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.