EARTH WIND & FIRE — Spirit

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EARTH WIND & FIRE - Spirit cover
3.80 | 4 ratings | 1 review
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Album · 1976

Filed under RnB
By EARTH WIND & FIRE

Tracklist

A1 Getaway 3:47
A2 On Your Face 4:34
A3 Imagination 5:17
A4 Spirit 3:12
B1 Saturday Nite 4:03
B2 Earth, Wind & Fire 4:41
B3 Departure 0:27
B4 Biyo 3:38
B5 Burnin' Bush 6:48

Total Time: 36:24

Line-up/Musicians

Cello – Dennis Karmazyn, Harry Shlutz, Marie Fera, Ronald Cooper
Concertmaster – Charles Veal
Drums, Percussion – Fred White, Ralph Johnson
French Horn – Art Maebe, David Duke, Marilyn Robinson, Sidney Muldrow
Guitar – Johnny Graham
Guitar, Percussion – Al McKay
Harp – Dorothy Ashby
Percussion – Harvey Mason
Piano – Jerry Peters
Piano, Organ, Synthesizer [Moog] – Larry Dunn
Saxophone – Don Myrick
Saxophone, Percussion – Andrew Woolfolk
Trombone – Charles Loper, George Bohanon, Louis Satterfield
Trombone [Bass] – Lew McCreary
Trumpet – Chuck Findley, Michael Harris, Oscar Brashear, Steve Madaio
Tuba – Tommy Johnson
Viola – Barbara Thomason, David Campbell, Denyse Buffum, James Dunham, Linn Subotnick, Marilyn Baker, Paul Polivnick, Rollice Dale
Violin – Assa Drori, Carl LaMagna, Haim Shtrum, Harris Goldman, Joy Lyle, Kenneth Yerke, Sandy Seemore, Winterton Garvey
Vocals, Bass, Percussion – Verdine White
Vocals, Congas, Percussion – Philip Bailey

About this release

Columbia ‎– PC 34241 (US)

Recorded At – Wally Heider Studios; The Burbank Studios; Hollywood Sound Recorders; Westlake Audio

Thanks to snobb for the updates

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EARTH WIND & FIRE SPIRIT reviews

Specialists/collaborators reviews

js
In 1975 Earth Wind and Fire hit a creative peak with the release of both, “That’s the Way of the World’ and “Gratitude” . At this point the band had positioned themselves as a true force of nature worthy of their band name as they mixed modern RnB with funk, jazz fusion and art pop with neo-classical tendencies. In 1976 they rolled out “Spirit” in a similar style, and although this album does not quite soar to the heights of their 75 output, it gets very close. To their credit, EW&F at this point had the best solo and ensemble vocals in the business, as well as the best horn section. All of this was backed by a tight rhythm section that was at home playing either up tempo jazz or down tempo pop ballads.

Picking out the best tracks on here, we get the almost chaotic fierce energy of “Getaway’. If you were listening to RnB radio back then, there was no forgetting the first time you heard the kinetic blast of this horn driven scorcher with soaring vocals and a complex arrangement that was far beyond most anything else on the radio. “Saturday Night” is a good times winner with a persistent guitar rhythm and an unusual major key horn riff that sounds like classic 60s soul jazz. “Biyo” is an instrumental African fusion number with solos for everyone and some cool exotica synthesizer work. Maurice White turns in a superb lead vocal performance on “Biyo” with its lyrics of a spiritual nature. The rest of the tracks on here are good, although some may sound a bit like rehashes of earlier successful material.

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