Fantasy (Earth, Wind & Fire song)

"Fantasy" is a song by the band Earth, Wind & Fire which was issued as a single in 1978 by Columbia Records.[1]

"Fantasy"
Single by Earth, Wind & Fire
from the album All 'N All
B-side"Be Ever Wonderful (UK) Runnin' (US)"
ReleasedJanuary 1978 (UK) February 1978 (US)
Recorded1977
Genre
Length3:46 (7-inch version)
4:38 (album version)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Maurice White
Earth, Wind & Fire singles chronology
"Serpentine Fire"
(1977)		 "Fantasy"
(1978)		 "Jupiter"
(1977)

Overview

"Fantasy" was produced by Maurice White, who also composed the song with Eddie Del Barrio and Verdine White.[1] The song took three months to be composed, and was only finally finished after Maurice White saw and was inspired by the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.[2]

The US b-side of the single was a song called Be Ever Wonderful, while the UK b-side was a song called Runnin'. Fantasy, Be Ever Wonderful, and Runnin' were all featured on EWF's 1977 studio album All 'n All.[1]

Critical reception

Blues and Soul also declared that "Play it loud and it'll fill any dance floor".[3] Joe McEwen of Rolling Stone wrote "The lyrics of “Fantasy” (“Come to see, victory, in the land called fantasy”) may be hard to swallow, but the music is as close to elegance as any funk song has come. Voices and a light touch of strings suddenly appear over a choppy, propulsive track, swell and swoop, only to disappear at the snap of a finger and pop up moments later for an exciting, powerful finale. White also utilizes an odd instrumental mix that gives equal emphasis to percussion (except the bass drum, which is usually played down), bass, rhythm guitars and stabbing, staccato horn bursts. The result is light but substantial, and it’s become a model for many other bands."[4] Barry Cain of Record Mirror placed Fantasy as one of his four Records of the Week saying "Decontaminated warp factor three faar out felony with a smack of glossy metallic reverence, EW&F transcend the oft restricted peaks of disco into the realms of elaborate, effortless slices of electromania fused into chocolate box acceptance. They sure soar these boys, soaring on the soprano solitude of Maurice White, Mastermind, Mother and Despot."[5] Alex Henderson of AllMusic also called Fantasy "dreamy".[6]

As well "Fantasy" was Grammy nominated in the category of Best R&B Song.[7]

Appearances in other media

Fantasy appeared on the soundtrack of the 1997 feature film The Sixth Man, the 2005 feature film Be Cool and the 2006 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.[8][9][10]

Chart performance

The single reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot Soul Songs chart, No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 14 on the UK Singles chart.[11][12][13]

Chart (1978) Peak
position
Australian Kent Music Report[14] 25
Canada RPM Top Singles[15] 37
France (IFOP)[16] 13
Ireland (IRMA)[17] 4
Netherlands Dutch Single Top 100[18] 7
Belgium Singles Ultratop[19] 13
New Zealand (RIANZ)[20] 14
South Africa (Springbok)[21] 7
Swedish Singles Chart[22] 8
UK Singles Chart[23] 14
US Billboard Hot 100[24] 32
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 12

After its release in Japan as a digital single to cellphones in 2009, it was certified gold for 100,000 downloads in May 2011.[25]

Black Box version
"Fantasy"
Single by Black Box
from the album Dreamland
Released1990
Recorded1989
GenreHouse
Length5:14
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Daniele Davoli
  • Mirko Limoni
  • Valerio Semplici
Black Box singles chronology
"Everybody Everybody"
(1990)		 "Fantasy"
(1990)		 "The Total Mix"
(1991)
Music video
"Fantasy" on YouTube

Background

Black Box recorded a cover of "Fantasy" for the group's debut studio album Dreamland in 1990. Their version featured Martha Wash on lead vocals, but their music producers initially failed to credit her. Black Box's version of the song charted at number 5 in the UK Singles Chart,[26] number 16 in Germany, and number 3 in Australia.[27][28] In 2013, Australian music channel Max placed Black Box' version of the song at number 191 in their list of "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time".[29]

Critical reception

Matthew Hocter from Albumism stated that the song is "sung to perfection by Wash", adding that it "put the band into a different lane. Doing the original version immense justice".[30] Larry Flick from Billboard described the cover version as a "sleaze-speed house rendition" and an "ethereal remix emphasizing plush strings and Martha Wash's unmistakable voice."[31] Chris Heath from Smash Hits wrote that it's a "fairly faithful version" of Earth, Wind & Fire's disco classic.[32] The Daily Vault's Michael R. Smith said in his review of Dreamland that it "sounds like a television theme song that you can't get out of your head."[33]

Music video

The music video for "Fantasy" was directed by Neil Thompson.[34]

Track listings

CD maxi

  1. "Fantasy" (Club Mix) – 7:20
  2. "Get Down" (Rap Mix) – 6:43
  3. "Get Down" Black Box featuring "Stepz" (Rappapella) – 3:00

7" single

  1. "Fantasy" – 3:44
  2. "Get Down" Black Box featuring "Stepz" (Rappapella) – 3:00

12" maxi

  1. "Fantasy" (Big Band Remix) – 5:48
  2. "Get Down" (Party Remix) – 3:55
  3. "Get Down" (Afro Mix) – 4:15

Official versions
  • "Fantasy" – 3:44
  • "Fantasy" (Original Version) – 5:12
  • "Fantasy" (Big Band Remix) – 5:48
  • "Fantasy" (Club Mix) – 7:20

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[35] Gold 35,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[36] Silver 200,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Chart performance

Peak positions
Chart (1990/91) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA Chart)[28] 3
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[37] 4
France (SNEP)[37] 21
Germany (Official German Charts)[27] 16
Ireland (IRMA)[38] 3
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[39] 16
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[40] 18
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[37] 26
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[26] 5

Year-end charts
Chart (1991) Position
Australian Singles Chart[41] 17
Austrian Singles Chart[42] 21
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[43] 68
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References
  1. Earth, Wind & Fire: Fantasy. Columbia Records. 1978.
  2. Funicello, Tammy (May 18, 2005). "Maurice White Honored". La Valley Star. Archived from the original on June 1, 2009.
  3. Earth, Wind & Fire: Fantasy. Blues and Soul. March 14, 1978.
  4. McEwen,Joe (January 26, 1978). "Earth, Wind & Fire: All n' All". rollingstone.com. Rolling Stone.
  5. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Fantasy" (PDF). Record Mirror. February 4, 1978. p. 16. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  6. Henderson, Alex. "Earth, Wind & Fire: All 'n All". allmusic.com. AllMusic.
  7. "Maurice White". grammy.com. The Recording Academy.
  8. "The Sixth Man (Soundtrack)". imdb.com. IMDb.
  9. "Be Cool (Soundtrack)". IMDb.com.
  10. "Grand Theft Auto: Vice Stories (Soundtrack)". imdb.com. IMDb.
  11. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Fantasy (Hot Soul Songs)". billboard.com.
  12. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Fantasy (Hot 100)". billboard.com.
  13. "Earth, Wind & Fire". officialcharts.com.
  14. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 99. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  15. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1978-05-20. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  16. "Toutes les Chansons N° 1 des Années 70" (in French). InfoDisc. 1978-03-10. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  17. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Fantasy". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  18. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Fantasy". dutchcharts.nl. Dutch Charts.
  19. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Fantasy". ultratop.be. Ultratop.
  20. Flavour of New Zealand, 18 June 1978
  21. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  22. Steffen Hung. "Earth, Wind & Fire - Fantasy". Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  23. "Earth Wind & Fire - Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  24. "Fantasy" by Earth, Wind & Fire, U.S. Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart allmusic.com (Retrieved March 19, 2009)
  25. レコード協会調べ　5月度有料音楽配信認定＜略称：5月度認定＞ [Record Association report: May digital music download certifications (Abbreviation: May Certifications)]. RIAJ (in Japanese). June 20, 2011. Archived from the original on September 15, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  26. "Black Box". officialcharts.com. Official Charts Company.
  27. "Fantasy: Black Box". offiziellecharts.de. GfK Entertainment charts.
  28. "australian-charts.com > Black Box - Fantasy (song)". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  29. "THE TOP 1,000 GREATEST SONGS OF ALL TIME – 2013". Max. 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  30. Hocter, Matthew (May 7, 2020). "Black Box's Debut Album 'Dreamland' Turns 30: Anniversary Retrospective". Albumism. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  31. "Billboard Single Reviews". Billboard. Vol. 103. August 24, 1991. p. 65.
  32. "Review: LPs". Smash Hits. No. 298. May 2, 1990. p. 55. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  33. "Black Box - Dreamland". The Daily Vault. June 21, 2009. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  34. "Fantasy (1990) by Black Box". IMVDb. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  35. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  36. "British single certifications – Black Box – Fantasy". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Fantasy in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  37. Steffen Hung. "Black Box - Fantasy". Lescharts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  38. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 2009-06-03. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  39. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Black Box" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  40. "Dutchcharts.nl – Black Box – Fantasy" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  41. "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 50 Singles 1991". Aria.com.au. Archived from the original on 2016-02-29. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  42. Steffen Hung (1991-12-22). "Jahreshitparade 1991". Austriancharts.at. Archived from the original on 2008-06-10. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  43. "Eurochart Hot 100 1991" (PDF). Music & Media. 8 (51–52): 21. December 21, 1991. Retrieved January 17, 2020 – via American Radio History.
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