Listening to: The Best of Earth Wind & Fire Volume 1
Genre: Pop
Year: 1978
In a small turn of events for today’s album, I ended up vibing to an album that redefined the way I saw older music, The Vol.1 of Earth, Wind & Fire’s best of.
Now many of you are familiar with this album because of September. This was an addition to the best of compilation that was not found in previous albums and ended up being not only the biggest song in the record but also their biggest song.
It’s funny to think that a song they slotted into the record ended up being the biggest track, and yet you really can’t really deny why that is the case. This late 70s, early 80s bop literally comes back every September, specifically the 21st night, to haunt every dance floor and bedroom for those who prefer a more individual feel. From the bongo man on the right to the beautiful synths and the iconic badiyah, this song hits every single spot.
But it’d be foolish to say this record is just September and some other tracks. Every single song in this record is a bop in it itself. A ridiculously underrated track, Love Music, has merely 3 million plays on Spotify but seriously deserves more. The percussive instruments in this track sound so jumpy and fun that perfectly complement the wonderful details in each pluck of the guitar.
Got to Get You Into My Life is probably one of the most iconic starter songs in any Earth Wind and Fire record for me personally as not only does it start an amazing record, it also became my test track for testing audio gears for a long time due to its fantastic mixing and production and tendency to highlight sibilance and the less emphasized low end.
But by far my favorite track has to be Fantasy. It’s a perfect mellow but groovy track that I imagine slow dancing with my future partner. It’s such a beautiful track.
There’s a stigma that music from this time is better than the music now. And while I wholeheartedly disagree as many amazing records are coming every single year, I also can’t deny the fact that the old years had some of the most influential, vibrant, and hearty songs that literally defined the direction that music was heading. And this record is one amazing example of music going the right way
My total absolutely unbiased scoring:
Vibe: 10/10
Flow: 9/10
Mixing: 9/10
Complexity: 4/10
Consistency: 9/10
Emotional Factor: 7/10
Replayability: 10/10
Fave Track:
Fantasy
Gears Used:
CCA Rhapsody
HiBy R3 II
Das it, das music
