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Overall Album Score: 9.0 out of 10 Well, it must have been a weird thought process for me to decide to review an album by a ‘70s funk band called “Earth Wind and Fire.” Because I have no idea why I’m reviewing this band when I’m probably better off just reviewing The Pet Shop Boys or something. (Don’t worry, o faithful fans, I will review The Pet Shop Boys one of these days… Although, it will be in the year 3045 at the rate I seem to be writing these reviews lately.) I can tell you that I’m pretty surprised at this album. I just figured this band wrote throwaway funk/disco tunes along the lines of “Car Wash” and “Jungle Boogie” that I would just tap my foot to and then wish that it would get out of my head already. I guess when I heard the first track of the album, “Help Somebody,” it was really weird and along the lines of jazz fusion, it really threw me off guard! To be fair, this band did become one of the centers of the disco movement. But this is their first album, and it’s solid. Was Earth Wind and Fire merely a commercially oriented band out to make a buck on the pop charts? They weren’t. At first anyway. (I haven’t listened to any of their later stuff yet.) There’s plenty to enjoy here in terms of rich melodies, groovy beats, and dedicated vocal performances. The second song of the album, “Moment of Truth,” however, is a more straight-ahead funk song and “Love is Life” is an utterly sincere (but normal, for the most part) ballad. The songs that come after are pretty strange in a way, but not necessarily great songs. “Fan the Fire” has an interesting start, but it doesn’t take off like it seems it should (I guess they weren’t waving hard enough). “C’mon Children” and “The World Today” have their strange elements to them, but I don’t think they were quite as inspired as they might have. The final track of the album, however, is an unexpected treat to anyone who values artistic music. It’s a strange cross between funk music, world music and avant garde. I’m afraid that I can’t be too effective at describing it to you. I’d recommend that you at least hear that song. It’s very interesting! I guess it’s no big surprise that this album wasn’t too commercially successful. How is the public to respond to something like “Bad Tune?” Overall Album Score: 9.0 out of 10 (Ladies and gentlemen, let me prepare you for a shock…) Average Song Score: 8.9 (Some of these songs are so great that it’s shocking. Others are just disappointedly average.) Album Tilt: 8.5 (It’s a bit soggy in the midsection. They shouldn’t have given up so easily.) Artist Rating: 9.5 (I would never have expected songs like “Help Somebody” and “Bad Tune” to come from this group. I thought this would just be an album full of generic funk songs. Even the relatively bland songs had their weirdness. Very very surprising.) Track Reviews Help Somebody 10/10 This is decidedly funk music, but it’s pretty weird. There’s a distinctive jazz flavor to this song, and the way this band blends these sounds is pretty unique. (OK, to be fair, I’m not very big on funk, but at least I note a startling amount of true talent on this track.) The song is danceable, and it’s structured very interestingly. It’s so complex that I really have a difficult time trying to describe it. What the listener would really find important about this song, however, is the melody! It’s catchy! You can’t ask for much more than that. (OK, there’s some goofy dialogue at the end of this … Well, at least they don’t take themselves very seriously, even though they probably could.) Moment of Truth 9/10 It’s not as deliciously weird as its predecessor, but at least it’s a danceable funk song with a nice beat and good melody. A lot of spirit. This sounds like a developing party! This is much more of a pure funk song, but quite a bit less compelling. (I like the way this group layers on the vocals throughout this. It’s symphonic in a way.) Love is Life 9.5/10 The iconic third track of an album is usually a ballad, and … this is a ballad. It’s sure a life-filled ballad, though. It’s not boring like a lot of third tracks are. The song has a really smooth flow and the melody is catchy. It has a heavy horn section and a smooth beat. The vocals are very heartening as if they really believe that “Love is Life.” (They prompt listeners to sing along with them at the end of the song … I’m feeling rather sick to my stomach right now and I have no intention of doing so, but … I’d like to …) Fan the Fire 8/10 You know, this is kind of an interesting song. It’s a soul/funk song that’s structured really strangely. It starts out with an oscillator noise and then a very quiet beat starts playing … maybe sounding like a calm before the storm. Then there’s a mild explosion and the “rain” starts. It never really turns into a thunderstorm, though. Not that we really should have expected this too. … This song seems like it should’ve been about one or two minutes shorter than it was. Or maybe just developed further. Well, this isn’t one of the highlights, I guess. It still makes a nice listen and, by all accounts, it’s solid. (The end of this song features goofy dialogue … I’m really baffled. It sounds like one of those plays my third grade teacher used to make the whole class perform.) C’mon Children 8/10 Is another strange song. I’m not sure what to make of it. It’s like a funk song but the group started tripping out on mushrooms in the middle of this. Well, whether or not this was a wise decision (I personally don’t know what to make of it), this is evident that there was an undeniable creative force behind this group! This is mostly just a normal funk song with an only so-so melody but a danceable beat. I guess stuff like this was why this album didn’t sell! (And the goofy dialogue at the end of the songs clearly doesn’t help!) This World Today 8/10 I will say that I like the melody and it really manages to soar at times. The beat is more pounding and almost militaristic, so this really isn't conducive to dancing! If I was a person who was prone to pay attention to lyrics (…I normally don’t bother unless it’s a group or person I generally care about…) I would wish that they weren’t so damn corny. But I didn’t hear them. … This is a good song, but maybe too choppy. Bad Tune 10/10 This song isn’t so bad. Actually, I think this song is very good. It’s very surprising and artistic! It reminds me of what Duran Duran did in the final track of their debut album. “Tel Aviv” was a surprisingly dense and artistic song that it’s shocking to anyone who just knows them for their radio hits. … You’ll probably be surprised at this song too. This is more of a cross between funk and avant garde! It starts out with some thunder sound effects and then a lot of strange notes played on a xylophone type instrument. Then, sure enough, a funk beat starts playing. The funk beat is good, and the strange xylophone notes play throughout. Very compelling music!!! I think you all should listen to this. There is something about the look of your lips when you e-mail me a comment here. |
All reviews are copyrighted by the author, Michael Lawrence. Milk is for babies and lonely old men.
