I Am

Performer: Earth, Wind & Fire
Artist: The Emotions; David Foster; Paulinho Da Costa
Engineer: George Massenburg; Tom Perry
Producer: Maurice White
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Includes previously unreleased bonus tracks. Earth, Wind & Fire: Maurice White, Philip Bailey (vocals, percussion); Al McKay, Johnny Graham (guitar); Don Myrick (alto, tenor & baritone saxophones); Andrew Woolfolk (tenor saxophone); Rahmlee Michael Davis (trumpet); Louis Satterfield (trombone); Larry Dunn (piano, keyboards); Verdine White (bass); Ralph Johnson (percussion). The Emotions: Wanda Hutchinson, Sheila Whitt, Jeanette Hawes (vocals). Additional personnel includes: Marlo Henderson, Steve Lukather (guitar); Janice Gower (violin); Marilyn Baker (viola); Jacqueline Lustgarten (cello); Dorothy Jeanne Ashby (harp); Jerome Richardson (saxophone); Jerry Hey, Oscar Brashear (trumpet); David Foster, Eddie Del Barrio, Billy Meyers (keyboards); Paulinho Da Costa (percussion); Steve Porcaro (programming). Recorded at Hollywood Sound Recorders, Sunset Sound Studio and Davlen Studio, Los Angeles, California. Includes liner notes by Maurice White. Disco was at the height of its popularity in 1979, when Earth, Wind & Fire responded with its most disco-influenced single ever, the glossy and infectious "Boogie Wonderland." Up to that point, EWF had pretty much ignored disco, and when the band finally acknowledged the style, the soulsters weren't about to inundate listeners with it. "Boogie Wonderland" (which features the Emotions, a female group for whom Maurice White had been producing major hits) isn't representative of I Am on the whole. From the hit ballad "After the Love Has Gone" to the exuberant "Let My Feelings Flow," I Am isn't a radical departure from its predecessor, All 'n All. Though not in a class with That's the Way of the World, Spirit, or All 'n All, I Am is a rewarding album that has a lot going for it. ~ Alex Henderson

Q - Recommended

Earth, Wind & Fire was the brainchild of musical Renaissance man Maurice White, a successful ex-session drummer who recorded with everyone from Chuck Berry to John Coltrane. Essentially an R&B group, Earth, Wind & Fire expanded its sound to include elements of jazz, rock, funk, traditional African, Latin, and just about every other kind of music. The band was noted for its elaborate stage shows and quasi-mystical thematic influence, but avoided slipping into George Clinton-like self-parody by wisely choosing to emphasize its musicianship and sharp writing. It scored hit after hit throughout the 1970s, doing much to define the sound of that decade.

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