That's The Way Of The World

Great funk and soul, too many religious references though.

So very strange - they laid the album out alternating upbeat and slow tracks - upbeat pretty good but slow tracks done a lot better by other acts (so are the upbeat) - couple of nice moments and really liked the first track but it’s ⭐️⭐️

It ain't September but it is good fun

3.5/5 some groovy sounds, it may has potential

Dope

Shining Star is always fun, the upbeat tempo and "happy" singing make for a fun, encouraging song. A good one to lead with. Interesting though as the feel is very different than the rest of the album. The sound is the "same" though. Yearnin' Learnin' is, upon first listen, my favorite song on the album. There is something about the beat and the tone of their voices, a sort of exaggerated "meah, meah, meah" sound. At first I did not think I liked Reasons but I forced myself to continue listening and I love her voice being dominant with the guys harmonizing in the background and the jazzy trumpets hitting two beats (?) mixed in. As far as lyrics, All About Love (First Impression) is my favorite. The "spokenness" of the lyrics helps drive it home and easier to listen to. Africano, I am not a fan typically of the flute (it seems to be a tin or small wood one), so the sound of the flute is not my favorite. Towards the end of the intro it has a sound of water that is reminiscent of "Native American" music. A lot of interesting sounds all together in this song, very "Cosby-showish" sounding to me. So, unfortunately hearing Cosy before this song, I hear a TV show and not the song. I am not a fan of the trumpet or sax too much in songs...this is heavy on those. The numerous sounds work well together and keep you entertained, almost as though you don't know where to look. Overall the album has a smooth, mellow sound that is hopeful and enjoyable even as the lyrics call for thinking. I liked Earth, Wind & Fire before listening to this album but I still really enjoyed it. It reminded me of The 5th Dimension's Age of Aquarius a bit.

Classic, enjoyed most of album

A mix of funk, soul, R&B. Very front heavy. Best Tracks: Shining Star, Happy Feelin', Yearnin' and Learnin'

Pretty fun! Easy to listen to. More instrumental tracks than I expected.

i'm a funk baby

FUNKY AF! (en goed) (en te lang) (is maar 35 minuten maar voelt te lang) 7/10

I'm a sucker for speaking directly to the audience

Really everyone should have a brass backup band IMHO. And when was the last time you heard a vibraphone solo let alone a flute/vibraphone duet? Just happy, uplifting music.

Funk nice and early in the morning! It's crazy to think about how many of these songs I know, but never knew it was this band. Overall, the original band of funk doing its original funk thing.

👌🏾

Imma be honest, the chimes in That’s the Way of the World sound like my apple watch notification; pretty impressive how they sampled that 40 years before it existed😎 Reasons is also a solid standout. Africano and See the Light are an interesting pair to finish up with, they popppingggg.

Interesting fact if you heat up earth using fire and consume it will give you wind.

Sinänsä taidokasta soitantaa ja laulantaa klassikkobändiltä, mutta ei niin puhuttele juuri minua. Tällä levyllä ei ole myöskään sellaisia bilebändien veivaamia tunnettuja partybiisejä. Laulajalla taitaa olla vähän liian kireät housut, kun lähtee niin korkealta tuo laulu. :)

Good production, bouncy songs, great album. The second half really sets the album apart. The production on songs like "Yearnin' Learnin'" and "Reasons" is amazing. "Happy Feelin'" is a great song that immediately puts me into a good mood, as so many songs on this album do. However, it has some flaws. "All About Love (First Impressions)" drags for too long and contains some strange, new age proselytization about looking at trees unlocking the peace of the world. Also, Phillip Bailey's falsetto, while beautiful when used in conjunction with other vocals ("Happy Feelin'"; "The Way of the World") becomes the weakest part of any song on which it is the lead vocal ("Reasons").

Shining Star is such a great start to the album. Trails off a bit at the end but would def seek out again.

Good follow up listen to D’Angelo - I think there is a lot of EWF in his music. This is a good album - I especially liked “Africano”. 3.5 stars and rounding up for the true 70s coolness.

Decent enough

They didn’t even need to go this hard. Great stuff. The solos on Africano are very cool

Ahh so groovy and classic. Starts off strong, vocals are fantastic and really its the occasional growl and the a cappella ending of the first song for me. Loved Yearnin' Learnin', All About Love, and Africano. 4.5-5 stars

boring

Alright-ish. Pleasant enough, but I always feel that this style of music needs to be REALLY catchy to be in any way memorable to me. This album is lacking the 'Boogie Wonderland' or 'September' banger that is needed to make it stand out.

Kolejny raz zbaflowany, bo slysze bande ktora kazdy zna i kocha za kawalki takie jak september czy boogie wonderland, a odkrywam ja na nowo, bo nie sa to klimaty diskowe jak w ich najwiekszych szlagierach, a raczej mocny blend funkowego r&b z dusza ktora czuc zwlaszcza na wolniejszych trakach, zamykajacy see the light lub reasons, jako 6 album bandowy, wiec rekiny branzy i wyjadacze, choc jeszcze nie super grupa wojujaca po calej europie, ciekawy jest orgin story tej plyty, bo chopaki i baby mieli zrobic soundtraka do filmu o tym samym tytule, wiec podzialali zrobili muzyke, nawet grali grajkow w filmie, ale film nie zapowiadal sie na sukces, wiec zeby nie zepsuc sobie albumiku recenzjami filmu uzyli ultra karty atutowej jaka bylo zatosowanie albumu do sella przed premiera filmu, plyta sie sprzedala, jest tutaj wiec status jakiegos klasyka musiala u kogos sobie wyrobic, a film jak byl kiepski takim pozostal, zarowno instrumentale jak i kontent lirykowy przekazuja wylacznie mocno pozytywne viby, poczawszy od otwarcia shining starem, a konczac trakiem zamykajacym see the light, wszedzie granie i spiewanie nawolujace do szukania swiatla, radosci w zyciu, przeslanie uniwersalne i jakze na czasie, chociaz ostatnio sa modniejsze tematy przedsisbiorczosci i sukcesu, nie mam pojecia jak wygladal proces tworczy w takiej bandzie, ale zeby przez tyle lat tworzyc kontent ktory topowal listy chartowe i nie stacic ostrosci, zachowac grupe od slawy walenia po kablach, wypromowac bandy ktore tworzyly sie chocby z backujacych wokali EWF, to trzeba miec klase, wiec wielki respekt dla pana Bialego, ojca zalozyciela, lidera i przewodnika grupy, dodatki plejkowe musze podzielic na dwie listy, wiec kawalek do soulowej to tytulowy thats the way of the world, a bardziej funkowa plejka przyjmie w swoj poczet shining star

Earth, Wind, and FIRE. I'd probably put it as more of a 4.5 if I could, but a 4 just seems miserly.

I can appreciate the virtuosity and polish of this band and the level of craft within this album - "Shinin' Star", "Reasons" and other tracks have clearly endured. It simply doesn't suit my taste. I associate this sound with wedding music - not necessarily a bad thing, just not what I find exciting personally.

I like the funky uptempo tracks, especially the jazzy ones, but not the soul ballads. EW&F have more anthemic tracks than these.

4

Musik zum Poppen oder Tanzschritte lernen, was sich ja prima kombinieren lässt. Nullkommasexy 0.6

Ok, die unmittelbare Gegenbewegung zum Abba-Tiefschlag ist abgeklungen. Trotzdem danke ich allen, die daran mitgewirkt haben mich zum tieferen Zuhören und einer relativ ausgiebigen Beschäftigung mit der Platte herauszufordern: das ist nämlich wunderbar warme, cremige und eben nicht zuckerwattige, sondern eher schokoladige Funk/Soul/Popmusik. Rhythmisch total auf den Punkt, aber auch gefühlig immer richtig dosiert, und in ihrer gesamten Mischung auf der Platte perfekt ausbalanciert zwischen Uptempo, Smoothness und Verführung. Wäre ne perfekte 4 gewesen, den zusätzlichen Punkt gibts für die Entdeckung.

Classic Album with some fun unexpected twists at the backend. Shiny pop exterior with a nice fullness underneath

Shining star and that's the way of the world

Catchy and varied - feel good vibes.

Funky, funky.

Quite funky, not very special in my opinion

Absolute bangers, all the way through. Probably my second favorite EWF album behind I Am, but obviously still amazing.

Starts off with a bang with Shining Star, mellows out with That's the way of the world, gets funky with Happy Feelin' so hey I'm thinking this album has some bangers, could be a classic, could it be 4 stars? But then it gets weighed down by the saccharine goop of All about love. But then Reasons shows that slow soul songs can still have redeeming qualities. The rest is ok, so overall this is a 3 from me.

I like a few of the songs, but the falsetto gets a bit grating over an album. Good for the diehard winter fan, but I feel they have bigger hits out there for good reason

Africano is funky. Reasons makes me want to sing falsetto karaoke. The rap on "All about Love" is incredible.

It’s a good album within its genre, but just not a genre I would listen to for an entire album.

Disco, yeah... Buen disco, pero sin algaracas

STRONG start and a real groove throughout. I've been into Nu Funk more this year and its beyond obvious how much those folks are trying to be modern EWF. Just cool cool cool all the way. probably a 4.5 but I'm rounding up ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

love oldies

Fun record, classic tracks. No real down notes on this LP.

achja passt scho - 3

Geile disco dico ficki ficki Musik. Obwohl "September" nicht drauf ist, geile Musik. Macht Laune. Will jedes dieser Outfits in meinem Schrank wissen. Hätte mir mehr 100% bänger gewünscht, daher 4*

Pretty good. 6/10

Very nice. The first track got me going but was up and down for the remainder of the album

Not funky enough

Really liked the general vibe and especially the main hits. Got a bit boring over time.

Definitely dancing music in the 1970s, Africans is crazy groovy. Not too cohesive as an “album” but still enjoyable (3.5)

Very nice big soul album. Each song is exciting and very well produced.

terrific album

I was excited to listen to this, but it didn’t hit me like I thought it would

I quite liked this album. I had only heard one or two songs by Earth, Wind & Fire previously, so it was nice to hear more by them.

Perfect funk album. Incredible.

Refreshing when you know the first banger of a song and the entire album continues in that groove

I love Earth, Wind & Fire and was glad to see this album show up the day after Al Green. The album was just okay, though, I really only like a couple of the songs, and most of the rest are slow and boring like the Al Green stuff yesterday

pretty weak

Hot fire!

bem groovy

A classic

This was only alright

Starts with a bang of the hit track. Very pretty, not scared of being different and changing vibes.

Nice stuff

Vocals got a little irritating when listening to the whole album, I think these songs are better listened to when mixed in with other similar music

baby making music

3.5

Enjoyable listen and a few recognisable tracks

Too many instrumentals but otherwise fun and feel-good.

Complete classic. Songs I grew up with and reminds me of family. Great album to listen to while working.

Idk if it's because we went so low with the previous album but I liked to a lot! Made slogging at my software engineering project bearable. This Aussie gives it four nights out at The Sub Club in Melbourne out of five.

see the light was my favorite song of the album.

Dance my way through the morning

Kylläpäs tässäkin levyssä mentiin laidasta laitaan. Balladit olivat pääosin erinomaisia, ja tulikin mieleen että tämä on varmasti ollut vaikutteena esim. Lenny Kravitzin rauhallisimpiin kappaleisiin. Erityismaininta Reasonsille, todella hieno ja tunnelmallinen kappale. Toisaalta monet menevämmät biisit olivat aika yhdentekeviä ja jopa rasittavaa kuunneltavaa.

This was a lot of fun but ultimately a bit too much.

Good times.

I think I'm not a huge fan of funk. A lot of the songs just meander around to me. I can understand why people like Funk, but this doesn't even seem like, historic when it comes to the genre. I just don't see myself ever returning to this.

smooth, easy listening with great voices

Норм, но не в моем вкусе

начало альбома почему-то напомнило саундтреки из Криминального Чтива

Норм)

Funky Funky Funky Funk

Very good album. A little dated in audio quality, but not bad at all. Don't think I'd listen to the whole thing on the reg, but all and all very good.

some real bangers here but also some unbearable sounds from a few tracks.

Not my cup of tea.

Groovy! Not their biggest hits on this, still very enjoyable

1. Shining Star A classic. Good start to the album. 2. That's The Way of the World Good groove. Hopeful song. 3. Happy Feelin' Self-explanatory. 4. All About Love (First Impression) I actually stopped and listened. The discordant noise took me out of it, though. 5. Yearnin' Learnin' I had to listen to this twice. I have nothing to say about it. 6. Reasons You can feel the emptiness the narrator goes through. 7. Africano Good instrumental track. I like that the beginning was experimental with its instruments. 8. See the Light I love a good multi-part suite

This was awesome. Love the vibe, love the instrumentation. Going to revisit this one for sure!

I like this band. I really can't say anything more. They're great and I like them.

Groovey stuff.

God, where are we in the world today. 9/10 Likes: 'Shining Star,' 'Happy Feelin', 'That's the Way of the World,' the horns of 'Yearnin' Learnin',' dear god 'Reasons' is a perfect masterpiece, best song on the album, fight me, is 'See the Light.' Dislikes: First half of 'All About Love,' though that synth part is phenomenally mesmerizing, Y'all know this is just my opinion right?

Kiki II I’ll. I

Feel like driving and walking down the street!

Decent but just not my type of music and too rythmic

Nice

Disco når det er bedst. Ikke perfekt men rigtigt godt. Et par numre som fejler

Some fantastic tracks but not all consistent.

Classic jams, underrated band lost in the disco 70s hype

Good funk

shining star is nice

solid

Might not be my thing.....but can’t deny how good it is.

Unbeliavable mix of genres on a single album, but not something you can listen on daily basis

Pretty good. Most of the music I like is inspired by this stuff but Its not my favorite.

Banger of an album 4/5

It's a beautiful album. Short and nostalgic somehow

starts off with shining star, reasons, the sax in africano, the xylophones, great album that shows from beginning to end it deserves its place on this list

I have never heard of Earth Wind and Fire in a full LP capacity so this was a pleasant surprise. Sweet smooth soul+funk music, very relaxing and enjoyable. The production for 1975 is fantastic!! Not many songs stuck with me but I would surely revisit this.

very chill, i like it.

Very nice.

4

3.5