Tripping Through the Past

EARTH, WIND & FIRE
Open Our Eyes (Columbia/Legacy)
Spirit (Columbia/Legacy)
MAURICE WHITE
Maurice White (Columbia/Legacy)
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 salsa-fied "Step's Tune," and Open Our Eyes is on a par with the band's classics.

Spirit, originally issued in 1976, is the studio follow-up to one of those classics: That's the Way of the World, the album that made EWF superstars in 1975. Now that White and his boys had the world's attention, they began pushing their spiritual agenda of universal siblinghood even harder. Tracks like "Burnin' Bush," "Earth Wind and Fire" and the title track preach the gospel of peace and love with even slicker production than before. There's even a full string section filling out the already lush arrangements. In fact, there's an overall softening of the group's approach, as the funk rhythms take a back seat to melodies that move ever so slightly toward easy listening. "Imagination" would be darn near Muzak if not for Bailey's soulful vocal. Though by no means a bad collection, only the hit singles "Getaway" and "Saturday Nite" really catch fire here. Spirit, with a handful of bonus tracks that are nothing special, begins the group's drift toward bland, mass-audience pleasantry.

White put out his first and only solo album in 1984, while EWF was on hiatus. Songwise the self-titled LP is strong—"Switch On Your Radio," "Believe in Magic," "Children of Afrika" and a funky cover of "Stand By Me" equal anything he did for the parent band. The production, unfortunately, reflects its 80s era, with synthesizers and electronic percussion taking the places usually filled by horns, piano, congas and shakers. (There's a surprising amount of lead guitar, though.) While the material holds up and White is in good voice, the production sound dates the record as much as slapback echo does 50s rockabilly. Recommended for EWF fanatics only. Michael Toland

For fans of: 70s Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, Prince