Earth, Wind & Fire: Raise! - 1981

The hugely successful Raise! was released in 1981 and to an extent takes in contemporary gritty street funk vibes of the sort that artists such as Rick James, Kool & The Gang and The Brothers Johnson were putting out, while not straying too much from that unique EW&F dramatic brassy funk sound. 

The group were at the height of their popularity in the late seventies-early eighties and this commercially-successful outing exemplifies that. Maurice White and Philip Bailey’s different yet complimentary vocals are showcased perfectly, along with some great saxophone, some searing rock guitar in places and, of course, that poppy funkiness that they specialised in. Shalamar would be heavily influenced by this...and there was another ancient Egyptian-inspired cover too. 

What was strange was that retrospective and indeed much contemporary criticism has been harsh on the album, a lot of it adopting a sniffy "they've had they day....more of the same..." tone. I am not sure the general public saw it that way, though. I remember it being really popular at the time. Let's Groove was a track you heard everywhere. Both You Are A Winner and I've Had Enough were energetically funky too. Lady Sun bubbles with the same funky enthusiasm. My Love was a classic EW&F ballad and Evolution Orange certainly had the funk in shedloads. What's to criticise there ? For me, not much.

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