Earth, Wind & Fire are as smooth and silky as ever, the harmonies are idyllic with the production as spotless as you would expect with the years of experience they have behind them. The groove in ‘Love is Law’ will get the body slowly moving and the peppy horns of ‘My Promise‘will only spark bouncing head movements.
Still unashamedly preaching about the universal theme of love, each track floats seamlessly into the next and the swooning beat of ‘Guiding Lights’ is brilliantly overshadowed by the falsetto tones of founding member Philip Bailey, who at 62, should not even get close to some of the notes he hits.
Made up of an impressive 14 members including stalwarts Maurice & Verdine White and Philip Bailey, the latter described this most recent album as being “about the legacy of Earth, Wind & Fire.”With Daft Punk’s smash hit ‘Get Lucky’ putting the disco/funk sound back on the map, “Now, Then & Forever” still has those huge hooks, sweet harmonies and sensual grooves to not only restore but reinvigorate this sound and this band.
