Powerlight

Powerlight is the twelfth studio album of American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released in February 1983 by Columbia Records.[1] The album rose to No. 4 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart and No. 12 on the Billboard 200 chart.[2][3] Powerlight was also certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.[4]

Powerlight
Studio album by
Earth, Wind & Fire
ReleasedFebruary 3, 1983
Recorded1982
Studio
GenreR&B, electro-funk, post-disco, new wave, funk, boogie, synth-funk
Length41:23
LabelColumbia
ProducerMaurice White
Earth, Wind & Fire chronology
Raise!
(1981)		 Powerlight
(1983)		 Electric Universe
(1983)
Singles from Powerlight
  1. "Fall in Love with Me"
    Released: November 1982
  2. "Side by Side"
    Released: April 1983
  3. "Spread Your Love"
    Released: June 1983

Overview

Powerlight was produced by EWF leader Maurice White. According to White the LP's title has to do with "the chakras -- the centers of the body that connect us with cosmic power." Artists such as Robert Greenidge, Maxayn Lewis and Zakir Hussain also appeared on the album.[1][5]

Singles

The album cut "Fall in Love with Me" rose to No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 4 on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart. "Fall in Love with Me" was also Grammy nominated for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.[6]

As well another single entitled Side by Side got to No. 15 upon the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart.[7]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[8]
Village Voice(A-)[9]
Vanity Fair(favourable)[10]
Stereo Review(favourable)[11]
New York Times(favourable)[12]
Musician(favourable)[13]
Rolling Stone[14]
Daily Mirror(favourable)[15]
Los Angeles Times(favourable)[16][17]
Smash Hits(8/10)[18]
Philadelphia Daily News[19]
New York Daily News(favourable)[20]

Vanity Fair found that "Earth, Wind & Fire's oddysey of uplift, Powerlight is, impossible as it may seem, even more relentlessly cheerful than its predecessor Raise, a concoction designed to do precisely that to listeners' spirit".[10] Robert Palmer of The New York Times noted "Mr. (Milton) Nascimento, and Brazilian pop in general, combine African-derived rhythms that tend to be more flowing and buoyant than their North American funk counterparts with a melodious pop lyricism based on relatively complex, jazzy harmonies, and Maurice White has done something very similar on Earth, Wind and Fire's Powerlight album."[12] Robert Christgau of the Village Voice proclaimed with an A- grade that "Their sonic affluence and showtime groove encompass whispering strings no less perfect than their JB guitar beats, Funkafunnies harmonies no less schmaltzy than their Lionel Richie homages, and when the synthesis is this catchy it's the best argument for universalism they'll ever make."[9] Tony Price of the Daily Mirror called Powerlight the LP of the Week exclaiming "The worst you can say about Earth, Wind & Fire are their high standards of arrangements are predictable. They just can't get any better!"[15] Connie Johnson of the Los Angeles Times wrote Powerlight "does show why EWF is one of the masters of studio pop." Johnson added "EWF mostly keeps the rhetoric in check focusing instead on assertive rockers that give everyone in this nine-member unit a chance to flex his muscles There is less cosmic emphasis but the EWF formula—heavy on the richly textured vocals horns and rhythm—is still intact. And surprisingly still fresh."[16] Chip Stern of Musician claimed "Powerlight stands both as a testament to White's absolute mastery of production and EW&F's renewed vigour as a band."[13] David Hepworth of Smash Hits gave the album an 8/10 rating and declared EWF are "firing on all cylinders." Hepworth added "They weld their massive sound together with such precision that their whole ensemble can provide a rhythm as spare and compulsive as a snapping finger, they write production numbers instead of songs and never allow the momentum to flag for a second, they're soppy as hell and, when they produce records like 'Powerlight', there's absolutely nothing wrong with that".[18] With a four out of five star rating Dave Marsh of the Philadelphia Daily News noted that "this is the record in which EWF brings it all home".[19] Hugh Wyatt of the New York Daily News found "Earth, Wind & Fire gives new meaning to the word classy, and I like it".[20]

Powerlight was also placed by music critic Robert Christgau of the Village Voice at No. 36 on his dean's list of 1983.[21]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Fall in Love with Me"Maurice White, Wayne Vaughn, Wanda Vaughn5:54
2."Spread Your Love"Maurice White, Beloyd Taylor, Azar Lawrence3:51
3."Side by Side"Maurice White, Wayne Vaughn, Wanda Vaughn5:57
4."Straight from the Heart"Philip Bailey, Eduardo del Barrio, Roxanne Seeman, Freddie Washington4:42
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."The Speed of Love"Maurice White, Wayne Vaughn, Wanda Vaughn, Tony Haynes3:36
6."Freedom of Choice"Maurice White, Beloyd Taylor, Azar Lawrence4:10
7."Something Special"Maurice White, Wayne Vaughn, Wanda Vaughn4:23
8."Hearts to Heart"Maurice White, Beloyd Taylor, Azar Lawrence3:45
9."Miracles"Maurice White, Eddie Del Barrio, Jon Lind, Mary D'Astgues4:58

[1]

Credits and personnel
  • Additional backing vocals - Ms. Pluto
  • Additional backing vocals, guitar - Beloyd Taylor
  • Bass Guitar - Verdine White
  • Cello - Douglas Davis, Earl Madison, Frederick Seykora, Larry Corbett, Ronald Cooper, Suzie Katayama
  • Double bass - Arni Egilsson
  • Drums, percussion - Fred White
  • Rhythm Guitar - Roland Bautista
  • Harp - Dorothy Remsen
  • Keyboards - Eduardo Del Barrio, Rick Kelly, Skip Scarborough, Wayne Vaughn, George Del Barrio
  • Lead & backing vocals, percussion - Philip Bailey
  • Lead & backing vocals, drums, kalimba - Maurice White
  • Percussion - Paulinho Da Costa, Ralph Johnson
  • Piano - Maxanne Lewis
  • Prophet-5 synthesizer - Azar Lawrence
  • Saxophone - Donald Myrick
  • Steel drums - Robert Greenidge
  • Synthesizer programming - Larry Dunn
  • Tabla - Zakir Hussain
  • Tenor saxophone - Andrew Woolfolk
  • Trombone - Bill Reichenbach Jr., Charles Loper, George Bohanon, Lew McCreary, Louis Satterfield
  • Trumpet - Chuck Findley, Gary Grant, Michael Harris, Oscar Brashear, Rahmlee Michael Davis, Jerry Hey
  • Viola - Alan Deveritch, Allan Harshman, Carole Mukogawa, David Schwartz, Joel Soultanian, Linn Subotnick, Milton Kestenbaum, Pamela Goldsmith, Roland Karo, Rollice Dale
  • Violin - Anatol Kaminsky, Arnold Belnick, Bill Hybel, Bob Sanov, Brenton Banks, George Kast, Haim Shtrum, Harry Bluestone, Janet Lakatos, Karen Jones, Marshall Sosson, Miwako Watanabe, Myer Bello, Nathan Ross, Nicole Bush, Pam Tompkins, Robert Lipsett, Robert Sushel, Ron Clark, Shari Zippert, Sheldon Sanov, Stanley Plummer[22]

Production
  • Strings arranged by Bill Meyers & George Del Barrio
  • Horns arranged by Jerry Hey, George Del Barrio & Bill Meyers
  • Art Direction - Monte White & Roger Carpenter
  • Illustration - Shusei Nagaoka
  • Concertmaster - Assa Drori, David Frisina
  • Assistant Engineers - Robert Spano & Steve Crimmel
  • Mastered by Bernie Grundman
  • Additional Mixing - Tom Perry
  • Production Staff - Geri White, Leonard Smith & Monte White
  • Steel drums made by Rudolph Charles
  • Producer - Maurice White
  • Recorded & Mixed by Mick Guzauski[22]

Charts and Certifications

Charts

Albums
Year Chart Peak
position
1983 US Top LPs & Tape[3] 12
US Top Soul LPs[2] 4
Sweden Albums (Veckolista Album)[23] 2
Dutch Albums Dutch Album Top 100[24] 6
Norwegian Albums (VG-Lista)[25] 7
German Albums

(Offizielle Top 100)[26]

 13
UK Pop Albums[27] 22
CA RPM Canadian Pop Albums[28] 24

Singles
Year Single Chart Position
1983 "Fall in Love with Me" US Hot R&B Singles 4[29]
US Dance Club Play 31[30]
US Hot 100 17[31]
CA RPM Canadian Pop Singles 14[32]
UK Pop Songs 47
Blues & Soul Top British Soul Singles 20[33]
"Side by Side" US Hot R&B Singles 15[34]
US Hot 100 76
"Spread Your Love" US Hot R&B Singles 57
Dutch Singles 48[35]

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[4] Gold 500,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Accolades
Publication Country Accolade[21] Year Rank
Village Voice U.S Dean's List 1983 36
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References
  1. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Powerlight". 45worlds.com.
  2. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Powerlight (Top R&B Albums)". Billboard.com.
  3. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Powerlight (Billboard 200)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  4. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Powerlight". riaa.com. RIAA.
  5. Hanauer, Joan (January 21, 1983). "COSMIC SHORT". upi.com. United Press International.
  6. "Earth, Wind & Fire". grammy.com. The Recording Academy.
  7. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Side by Side (Hot Soul Songs)". Billboard.com. Billboard.
  8. Lytle, Craig. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Powerlight". Allmusic.com. Allmusic.
  9. Christgau, Robert. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Powerlight". robertchristgau.com. Village Voice.
  10. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Powerlight". Vol. 46. Vanity Fair. April 1983. p. 31 & 32. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  11. Garland, Phyl (June 1983). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Powerlight" (PDF). Vol. 48 no. 6. Stereo Review. p. 84. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  12. Palmer, Robert (February 27, 1983). "BRAZIL'S BEAT ALTERS BLACK POP". nytimes.com. New York Times.
  13. Stern, Chip (April 1, 1983). "RECORD REVIEWS: Earth, Wind & Fire". proquest.com. No. 54. Musician. p. 93.
  14. Connelly, Christopher (March 17, 1983). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Powerlight". rollingstone.com. Rolling Stone.
  15. Price, Tony (February 12, 1983). Tony's Top Picks. britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk. Daily Mirror. p. 17.
  16. Johnson, Connie (February 27, 1983). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Powerlight". newspapers.com. Los Angeles Times. p. 303.
  17. Johnson, Connie (February 27, 1983). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Powerlight". newspapers.com. Los Angeles Times. p. 304.
  18. Hepworth, David (February 16, 1983). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Powerlight". archive.org. Vol. 5 no. 3. Smash Hits. p. 28.
  19. Marsh, Dave (April 30, 1983). "Earth, Wind & Fire Discovers New Energy". newspapers.com. Philadelphia Daily News. p. 105.
  20. Wyatt, Hugh (February 25, 1983). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Powerlight". newspapers.com. New York Daily News. p. 151.
  21. Christgau, Robert (February 28, 1984). "Pazz & Jop 1983: Dean's List". robertchristgau.com. The Village Voice.
  22. Earth, Wind & Fire: Powerlight. Columbia Records. February 1983.
  23. "Earth, Wind & Fire". sverigetopplistan.se.
  24. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Powerlight". dutchcharts.nl. Dutch Charts.
  25. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Powerlight". norwegiancharts.com. VG-Lista.
  26. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Powerlight". offiziellecharts.de.
  27. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Powerlight". officialcharts.com. Official Charts Company.
  28. "RPM 100 Albums". bac-lac.gc.ca. Vol. 38 no. 6. RPM. April 9, 1983.
  29. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Fall In Love With Me (Hot Soul Songs)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  30. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Fall in Love With Me (Dance Club Songs)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  31. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Fall In Love With Me (Hot 100)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  32. "RPM Top Canadian Singles". Baclac.gc.ca. Vol. 38 no. 3. RPM. March 19, 1983.
  33. "Blues & Soul Top British Soul Singles". No. 374. Blues & Soul. February 8, 1983. p. 5. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  34. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Side by Side (Hot Soul Songs)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  35. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Spread Your Love". dutchcharts.nl. Dutch Charts.
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