Earth, Wind, And Fire In The Name Of Love CD

Additional personnel includes: Sir James Bailey (rap vocals); Bill Meyers (strings, keyboards, synthesizer, programming); Jerry Hey, Gary Grant (trumpet, flugelhorn); Michael "Patches" Stewart (trumpet); William Frank Reichenbach (trombone); Andrew Klippel (keyboards, programming); Lenny Castro, Paulinho Da Costa (percussion); Carl Carlwell (background vocals).

The 1997 version of EWF launches its album with a jarring, unexpected drum thwack in the first bar of the first song, suggesting that the dynamics of modern hip-hop and even modern rock have not passed by this funk institution. The band quickly drops back into its tried-and-true love-song formation, though, giving most of the album over to creamy-voiced Philip Bailey who urges other men to keep their love in their lives, and tries to convince a woman that he's the true love in hers. There are occasional new-school funk beats, and old-school blasts aplenty from the EWF horns, but the album belongs to Bailey. His showcase ballad "Cruising," which if you close your eyes can evoke memories of the great "Reasons," should finally erase all memories of Phil Collins from EWF fans' minds.

Earth, Wind & Fire's return to Warner Bros. with 1993's Millennium proved to be short-lived -- the album failed to meet the company's expectations commercially. Four years later, EWF ended up on the independent Miami-based Pyramid label with the surprisingly retro In the Name of Love. More personnel changes had taken place, but thankfully, Maurice and Verdine White and Philip Bailey were still onboard for what was EWF's most live-sounding, least high-tech offering since 1983's Powerlight. (However, EWF had been touring without Maurice since 1994). Live horns and real instruments abound, and everything from the ballads "Cruising," "When Love Goes Wrong" and "Right Time," to the punchy funk ditty "Rock It" sounds like it could have been recorded in the '70s. One very pleasant surprise is a remake of "Love of Life," which the pre-Bailey EWF embraced on its self-titled debut album of 1971. Bailey's son, Sir James Bailey, raps on the sociopolitical "Revolution," but on the whole, this excellent CD is unapologetically retro. [Reissued, strangely in 2006, Earth, Wind & Fire's In the Name of Love appears on Maurice White's Kalimba Records, and is essentially the same recording as the 1997 version released on Rhino (without the groovy cover). That said, inexplicably, the tracks are in different order from the original, and contain a pair of newly recorded bonus tracks, "Change Your Mind," (the radio single that works like prime EWF) and the lesser, throwaway demo of a jazz intro, "Bahia."] ~ Alex Henderson and Thom Jurek

Recorded at Sony Studios, Santa Monica, California and1 Sunset Sound, Hollywood, California.

Earth, Wind & Fire: Sheldon M. Reynolds (vocals, guitar); Maurice White, Philip Bailey (vocals); Morris Pleasure (voice box, keyboards); Verdine White (bass); Sonny Emory (drums, programming, background vocals); Ralph Johnson (background vocals).

The Earth, Wind & Fire Horns: Scott Mayo (saxophone); Ray Brown (trumpet); Reggie Young (trombone).

Earth, Wind & Fire: Maurice White, Morris Pleasure, Philip Bailey, Ralph Johnson , Sheldon Reynolds, Verdine White.

Personnel: Sheldon M. Reynolds (vocals, guitar); Ralph Boyd Johnson (vocals, percussion); Maurice White, Philip Bailey (vocals); Scott Mayo (saxophone); Ray Brown (trumpet); Reggie C. Young (trombone); Morris Pleasure (keyboards); Sonny Emory (drums).

Audio Mixers: Don Murray ; Jerry Jordan; Carmen Rizzo.

Audio Remixer: Paul Klingberg.

Recording information: Sony Studios, Santa Monica, CA; Sunset Sound, Hollywood, CA.

Editor: Steve Hall .Vibe (10/97, p.162) - "...a retro nostalgic throwback to their heyday in the 1970s and '80s....IN THE NAME OF LOVE is like revisiting a fresh yet familiar face, one that soothes, satisfies, and makes you smile from the inside out..."