man that story has made my day
― The Complainte of Ray Tabano, Sunday, 21 December 2014 00:42 (nine years ago) link
GODDAMMIT
https://twitter.com/AP/status/695374050168733696
RIP Maurice White
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 4 February 2016 22:37 (eight years ago) link
The crap year continues. RIP Maurice. Incredible singer from one of the most underrated groups ever.
― Kitchen Person, Thursday, 4 February 2016 22:44 (eight years ago) link
Oh no. RIP Maurice. This year sucks.
― The Robustness of Captchas (Tom D.), Thursday, 4 February 2016 22:46 (eight years ago) link
sad stuff. rip.
who doesn't like some EW&F.
― Spottie, Thursday, 4 February 2016 22:47 (eight years ago) link
:((((((((((((
― HYPERLINK TO RAP GENIUS (BradNelson), Thursday, 4 February 2016 22:49 (eight years ago) link
Aw. This band was on-point. I always thought they were like the black Steely Dan, making really hard stuff sound super smooth.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 4 February 2016 22:59 (eight years ago) link
Goddamn if you haven't seen this live in Oakland show from the end of the year in 1981 -- remember seeing it a few months later on HBO, IIRC -- you haven't lived. If you have an hour, take the time.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2e14xh_earth-wind-fire-in-concert-live-oakland-coliseum-1981_people
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 4 February 2016 23:08 (eight years ago) link
A quick and simple muttering.
http://nedraggett.tumblr.com/post/138693940327/back-in-2010-scott-woods-was-kind-enough-to
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 4 February 2016 23:24 (eight years ago) link
RIP - so much music that lifted so many spirits. you can't really stay in a bad mood when earth wind and fire comes on the radio.
― tylerw, Thursday, 4 February 2016 23:25 (eight years ago) link
David Stubbs on fb: "To listen to EWF anytime is to be temporarily levitated."
otm.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 4 February 2016 23:35 (eight years ago) link
any EW&F comp you own is among the greatest albums in pop history
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 4 February 2016 23:41 (eight years ago) link
Damn right re Stubbs. The full quote is even better:
Robert Wyatt once talked about how he was complimented backstage by some student types after one of his gigs, the geezer complaining that the previous week they'd had to endure Geno Washington and the Ram Jam Band and their comparatively non-cerebral music, and how good it was to have experienced something more elevated. Wyatt, alive to this sort of bollocks as he creditably ever was, responded that dear God, if they could have moved a crowd a tenth of a degree Geno could, they'd have been more than happy. Critics privilege the morbid, the broody, the gloomy, over the likes of Earth, Wind & Fire; dumb critics, that is. It's fucking hard to create the sort of popular joy they serially did, the physical, spiritual uplift, the perennial high. Many try and fail desperately, counterproductively. A great deal of other worthy culture weighs us down. To listen to EWF anytime is to be temporarily levitated. My god, 2016 can fuck off with its scythe.
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 4 February 2016 23:42 (eight years ago) link
EW&F are ripe RIPE for a Deep Album Cuts-type reappraisal.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 4 February 2016 23:43 (eight years ago) link
he did some great work w/ ramsey lewis too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUgNGJj7O_U
― tylerw, Thursday, 4 February 2016 23:49 (eight years ago) link
RIP
Don't all y'all forget all the great Checker/Cadet/Chess sides he drummed on in the '60s ("Rescue Me", "Soulful Dress" etc.)!
― "Damn the Taquitos" (C. Grisso/McCain), Thursday, 4 February 2016 23:53 (eight years ago) link
ha didn't know he was drumming on "rescue me", that is awesome.
― tylerw, Friday, 5 February 2016 00:01 (eight years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0w8YcyLPmE
― mom, Friday, 5 February 2016 00:17 (eight years ago) link
Aw, RIP.
EWF was one of those bands I heard many times without really knowing while I was growing up. A singles band for many, but their best albums listen as well as any comp. They all follow a distinct formula, but what a formula it was. And they set the template for a decade or so of LA pop - just for starters, Off the Wall or Thriller don't exist without Maurice White and EWF's efforts.
― Futuristic Bow Wow (thewufs), Friday, 5 February 2016 00:26 (eight years ago) link
Didn't make that connection -- true!
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 5 February 2016 00:26 (eight years ago) link
Dave Marsh says something to that effect in his singles book, describing EWF as an R & B equivalent to Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan.
― "Damn the Taquitos" (C. Grisso/McCain), Friday, 5 February 2016 00:35 (eight years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86YiGNGCxvI
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 5 February 2016 00:46 (eight years ago) link
They were mostly a hit singles band for me, but After The Love is Gone is in my all time songs pantheon, so good.
― on entre O.K. on sort K.O. (man alive), Friday, 5 February 2016 02:03 (eight years ago) link
Anybody else ever see the "That's The Way of The World" movie? A fun mix of '70s cheese and grit, with some fantastic live EWF footage.
― "Damn the Taquitos" (C. Grisso/McCain), Friday, 5 February 2016 02:10 (eight years ago) link
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C59DUe0G3Gc/VW6XBGKi7dI/AAAAAAAAnyQ/_NXN4tLe4xA/s1600/p422_p_v7_aa.jpg
― "Damn the Taquitos" (C. Grisso/McCain), Friday, 5 February 2016 02:12 (eight years ago) link
RIP. Blared "September" on the way home from class tonight.
― pitchforkian at best (cryptosicko), Friday, 5 February 2016 04:05 (eight years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VjgGIS4yo4&list=PLrrWWJCP6a4h5o0EkGTCC0GlTLU27_wtJ&index=4
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 5 February 2016 04:17 (eight years ago) link
Did George Clinton really hate them (per the op)? I find that hard to believe.
― Οὖτις, Friday, 5 February 2016 04:20 (eight years ago) link
man, MW played on, wrote, and produced a hell of a lot of good music
always impressed by how goddam busy those EWF hits are. there's a lot going on. busy, but not cluttered.
― wizzz! (amateurist), Friday, 5 February 2016 04:27 (eight years ago) link
danced in the kitchen to Boogie Wonderland, such a great jam
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 5 February 2016 04:30 (eight years ago) link
prob my fave from them
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoI1XPqXQ90
― wizzz! (amateurist), Friday, 5 February 2016 04:43 (eight years ago) link
Did George Clinton really hate them (per the op)? I find that hard to believe.― Οὖτις, Thursday, February 4, 2016 9:20 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― Οὖτις, Thursday, February 4, 2016 9:20 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
I think we've been over this before. Clinton's jibes at Earth Wind and Fire apparently originated in some sort of tour-related conflict between the two bands, but it was never a serious beef. He clowns on every 70s funk band on "Let's Take It to the Stage," not just EWF. I think the perception that EWF were his mortal enemies originates in that same Dave Marsh singles book, because Marsh projects all the time and thinks everybody else views the world as antagonistically as he does.
― Futuristic Bow Wow (thewufs), Friday, 5 February 2016 06:51 (eight years ago) link
Someone outside is singing Boogie Wonderland. Wasn't quite what I had in mind when I was thinking of listening to them today.
― ledge, Friday, 5 February 2016 09:21 (eight years ago) link
RIP. terrible loss. songs like cant hide love were really important to me. i dont think they were an albums band or a singles band, but they had so many great songs, and they were one of the best live bands of the 70s. shame they are basically, in the uk at least, seen as pure cheese purveyors cos of boogie wonderland (which i actually love, but its not their greatest song). the clinton thing is that p-funk, ewf, and the commodores were basically the main 3 rivals in terms of their shows.
― StillAdvance, Friday, 5 February 2016 10:39 (eight years ago) link
This is really sad, maybe the biggest loss in popular music since MJ. White was a brilliant producer and songwriter (and even though he wasn't a bad singer, I'm glad he left most of the EWF singing duties to Philip Bailey, because Philip Bailey is phenomenal), you just need to listen to something like "Fantasy" for proof. That tune has like three different catchy melodies, they could've had three different hit singles with it but they put them all into one tune! And the production and the arrangement on it is so lovely and impeccable, but also so full of life.
And yes, EWF was more than just a great singles band, they had a lot of awesome album cuts (Zanzibar, Happy Feelin', Drum Song, Open Our Eyes, Spirit, Magic Mind, I'll Write a Song for You, Evolution Orange, Lady Sun, Side by Side, etc). Pretty much all of heir albums up to Powerlight have some quality grooves, though obviously not all of them can be loaded from front to back with heavenly music like That's the Way of the World and All 'n All.
And then of course there's Maurice White's drumming... Besides those 60s sould hits, his work as Ramsey Lewis' sideman was also full of great moments. Did you know the RLT accompanied Minnie Riperton on Come to My Garden? Yes, that's him on the drums on "Les Fleur"! And the mid-70s albums that produced and co-wrote for Ramsey, like Sun Goddess and Salongo, are also some jazz-funk gems. Definitely worth checking out if you dig the jazzier side of EWF.
― Tuomas, Friday, 5 February 2016 11:45 (eight years ago) link
Glad you mentioned "Magic Mind," Tuomoas, for I was about to post the link.
"Lady Sun" is one of my favorites too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsTKFakujM0
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 5 February 2016 11:47 (eight years ago) link
And StillAdvance is right that they were an awesome live band, at least judging by the recordings they left behind. Alive in ´75 is my favourite live album of all time.
(xpost)
― Tuomas, Friday, 5 February 2016 11:48 (eight years ago) link
shame they are basically, in the uk at least, seen as pure cheese purveyors cos of boogie wonderland
Says who?
― The Robustness of Captchas (Tom D.), Friday, 5 February 2016 12:08 (eight years ago) link
FOr a start, who has ever described Boogie Wonderland as 'pure cheese'?
― The Robustness of Captchas (Tom D.), Friday, 5 February 2016 12:09 (eight years ago) link
RIP :(
― The Dave Grohl of ILX (Turrican), Friday, 5 February 2016 12:14 (eight years ago) link
was he still touring with them? they're supposed to come through my area in a few weeks.
― billstevejim, Friday, 5 February 2016 12:32 (eight years ago) link
I think there's a touring version of the band that has no original members. White himself hadn't been touring with them for years, because he had Parkinson's.
― Tuomas, Friday, 5 February 2016 12:34 (eight years ago) link
And apparently Parkinson's was also the cause of his death.
― Tuomas, Friday, 5 February 2016 12:36 (eight years ago) link
cmon, most popular tv shows would mention EWF with a kind of smirk as they rolled a video of BW. thats what the majority of the population knows them for. you think they know the earlier 70s stuff? seriously doubt it. youd be hard pressed even to get mojo reading types to know much about EWF beyond the big crossover hits.
― StillAdvance, Friday, 5 February 2016 12:39 (eight years ago) link
I don't think this is true at all. As Mark S pointed out when Alfred said the same thing on Facebook, EWF had 12 hit singles in the UK, the highest of which was September.
― Brian of Morbius (stevie), Friday, 5 February 2016 12:40 (eight years ago) link
Boogie Wonderland is a disco classic, the only people who think it's cheese are the ones who think disco was cheese in general.
― Tuomas, Friday, 5 February 2016 12:40 (eight years ago) link
Yeah, also, as Tuomas says, BW is ACE
― Brian of Morbius (stevie), Friday, 5 February 2016 12:41 (eight years ago) link
well that is the problem. anything disco or associated with it is seen as pure cheese.
i love BW. never said it wasnt ace.
― StillAdvance, Friday, 5 February 2016 12:42 (eight years ago) link
half expecting someone to come in and tell me disco ISNT seen as cheese
Sorry but you're just wrong there, EWF were very well respected as something more than a 'disco band, I mean, they were virtually a prog rock band! Concept albums (sort of), complex music, virtuoso musicianship, extravagant stageshows and Phil Collins!
― The Robustness of Captchas (Tom D.), Friday, 5 February 2016 12:45 (eight years ago) link