Search - Earth Wind & Fire :: Raise

The End of an Era

hankaaron | Austin, TX. United States | 11/11/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Raise" (the title suggests a continuation of the album cover themes presented on "All 'n All", and "I AM") was the last great EWF album featuring the "original" members. It was EWF's attempt at modernizing their sound to fit the post-disco, new wave and punk enclave of the early eighties. The lead-off track- "Let's Groove"- was unlike any other song in EWF's impressive catalog. Co-authored by Maurice White and the husband/wife team of Wayne and Wanda Vaughn (Mrs. Vaughn was one of the members of the group "The Emotions"), EWF parlayed their unique arrangement sensibilities on the now classic song. If "Let's Groove" were recorded by anyone else, it would have sound very different. The popular Vocoder synthesizer starts the song off. The main chorus and bouncy horn charts quickly join in the proceedings. What distinctly makes the song stand out is Maurice White's masterful inclusion of brass. Especially the playful horn riffs after the bridge.



"Lady Sun" follows with blaring horns and eerie synthesizer grooves. The creative horn arrangement on "Lady Sun" is my all-time favorite EWF horn arrangement (Great work Jerry!). If Maurice ever gets to re-master this disc, hopefully he'll extend the song a bit and bring the guitars further up to the front stage. I would also like to hear greater emphasis on Larry Dunn's synth fills. They belong in the front stage as well. BTW, this song and the tail end of Talking Head's "Making Flippy Floppy" are very similar- except the Heads don't use horns. Right before the horns scream out, the song starts out with a drum kick. I mention it because the next four songs also begin with the same drum kick.





"Be My Love" was a nice song for the era it was made in. But now it's a bit dated and doesn't hold up as well as their older material. "Evolution Orange" also suffers the same fate. It is certainly a holdover from the disco era. And what the song refers to is anyone's guess. Although, I can remember when Mazda offered some of their Miatas in the color evolution orange.



"Kalimba Tree" is a typical EWF interlude that's usually in between tracks rather than leading a side (of course now with CD's it really is between tracks). "You Are a Winner" is its self a winner. The uplifting lyrics and hard driving backbeat make it an instantly likeable jam. The horn charts are tight and circular (Again, great work Jerry!).



Interestingly, "I've Had Enough" appears to be a response to Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop till you get Enough". Rhythmically, Bailey's song does seem to mirror Jackson's. But where MJ urges the listener to obey the flesh, Bailey cautions us to follow the Spirit.



"Wanna be with You" is a likeable song. It was the follow up single to "Let's Groove". The song is also representative of the deviation EWF's arrangements would take after "Raise". EWF had always based their song structures on bass, percussion and guitars rhythms. "Wanna be with You" is based on keyboards. This is a tactic that EWF has followed even up to their last album "The Promise".



Finally, we reach the highlight of "Raise"- the hard charging "Changing Times". Roland Bautista's wailing guitar sounds like a cross between Hendricks and Eddie Van Halen. Fred White (on drums) and Larry Dunn's keyboard chops add nicely to the proceedings. This song, instead of "Wanna be with You", should have been released as the second single. It harps back to EWF's early days (listen to the "Last Days and Time" LP) when their sound was raw and exciting. "Changing Times" offered new thrilling opportunities for EWF. However, the group took a step back toward the less appealing sound of "Faces" and never recovered.

"

I'm an 80s brat...

FL Shopper | South Florida,United States | 05/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My coming of age was in the 80s. Certainly my parents "schooled" me on vintage EWF. My awakening, however, was with this album. "Let's Groove," naturally, set it off for me. The quiet seduction of the slow jams and the syncopation of the upbeat tunes are unforgettable for me--"Lady Sun," "You Are a Winner"--not traditional EWF, but I love 'em."

Maurice And The Group Have Something To Say

Andre S. Grindle | Brewer Maine | 08/21/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"You'd have thought that the early 80's philosophical shift of focus from self exploration to self possession would've instantly killed off bands such as Earth Wind & Fire. And in a way it almost did. During this period, for the first time in their career the band started to feel the strain of a changing musical era. So much during this year alone changed the game a lot. We had the very beginning of the Reagan era,a continuing hostage issues in Iran and most importantly a music industry in crisis. Not only was their a burgeoning recession but the R&B market was considered off limits largely because of something I'll call the disco freeze out. EWF of course had already confronted that with their previous album Faces and at this point really needed major commercial success to survive. Times had changed yes but music had too and the band were a little unsure about their new direction. Part of that new direction in this case was that they stripped down their rhythm section to bare bones and added more sussinct and less orchestral sounding electronics and synthesizers to their sound. They were still using the Phenix Horns which had become their trademark as well as their basic songwriting style but overall the funk had more of a new wave flavor to it. The album however starts off with "Let's Groove" of course,the big hit they were actually working on rather than allowing to come from an organic process. As much as this may seem like heresy to many EWF fans (and I am DEFINATELY a fan by all means,to the point of being a completist) this song,while possessing a boyant melody and a happy atmosphere has a somewhat tired sounding production and the lyrics are more than a little promo commercial at some points:Philip Bailey actually sings "let this groove get you to move,it's alright". Seems so many people got so caught up in the tunes popularity not only did they see past how it wasn't one of the stronger overall singles but that it actually was a lesser point of a much more powerful overall album. Songs such as "Lady Sun","Evolution Orange" as well as the punchy "You Are A Winner" and the closing rocker "These Changing Times,with some surprising power chords from guitarist Roland Bautista are all the exact opposit musically of the glossed over hit. The churning basslines,firey horn charts and the exciting and varied electronic and synth tones mached with Maurice and Phillip's powerful vocal arrangements all emphasize the everlasting power of their funk with their messages of love of others,the fascinating natural wonders around us and improving our lives are running on such overdrive year sometimes the words are almost cosmically poetic beyond simple understanding. The brief interlude instrumental on "Kalimba Tree" would've been worth expanding on alone:it's a mean bassline,a percussion track and an avante garde synthesizer solo and little else more but in that it says mouthfulls. The closest this album otherwise came to a hit was the midtempo,jazzy funk shuffle of "Wanna Be With You", adding kind of a new rhythmic element to their sound in that effect in the new decade. There's a lot of people,even fans who hate on this album almost because it's just the thing to do. Thankfully many people have come to realize what a vital treasure this album as a whole is not only to the progression of this band but to the funk/R&B genre itself and it's crossover potential."