the surfer's guide to EWF - Webmaster Recommends

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RECOMMENDED EWF-ORIENTED ALBUMS Some EWF&F-like sounds well worth checking out, but keep in mind that this is my personal taste and not necessarily what YOU would categorize as EW&F clones.
	Banda Black Rio: Maria Fumaca - 1977 Banda Black Rio: Gafieira Universal - 1978 Banda Black Rio: Saci Perere - 1980 Produced by: ? Label: WEA Brazil Banda Black Rio: Rebirth - 2002 Label: Mr. Bongo UK Seminal funk by one of Brazil's greatest groups mixing smooth jazz funk, soulful vocals, and great production, into a sound that rivaled any of America's best mainstream funk acts of the 70s! Gafieira Universal is probably their best, - filled with tight jazzy groovers, great rhythms and tight instrumentation, never noticing the fact that the lyrics aren't in English! The 2002 Rebirth also grooves like a Brazilian version of EW&F, mixing together bubbling basslines, smooth keyboards, and funky horn riffs. Great stuff!
	Blackbyrds: Flying Start - 1974 Blackbyrds: City Life - 1975 Blackbyrds: Action - 1977 Produced by: Donald Byrd Label: Fantasy Assembled by Donald Byrd in 1974, the group's original members were from Howard University's music department, where the doctor and jazz legend Donald Byrd was an instructor. During the Blackbyrds' nearly decade-long existence, the group cut a handful of LPs with "Walking in Rhythm," "Rock Creek Park," and "Happy Music" are their three best-known cuts; they have remained underground club classics, and they have been kept alive, in part, through sampling. All of these albums have the overall EWF feel, perhaps without the horns.
	Brainstorm: Journey To The Light - 1978 Produced by: Jerry Peters Label: CBS/Tabu Overlooked 70s soul group, now issued on CD. The album's a real club stormer from the old days -- a blend of upbeat tunes with a sound that's righteous and smooth with an EWF kind of groove -- missing the clichés of lots of other bigger funk acts. Not to be confused with rock band Brainstorm.
	Brick: Stoneheart - 1979 Produced by: Bill Schnee Label: Bang Records Not available on CD! Very good album featuring the flute-playing Jimmi Brown. Inventor of the so-called Dazz sound (Danceable Jazz) also adapted by Kinsman Dazz/Dazz Band. Available on CD is the 12 track "Best of Brick" (Epic EK 66870) from 1995. This is pretty average and missing some crucial tracks in my opinion.
	Creative Source: Creative Source ...and more - 1974 Produced by: Mike Stokes Label: Sussex Records/Polydor This is not very close to the EWF sound, but the L.A.-based quintet were the first to record "You Can't Hide Love", better known by EWF. This CD contains their entire 1974 self titled debut album plus several bonus tracks from their other 3 other albums in the mid 70's. Great vocal arrangements by Skip Scarborough who also penned "You Can't Hide...".
	Paulinho DaCosta: Happy People - 1979 Paulinho DaCosta: Sunrise - 1982 Produced by: Paulinho DaCosta Label: Pablo Having played on hundreds of albums, Happy People is one of DaCostas' few albums as a leader. Including a whole warehouse full of his L.A. studio colleagues (Larry Carlton, Greg Phillinganes, Nathan Watts, et al.), DaCosta leads a slick R&B session that could easily have been mistaken for an Earth, Wind and Fire album. Including Al McKay and Philip Bailey. The 1982 Sunrise is more of the same, including guests such as Larry Carlton, George Duke, Nathan East, Jerry Hey, Ernie Watts...
	George Duke: Follow the Rainbow - 1979 Produced by: George Duke Label: Epic/Sony Japan George Duke: The Essential - 2004 Produced by: George Duke Label: Epic/Legacy Smoother than before, and maybe not as much of a jazz album as some of Duke's earlier work -- but the album's also got some great smooth modern numbers that follow in an EWF spiritual soul tradition. Sheila E is in the group, and joins Lynn Davis and Josie James on vocals -- and the three of them give the record a strong R&B vibe on the best cuts. If you want more, go for the 2004 Epic/Legacy 33 track 2 disc set "The Essential".
	Emotions: Flowers 1976 Emotions: Rejoice - 1977 Emotions: Sunbeam - 1978 Emotions: Come Into Our World - 1979 Label: Columbia/Sony Music Japan Produced by: Maurice White Emotions: Best of My Love - 1996 Label: Columbia Legacy Flowers [SRCS 6428] The Emotions were made up of the three Hutchinson sisters and their first records were produced by Isaac Hayes in the late 60s. Then Maurice White got involved, and for the next several years produced an album a year for them, featuring EWF personnel as prominently as the band's own releases. Rejoice [SRCS 6427] The big hit of the five albums White did for the Emotions. It's very much like a classic EWF record only with female vocalists: elegantly produced ballads, spiritual anthems, catchy pop ("Best Of My Love," which was #1 for six weeks and later inspired Mariah Carey's hit "Emotions") and serious funk ("Love's What's Happenin'"). All the usual collaborators are here, from Larry Dunn to Skip Scarborough to Paulinho Da Costa, and this is a must-have for any EWF fan. Pam Hutchinson fills in for Jeannette, who was pregnant during recording. Sunbeam [SRCS 6429] The follow-up to Rejoice sticks very close to the EWF formula. The arrangements are mellower than usual, and it may take a while before you get into it, but there are lots of small pleasures here. Come Into Our World [SRCS 6430]. The fourth record White produced for the Emotions, and a substantial rebound. About as strong as Rejoice though it's lacking a hit single. A good fun for EWF fans. (The closing "Yes I Am" seems like it must have been intended for the similarly-titled concurrent EWF album.) Alternatively, check out the 1996 16 track compilation Best Of My Love on the Columbia Legacy label.
	Experience Unlimited: Free Yourself - 1977 Produced by: Rich Tufo & Lowrell Simon Label: P-Vine/Black Fire (Japan) An early record by Experience Unlimited - maybe better known as EU, the Washington DC funk outfit that went onto become pretty big in the 80's GoGo scene. Free Yourself is completely different and very much in a mid 70's EWF mode with plenty of guitar riffing, funky keyboards, horns, and lots of percussion.
	Free Life: s/t - 1978 Produced by: Philip Bailey & Tommy Vicari Label: CBS LP only! An obscure nine-member soul/funk outfit with a very EW&F influenced sound due to co-production by Philip Bailey who also helped with the arranging and wrote/co-wrote several of the songs. Despite Bailey's presence and the EW&F-minded tunes "I Confess" and "Wish You Were Here" the album doesn't spark like EW&F from the same period.
	Hidden Strength: s/t - 1975 Produced by: Charles Stephney Label: United Artists/Soul Brother Records (UK) A killer bit of funky soul from Hidden Strength - an uptempo 70s group with a very tight groove with plenty of jazz and clearly in the mode of EWF. Hidden Strength are best known for their groover "Hustle On Up (Do The Bump)". CD feat. bonus disco and ext. remixes of "Hustle On Up".
	Hi Tension: s/t - 1978 Produced by: Alex Sadkin & Kofi Ayivor Label: Island Only available on LP. British jazz/funk/disco act somewhat influenced by EWF. Especially the partially instrumental tracks "Power & Lightning" and "Unspoken" with their excellent horn arrangements. A not-so-good "Best Of" CD including some of -- the Philip Bailey sound-alike -- vocalist David Joseph's solo stuff was released in the UK in 1993. (IMCD 157 514 828-2)
	Jewel: Cut 'n Polished - 1982 Produced by: Jim Porter Label: Erect/Dizzare (Japan) An incredible record by this little known obscure Chicago group. It sparkles with the brilliance of Earth Wind & Fire from their best period a few years before. The group have a sound that definitely earns the "polished" in the title -- but never slick -- with a great balance of soul/jazz and warmth that filled the best EWF albums in the mid 70s. Incl. the instrumental groover "Jewel's Groove".
	Karma: Celebration - 1976 Produced by: Bobby Eli Label: A&M Great Jazz/Funk! With such talent on board as saxman Ernie Watts, trumpeter Oscar Brashear, and trombonist George Bohanon, the L.A.-based Karma should have hit it big with Celebration but it failed to take off commercially due to the lack of a powerhouse single. Essentially a collection of great album tracks incl. the EW&F-inflected "Karma", the uplifting Brazilian jazz-pop number "Kwanzaa" and the 20-minute "Suite Syreeta," which gives the horn players plenty of room to stretch out. Karma's 1978 and final album "For Everybody" features EW&F's Al McKay on guitar. It is a bit rougher and tracks are either more funky or more jazzy without that sweet jazz/funk mix.
	Kinsman Dazz: Kinsman Dazz - 1978 Produced by: Tommy Viari/Philip Bailey/Ralph Johnson Kinsman Dazz: Dazz - 1979 Produced by: Tommy Viari/Philip Bailey/Pat Glasser Label: 20th Century Combining two Cleveland funk outfits, Bell Telefunk and the Kinsman Grill house band, two albums were released on 20th Century Fox. They took the name from the Kinsman Grill and added Dazz (Danceable Jazz), a word used by Brick in their hit "Dusic". With Philip Bailey producing, arranging, co-writing, singing background and acting as the groups mentor, Kinsman Dazz clearly sounded something in between Brick and EWF. Their 1978 debut is a bit more disco and not as good as their second offering, the 1979 "Dazz". The rock-alike guitar opening on "Saturday Night" is just awesome! Both albums only avail. on LP.
	Kool & The Gang: Gangthology - 2003 Produced by: Kool & The Gang Label: Mercury/Universal Formed as a jazz ensemble in the mid-'60s, Kool & the Gang became one of the most inspired and influential funk units during the '70s, and one of the most popular R&B groups of the '80s after their breakout hit "Ladies Night" in 1979. Among the 40 or so compilation with Kool, Gangthology is pretty excellent! A group with two distinct careers (and a matching fan base for each) From the organic funk jams of the 70s to the synthetic urban pop in the 80s, this compilation divides its track listing by mood, separating the contents into discs "Wild" and "Peaceful".
	Ronnie Laws: Solid Ground - 1981 Produced by: Ronnie Laws Label: Liberty [CD Reissue by Blue Note 1999] Jazz/Funk sax player and former EWF member Ronnie Laws has released nearly 20 albums since he left EWF in the early days. Solid Ground was re-issued on CD in 1999 by Blue Note and features Ronald Bautista and Larry Dunn. Included is the very nice ballad "Stay Awake".
	Ramsey Lewis: Sun Goddess - 1974 Ramsey Lewis: Salongo - 1976 Ramsey Lewis: Routes - 1980 Produced by: Maurice White & Ramsey Lewis Label: Columbia [CD reissue Sony Music Japan - SRCS 6425/6/7] Featuring the original recording of the classic jazz/funk title track "Sun Goddess" and contains most of the EWF members from that period. The result is a beautiful set of funky electric piano tracks that match Ramsey's heavy solo style with the group's tight rhythm grooves. The centerpiece is of course the massive 7 mins. title track. A classic! Salongo (1976) is another of the funky jazz gems that Ramsey recorded with EWF. Well, not EWF totally -- but the Kalimba Productions team of Maurice White and Charles Stepney that gave the group its sound, plus a nice sprinkling of players that were associated with sessions by the group. The overall sound has bits of African and Brazilian influences, worked into a soulful fusion groove that sounds a lot like the instrumental backings EWF were using at the time. Routes (1980) is not quite as strong as Sun Goddess, but also includes EWF members Maurice White, Ronald Bautista, Fred White, Al McKay, Larry Dunn, Don Myrick, Rahmlee Michael Davis and Michael Davis.
	Mastermind: s/t - 1977 Produced by: Danny Weiss Label: Prelude/Unidisc A classic bit of uptempo funk for the dancefloor. Mastermind have a sound that's partly in the EWF mode, and partly in the early disco style of other east coast groups including just the right touch of strings to give a nice full sound. Incl. guest saxman David Sanborn and guitarist Steve Khan. Not to be confused with rock band Mastermind.
	Al McKay Allstars: Al Dente - 2001 Produced by: Maurice White & Ramsey Lewis Label: Videoart Music Japan Former EWF member solo album featuring Al's recordings of some EWF classics; Getaway, September, Evil, Fantasy, Singasong and Love's Holiday. The album is overall a bit uneven, but his new 6:44 version of "Evil" is a killer, and probably alone worth the whole album!
	The Mighty Ryeders: Help Us Spread The Message - 1978 Produced by: Samuel Solomon Label: Luv 'n Haight/P-Vine Japan Mighty Ryeders are clearly influenced by Earth Wind & Fire -- funk with a good dose of jazz -- but their groove is also a bit more rough-edged and showing a great ear for sharply jazzy changes which makes the sound stay quiet fresh. Japanese CD reissue.
	Ohio Players: Skin Tight - 1974 Ohio Players: Fire - 1975 Ohio Players: Honey - 1975 Ohio Players: Contradiction - 1976 Ohio Players: Jass-Ay-Lay-Dee - 1978 Label: Mercury Produced by: Ohio Players Great work from the Ohio Players, and proof that moving to a big label could be a good thing for a funky group. Skin Tight - their first for Mercury after years on WestBound - shows a more smooth and polished funky sound that would soon push the band right up there with EWF. All of these albums are classic jazz/funk CDs with the original cover artwork (for those of you knowing what I'm talking about :-) Excellent sound, even though these 5 OP albums are getting around 30 years old. Listen specially to the killer horn arrangements and the drum sound. Featuring the special and easy recognizable singing style by Sugar. This style was also to some extent, done by Michael Cooper of ConFunkShun, Larry Blackmon of Cameo and Larry Dodson of Bar-Keys. There are several "best of" CDs available, but beware - not all are that good. If you've got a DTS surround amplifier, you should definitely try the DTS version of "Honey". It sounds great!
	Pockets: Come Go With Us - 1977 Pockets: Take It On Up - 1978 Pockets: So Delicious - 1979 Label: Columbia/Sony Music Japan CD reissue [SRCS 6436/7/8] Produced by: Verdine White & Robert Wright This is as close to Earth Wind & Fire you'll get! The Baltimore based The Pockets teamed up with Verdine White of EWF and delivered an excellent performance on their first two albums. Very good EWF-like sound and highly recommended Japan only CD reissues. Also available are the "Golden Classics" (US Collectables Records 5811) containing most of the tracks from both "Come Go With Us" and "Take It On Up" plus a couple of tracks from from their last release "So Delicious" from 1979.
	Bill Meyers: All Things In Time - 1996 Produced by: Bill Meyers, Jimi Randolph & Maurice White Label: Videoarts Music Japan Talented songwriter/arranger and keyboard player. Worked with EWF on Powerlight, Touch The World and Millennium. Have also been working with acts like Al Jarreau, Rufus, Donna Summer, Deniece Williams and The Emotions. This CD features Maurice White and includes an excellent version of the Donny Hathaway penned "Valdez In The Country".
	Poison: On Our Way To Number 1 - 1976 Produced by: Joe Carter Label: Roulette/EMI UK A sweet set of Earth Wind & Fire-inspired grooves from Poison -- an obscure 70s funk combo from Richmond, VA. The group's instrumentation (and outfits :-) clearly show a strong debt to EWF, but there's also a southern funk roughness to some of the tracks. Nicely guitar riffing, soaring vocal harmonies, and some full-on horns and percussion. Not to be confused with rock band Poison.
	Freddie Ravel: Sol to Soul - 1996 Produced by: Maurice White & Freddie Ravel Label: Polygram - 314 526 780-2 A very good Latin influenced album from this former EWF keyboard player. Great horn arrangements. The album features Maurice and Verdine White on some tracks. The album has a superb sound and is also available in Sony's SACD format. Check out Freddie's Homepage at www.freddieravel.com.
	Splendor: s/t - 1979 Produced by: Philip Bailey, Tommy Vicari and Robert Nunn Label: Columbia [CD reissue Sony Music Japan - SRCS 6439] Very late 70's EWF sound featuring Philip Bailey, Johnny Graham and Don Myrick. Jap CD reissue is now deleted.
	Stargard: The Changing of the Gard - 1979 Produced by: Verdine White & Robert Wright Label: Warner Bros. LP only! Stargard's third album was produced by Verdine White and Robert Wright and contained the single "Wear It Out." A very good album that should have done way better than it did. Somebody get this out on CD!
	Urban Knights: I - 1995 Urban Knights: II - 1997 Produced by: Maurice White and Bill Meyers Label: GRP The smooth jazz all-star collective Urban Knights features pianist Ramsey Lewis as its constant member. Volume 1 is also featuring Sonny Emory, Sheldon Reynolds, Morris Pleasure, Bill Meyers and The Emotions among others. The second volume features Verdine White, Sonny Emory, Sheldon Reynolds, Morris Pleasure and Bill Meyers among others.
	V/A: BaadAsssss Cinema - The Sounds Of Blaxploitation - 2005 Label: TVT A selection of funky tracks from classic 70s soundtracks and beyond -- mostly familiar numbers, but plenty nice to have all in one place! Incl. "Truck Turner" by Isaac Hayes, "Cornbread" by The Blackbyrds, "Sweetback's Theme" by Earth Wind & Fire, "The Bottle" by Gil Scott-Heron, "Coffy Is The Color" by Roy Ayers, "Expansions" by Lonnie Liston Smith, "People Get Up & Drive Your Funky Soul" by James Brown, "Express" by BT Express, "Big Papa" by Edwin Starr, and "We Be's Getting Down" by Graham Central Station.
	V/A: Superbad - The Very Best Of Blaxploitation, 70s Movie Themes & Funk Soul Classics - 2005 Label: Warner (UK) (3CD set) If you just can't get enough from the above BaadAsssss Cinema compilation, this is probably your thing! The set brings together a rich assortment of 70s funky soul that spans the gamut from hit movie themes, classic radio tracks, and other under-discovered gems that have since gone onto become classics through their use in hip hop samples! 3CD/53 tracks incl. "Be Thankful For What You Got" by William De Vaughn, "Sweetback's Theme" by Earth Wind & Fire, "Are You Man Enough" by Four Tops, "Hercules" by Aaron Neville, "Inside My Love" by Minnie Riperton, "Home Is Where The Hatred Is" by Esther Phillips, "Flying Machine" by War, "The Ghetto" by Donny Hathaway, "Natural High" by Bloodstone among others.
	Deniece Williams: This Is Niecy - 1976 Deniece Williams: Song Bird - 1977 Label: Columbia/Sony Music Japan Produced by: Maurice White Deniece Williams: Gonna Take a Miracle - 1996 Produced by: Maurice White, David Foster, Thom Bell & Georg Duke Label: Columbia Legacy Deniece Williams (real name June Deniece Chandler) started out in Stevie Wonder's Wonderlove. She left in 1975 and teamed up with Maurice White for her first album This Is Niecy in 1976. It featured the Billboard R&B #2 single "Free", which also hit #25 on the pop charts, and the 12" single scaled the club charts and became an instant late-night favorite. In 1977 the album "Song Bird" was released, and it featured the #13 single "Baby, Baby My Love's All For You." The song did receive some club play but probably suffered from the lack of a 12" single. Alternatively, check out the 16 track compilation Gonna Take A Miracle. Legacy Records has done a good job in picking the "right" songs and the sound quality is excellent.