420. Earth, Wind and Fire, "That’s the Way of the World"

 


It's a shame Rolling Stone couldn't have made #420 something like Cypress Hill or one of Bob Marley's lesser albums or something because, you know, like marijuana and 420.  But you could do a lot worse than this 1975 Earth, Wind & Fire album.  The first two songs - "Shining Star" and the title track - are pretty much instantly recognizable if you're a Gen Xer like me.  In fact, if "Shining Star" doesn't immediately transport you to middle school dances I'd be surprised.  Listening to it you can actually smell that Coke machine and popcorn smell I associate with the painful awkwardness of the middle school dance.

I did not know until I started reading about this album that it was the soundtrack for a movie of the same name!  


Apparently in TTWOTW the movie, "Record executives want a highly-regarded record producer to focus on a white pop act whom they feel has the sound America wants. To keep his creative integrity, Buckmaster carefully begins to fight the system that has made him the respected producer he has become."  It has Harvey Keitel!

I don't know about the movie, but the album is a pretty great exemplar of late 70's soul.  Besides the opening song, which is of course is a bona fide classic, there's a lengthy jam ("Africano") and a song with a deeply felt spoken-word interlude ("All About Love").  Of course, since it's EWF, the vocals are [fire emoji] throughout.  But man, that middle school dance.  Me and Kathleen.  It was never fated to be.

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