| The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | July 30, 2002 | |||
| Recorded | 1973–1983 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Label | Columbia/Legacy | |||
| Producer | Maurice White, Al McKay, Charles Stepney, Joseph Wissert, Leo Sacks | |||
| Earth, Wind & Fire chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire is a compilation album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire issued in July 2002 by Columbia/Legacy.[2] The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire has been certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.[3]
With the LP came a sampler which featured remixes of Can't Hide Love and Let's Groove. During October 2002 the remix sampler was issued as a single and got to No. 4 on the UK Dance Singles Chart.[4][5]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| Blender |  [7] |
| PopMatters | (favourable)[8] |
| Newsday | (favourable)[9] |
| SoulTracks | (favourable)[10] |
Mark Anthony NealofPopMatters proclaimed "The Essential Earth, Wind, and Fire, chronicles the best music of arguably the most popular R&B/soul band of the last three decades."[8] Barry Walters of Blender, who gave a four out of five star rating, opined "the 34 tracks on The Essential encompass these funky spiritualists’ many sides, from preachy (“All About Love”) to sensual (“Can’t Hide Love”) to ecstatic (“Boogie Wonderland”)."[7] With a 4.5 out of 5 star rating Stephen Thomas ErlewineofAllmusic wrote "The single-disc Greatest Hits remains the choice for the casual and the curious listener due to its concise concentration of classics, but anybody who wants a thorough retrospective should choose this."[6] Howard Dukes of SoulTracks also called the album "a collection that will definitely get the party started".[10]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Originally from | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mighty Mighty" | Maurice White, Verdine White | Open Our Eyes, 1974 | 3:02 |
| 2. | "Evil" | M. White | Head to the Sky, 1973 | 4:56 |
| 3. | "Devotion" | Philip Bailey, M. White | Open Our Eyes | 4:49 |
| 4. | "Keep Your Head to the Sky" | M. White | Head to the Sky | 5:09 |
| 5. | "Kalimba Story" | M. White, V. White | Open Our Eyes | 4:01 |
| 6. | "Shining Star" | Bailey, Larry Dunn, M. White | That's the Way of the World, 1975 | 2:50 |
| 7. | "That's the Way of the World" | Charles Stepney, M. White, V. White | That's the Way of the World | 5:45 |
| 8. | "Yearnin' Learnin'" | Bailey, Stepney, M. White | That's the Way of the World | 3:39 |
| 9. | "All About Love" | Dunn, M. White | That's the Way of the World | 5:30 |
| 10. | "Reasons" | Bailey, Stepney, M. White | That's the Way of the World | 4:58 |
| 11. | "Sing a Song" | Al McKay, M. White | Gratitude, 1975 | 3:23 |
| 12. | "Can't Hide Love" | Skip Scarborough | Gratitude | 4:09 |
| 13. | "Getaway" | Peter Cor, Beloyd Taylor | Spirit, 1976 | 3:45 |
| 14. | "Saturday Nite" | Bailey, McKay, M. White | Spirit | 4:03 |
| 15. | "Ponta de Areia (Brazilian Rhyme)/Be Ever Wonderful" | Dunn, Milton Nascimento, M. White | All 'n All, 1977 | 6:00 |
| 16. | "Open Our Eyes" | Leon Lumkins | Open Our Eyes | 5:03 |
| 17. | "Got to Get You into My Life" | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1978 | 4:03 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Originally from | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "September" | McKay, M. White, Allee Willis | The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 | 3:35 |
| 2. | "Serpentine Fire" | Sonny Burke, M. White, V. White | All 'n All | 3:50 |
| 3. | "Fantasy" | Eduardo DelBarrio, M. White, V. White | All 'n All | 4:36 |
| 4. | "I'll Write a Song for You" | Bailey, Steve Beckmeier, McKay | All 'n All | 5:22 |
| 5. | "Drum Song" | M. White | Open Our Eyes | 5:09 |
| 6. | "In the Stone" | M. White, David Foster, Willis | I Am, 1979 | 4:25 |
| 7. | "Can't Let Go" | Bill Myers, M. White, Willis | I Am | 3:28 |
| 8. | "After the Love Has Gone" | Bill Champlin, David Foster, Jay Graydon | I Am | 4:25 |
| 9. | "Wait" | Foster, M. White, Willis | I Am | 3:39 |
| 10. | "You and I" | Foster, M. White, Willis | I Am | 3:31 |
| 11. | "Let Me Talk" | Bailey, Dunn, Ralph Johnson, McKay, M. White, V. White | Faces, 1980 | 4:08 |
| 12. | "And Love Goes On" | Dunn, Foster, Brenda Russell, M. White, V. White | Faces | 4:04 |
| 13. | "You" | Foster, Russell, M. White | Faces | 5:30 |
| 14. | "Let's Groove" | Wayne Vaughn, M. White | Raise!, 1981 | 5:32 |
| 15. | "Fall In Love With Me" | Wanda Vaughn, Wayne Vaughn, M. White | Powerlight, 1983 | 5:49 |
| 16. | "Side by Side" | Wayne Vaughn, M. White | Powerlight | 5:31 |
| 17. | "Boogie Wonderland" (with The Emotions) | Jon Lind, Willis | I Am | 4:48 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Originally from | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sun Goddess" | M. White, Lind | Gratitude | 7:41 |
| 2. | "Celebrate" | M. White, Bailey, Stepney | Gratitude | 3:06 |
| 3. | "Spirit" | M. White, Dunn | Spirit | 3:12 |
| 4. | "On Your Face" | M. White, Stepney, Bailey | Spirit | 4:33 |
| 5. | "Imagination" | M. White, Stepney, Bailey | Spirit | 5:16 |
| 6. | "Runnin'" | M. White, Dunn, del Barrio | All 'n All | 5:51 |
| 7. | "Jupiter" | M. White, V. White, Dunn, Bailey | All 'n All | 3:11 |
| 8. | "System of Survival" | "Skylark" | Touch the World | 5:01 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Originally from | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mighty Mighty" | M. White, V. White | Open Our Eyes | 3:03 |
| 2. | "Devotion" | Bailey, M. White | Open Our Eyes | 4:50 |
| 3. | "Keep Your Head to the Sky" | M. White | Head to the Sky | 5:10 |
| 4. | "Kalimba Story" | M. White, V. White | Open Our Eyes | 4:02 |
| 5. | "That's the Way of the World" | Stepney, M. White, V. White | That's the Way of the World | 5:47 |
| 6. | "Shining Star" | Bailey, Dunn, M. White | That's the Way of the World | 2:50 |
| 7. | "Reasons" | Bailey, Stepney, M. White | That's the Way of the World | 4:59 |
| 8. | "Sing a Song" | McKay, M. White | Gratitude | 3:24 |
| 9. | "Can't Hide Love" | Scarborough | Gratitude | 4:11 |
| 10. | "Getaway" | Cor, Taylor | Spirit | 3:45 |
| 11. | "On Your Face" | Bailey, Stepney, M. White | Spirit | 4:34 |
| 12. | "Saturday Nite" | Bailey, McKay, M. White | Spirit | 4:01 |
| 13. | "Got to Get You into My Life" | Lennon, McCartney | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band | 4:03 |
| 14. | "September" | McKay, M. White, Willis | The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 | 3:35 |
| 15. | "Serpentine Fire" | Burke, M. White, V. White | All 'n All | 3:51 |
| 16. | "Fantasy" | DelBarrio, M. White, V. White | All 'n All | 4:38 |
| 17. | "I'll Write a Song for You" | Bailey, Beckmeier, McKay | All 'n All | 5:24 |
| 18. | "Drum Song" | M. White | Open Our Eyes | 5:09 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Originally from | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Boogie Wonderland" (with The Emotions) | Lind, Willis | I Am | 4:49 |
| 2. | "In the Stone" | M. White, Foster, Willis | I Am | 4:25 |
| 3. | "Can't Let Go" | Myers, M. White, Willis | I Am | 3:29 |
| 4. | "After the Love Has Gone" | Champlin, Foster, Graydon | I Am | 4:39 |
| 5. | "You and I" | Foster, M. White, Willis | I Am | 3:33 |
| 6. | "Let Me Talk" | Bailey, Dunn, Johnson, McKay, M. White, V. White | Faces | 4:08 |
| 7. | "And Love Goes On" | Dunn, Foster, Russell, M. White, V. White | Faces | 4:05 |
| 8. | "You" | Foster, Russell, M. White | Faces | 5:31 |
| 9. | "Let's Groove" | Wayne Vaughn, M. White | Raise! | 5:39 |
| 10. | "Fall in Love with Me" | Wanda Vaughn, Wayne Vaughn, M. White | Powerlight | 5:52 |
| 11. | "Magnetic" | Martin Page | Electric Universe, 1983 | 4:22 |
| 12. | "Dance Dance Dance" | Taylor, M. White | Rock & Rule soundtrack, 1986; released as a digital single in 2012 | 3:13 |
| 13. | "System of Survival" | "Skylark" | Touch the World, 1987 | 5:00 |
| 14. | "Sunday Morning (Radio Mix)" | Sheldon Reynolds, M. White, Willis | Millennium, 1993 | 4:12 |
| 15. | "Pure Gold" | Bobby Avila, Issiah Avila, Tony Tolbert, James Harris III, Terry Lewis | Illumination, 2005 | 4:41 |
| 16. | "The Way You Move" | Patrick Brown, Carlton Mahone, Antwan Patton | Illumination | 4:17 |
| 17. | "My Promise" | Siedah Garrett, Austin Jacobs, Darrin Simpson | Now, Then & Forever, 2013 | 3:22 |
The following accolades attributed to The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire.[11]
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blender | U.S. | 500 CDs You Must Own: Rhythm & Blues | 2003 | Alphabetical order |
