Just Give Gratitude

Three days ago a friend of mine and I were engaged in a serious debate. I made the following bold statement: “Earth Wind & Fire’s album ‘Gratitude’ is the finest live R&B album ever recorded.” Now, for me that’s a no-brainer but for him, that was a challenge. His reaction was to start hollarin’ about P-Funk Live from 1977, which in my opinion doesn’t even come close (and I LOVE Parliament Funkadelic).  We discussed Stevie Wonder’s “Natural Wonder”, “These Songs for You: Donny Hathaway Live” (both of which are phenomenal recordings); and the live recordings of Bill Withers and Tower of Power came up in the conversation too. I mentioned Frankie Beverly & Maze “Live in New Orleans” also a great record, he and I agreed, but none of these eclipse “Gratitude.” He eventually gave in, finally realizing that there really is no greater live R&B concert recording.

It is absolutely true. I am an Earth Wind & Fire devotee so for me, their worst album is probably gonna be pretty good but “Gratitude” is that rare jewel that never gets dull. It remains classic in every respect and will always stand the test of time. Play it today and it sounds just as solid and organic as it did right before Christmas 1975 (the season of giving, I might add) when it was released.

There are many reasons this album is extraordinary: five of them are the studio-recorded songs that were included (there were also two musical interludes). Of those, two were released as singles “Singasong” and “Can’t Hide Love” (I’ll write more about “Can’t Hide Love” later).  The other three were fantastic too, especially “Sunshine” which you’ll just have to hear for yourself if you don’t know it. But the real shining moments of this record are the all-time heartbreaking live version of “Reasons” (I’ve discussed my fixation with this record in an earlier post—“He plays so beautiful don’t you agree?”); the nine-minute “New World Symphony,” which I can’t even find the adjectives to describe; “Devotion” (the same live version of this record with the original “Head to the Sky” intro is part of the box set compilation “The Eternal Dance” released in 1992 and is so lively it’s mind numbing); and “Sun Goddess,” a tune that some of the members of the band originally recorded with jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis on his album of the same name.

For a short time back in the sixties, Maurice White had been the drummer with the Ramsey Lewis Trio but until 1974, by the time EW&F was formed and had already developed a pretty strong following of their own, Lewis hadn’t had a hit record since 1967. His collaboration with “The Elements” resulted in “Sun Goddess,” a song that to this day is one of the funkiest jazz recordings ever made. So by late ’75, when EW&F included it in their live shows and on “Gratitude,” hard core R&B fans found themselves grooving to a number that was decidedly jazz. In fact, the live version is almost better than what they recorded in the studio. In every way it establishes the members as bonafide, thoroughly trained jazz musicians. The vocal melody is unforgettable; the saxophone solo in both the live & studio recordings are virtuosic; and the guitar riffs, bass, keyboard, percussion, drums, rhythm, everything about this record is timeless. It’s impossible for me to imagine a summer without it.

So, here are some instructions: Stop whatever you’re doing and find “Gratitude." At the very least, download and listen to “Sun Goddess” right now! If you don’t begin bobbin’ your head, snappin’ your fingers, and/or tappin’ your feet, we might need to check whether you have a pulse. 

Sun Goddess - Earth, Wind & Fire

It Is Written

We all better recognize…

the omens. (If you’ve read “The Alchemist,” then you know what I’m talking about).

Check this out:

For the last two weeks I’ve been seriously out of rhythm. By that I mean all the things that help me maintain a certain ebb and flow to my life have been somewhat topsy-turvy. To be sure, I’ve been almost entirely disconnected from my current obsession, which as my closest friends know, is eating, breathing, and sleeping anything that is Earth Wind & Fire. After working 10 to 12 hours a day, studying for mid term exams, dental implant surgery, and all the other various mundane affairs of everyday living, I’ve had very little time to do anything, let alone read & write for pleasure. What I have been able to do, however, is listen. Everyday I’ve listened to one EW&F record, the same song over and over and over again. But I’ll come back to that in a minute.

I was having one of those sleepless nights, which for me is extremely rare. Generally, I never have a hard time sleeping but for one particular night this week after some very, very long days, I just couldn’t drift off. I’d been feeling a little neglectful of a few things, but mainly I was regretting that I hadn’t spent much time on my EW&F projects. So around 1:30 am, I’m tossing & turning; I get up, walk around, get back in bed and toss & turn some more. I turn the TV on, channel surf, nothing, turn it off. Pick up a book, lose interest. Flip through this week’s Time Magazine, boring. (This is rare for me so I really don’t quite know what to do.) I turn the TV on again (as if I wanna give it one last chance), channel surf and land on VH1 Soul, the channel that runs black music videos all day and all night long. It’s 2:00 now and I hear the familiar little jingle for the show “Soul Story” which is an hour-long string of videos by one artist or group. What I saw next literally made me jump out of bed! A concert video of Earth Wind & Fire singing “After the Love is Gone” from 1979. (Gasp! Could it be that EW&F are the featured act on this episode of "Soul Story?" We'll see with the next video. Then...BAM!) From the 1987 album “Touch the World” was the video from a song which featured the Emotions singing background vocals “Thinking of You.” The rest were songs from rather late in the band’s career since music videos weren’t yet a common media in the 1970s, and by the mid 80s EW&F’s popularity was also beginning to wane. Interestingly, as far back as 1977, the band had done what were then called “Promotional Videos,” which were usually un-elaborate performance presentations shot by the record companies to showcase album releases. But despite all that, I immediately knew the videos were a sign. It was a most profound omen that instantly registered a powerful message: get back to the Elements of the Universe!

So a few hours later, just as I’m about to head to work, I get in my car, turn on the engine, and hear the following:

Do you believe, my friend, in what you claim?

People of the world all doubt the same.

Bringing questions of their own,

Truth is written in the stone.

Truth is written in the stone. This is the song I’d been playing over and over and over again. Between hearing that and considering those music videos from a few hours earlier as an omen, there is no greater affirmation to finish what has taken me 44 years to start.

A little more about the song:

When the album “I Am” was released in 1979, EW&F was becoming disco/pop oriented but “In the Stone” is a record that although it has pop elements, remains true to the EW&F ethos. Maurice White even said that this album was difficult to record because it followed the multi platinum “All-N-All” (which is arguably the best R&B album ever made—right up there with Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life”) and the band was trying to toe the line between art & commerce. The 50 second introduction, with its rhythmic instrumentation, horns, bass, guitar, and percussion, is used to this day as background music to television news, sports, and entertainment show segments and is a staple performance piece of every major marching band at Historically Black Colleges throughout the country. There’s absolutely no way you can hear it without standing, lifting your head up, and feeling like a champion. As the lyrics exclaim, love, truth, and strength are written in the stone.

In The Stone - Earth, Wind & Fire

Now my heart can fly...

I’ve spent the last several days contemplating the topic for my second blog post. The fact that I’m writing about Earth Wind & Fire comes as a real surprise to some. But those who know and understand me well, appreciate my motivations and see this for what it actually is: a humble beginning to the ultimate completion of a mission I was born to fulfill.

In addition to sharing my reflections about the music, history, band members, lyrics, and culture of EW&F, I want to express a few of my new meditations relating to their old recordings. There are dozens of EW&F songs that I consider favorites. I could never just choose one but for now, there’s one in particular over which I’ve ruminated for the last few weeks. (Any diehard fan may remember this one, vaguely).

“Take It to the Sky” from the album “Faces” 1980

Learning to fly, it seems, is learning to live your dream.

Although two of the singles from this album “Let Me Talk” and "And Love Goes On," received nominal airplay in comparison to other earlier hits, I purchased “Faces” when I was in the 10^th grade expressly for the song “Take It to the Sky.” It is classic EW&F in every sense - melody, arrangement, and lyrical content. It’s a song about knowing what we want and praying about it to the Creator, whoever or whatever we perceive him or her to be. Just like back in 1980, I don’t simply hear this song; I FEEL this song. It profoundly speaks to me and yet there’s nothing exceptional about it. As I recall, the album didn’t sell very well either. It was a double album with 15 songs recorded on the Caribbean island of Montserrat and it followed the multi-platinum, almost impossible to eclipse “I AM.” I think a lot of people, except me and a few others perhaps, thought it was too much, too big, too long, too commercial, too everything. It was misunderstood but “Take It To The Sky” might be one of my top five EW&F records. Oh, and Maurice’s vocal fills and add libs are sick!

Regardless of the band’s relatively low record sales for this album, “Faces” was an enormous achievement, particularly given EW&F’s ability to survive the era of disco. There’s a lot more I could comment about “Take It to the Sky” but the truth is you’re better off hearing it for yourself. Trust me, just as it is when listening to most of their records, you’ll come out of the experience feeling like a better human being.