Tripping Through the Past

EARTH, WIND & FIRE
Open Our Eyes
Open Our Eyes, originally released in 1974, may have been Earth, Wind and Fire's fifth album, but it was the first in which all the elements that represent the classic EWF sound came together. Here the band drops the jazzy stylings of their early incarnation for a streamlined pop/funk sound with African and Latin spices. "Mighty Mighty", "Fair But So Uncool" and "Kalimba Story" presage the hits to come, while the instrumentals "Caribou" and "Drum Song" bid their fusion past a fond farewell. While singer/writer/drummer/producer Maurice White had always been the band's driving force, here he even more clearly dominates the proceedings; singer Philip Bailey has only one showcase, the lovely minor hit "Devotion." Also, the sound here is a bit less slick that it would become, due in part to the fact that the soon-to-be-famous EWF horn section had not yet been assembled. Not that it's a huge issue—White is at the top of his game here, and the album bursts with the energy of a band that knows it's found a winning formula. Add some surprisingly strong bonus tracks, including the fascinating "Ain't No Harm to Moan (Slave Song)" and the salsified "Step's Tune," and Open Our Eyes is on a par with the band's classics. (more on this album and other reissues)

Stagestruck

SAVATAGE/FATES WARNING
@The Metro, Austin, TX; May 10, 2001
"I liked Savatage the best," remarked a young woman on her way out of the Metro after this headbanger's ball. "They were so Monsters of Rock!" While that seems a bit unfair—there were no poodle haircuts or songs about shtupping underage girls—in a way it's accurate. In an age where even heavy metal has been genre-sized all to hell (death metal, speed metal, nu-metal, hair metal, stoner rock, etc.) it's interesting to know there are bands out there that play metal that doesn't particularly deserve a hyphen. (more)