Open Our Eyes
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:
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Open Our Eyes
- Artist: Earth, Wind & Fire
- Rating:
- Release Date: 1974 03
- Total Time: 39:52
- Type: Lyrics are included with the album
- Genre: Rhythm & Blues
Review
Finally, after almost half a decade of serious dues-paying, Earth, Wind & Fire took off commercially with its fifth album, Open Our Eyes. EWF had been delivering great albums since 1971, but it wasn't until 1974 that the public proved genuinely receptive to Maurice White's mystical and unorthodox take on soul and funk. No longer would EWF enjoy only a small cult following. Thanks to treasures like "Kalimba Song," the gritty funk smoker "Mighty Mighty," and the unforgettable "Devotion," Open Our Eyes became EWF's first gold album and went to the top of the R&B charts. It's also interesting to note that with this album, singer Jessica Cleaves was gone, resulting in the first time EWF had an all-male lineup. The 2001 CD reissue adds four previously unreleased bonus tracks, one of them a "Walkin' in N'awlins" mix of "Fair But So Uncool," though the other three songs did not appear on the original album in an alternate form. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi| Open Opus (Album by Søren Kjærgaard/Ben Street/Andrew Cyrille) | |
| Open Our Eyes (1990 Album by Rev. Milton Brunson) |
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Open Our Eyes
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Open Our Eyes
| Open Our Eyes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire | ||||
| Released | March 25, 1974 | |||
| Recorded | August 1973, Caribou Ranch Nederland, Colorado, U.S. |
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| Genre | Soul, funk, jazz | |||
| Length | 39:52 | |||
| Label | Columbia/Legacy | |||
| Producer | Maurice White, Charles Stepney | |||
| Earth, Wind & Fire chronology | ||||
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Open Our Eyes is the fifth studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire, released in 1974 on Columbia Records. The album went to number one on the R&B Charts and number 15 on the Pop Charts. Open Our Eyes contained the Billboard charting singles, "Mighty Mighty" (R&B #4, Pop #29), "Devotion" (R&B #23, Pop #33) and "Kalimba Story" (R&B #6, Pop #55).[1] The album was made available in a digitally remastered version in 2001, which includes 4 previously unreleased bonus tracks.[2] Open Our Eyes has been certified platinum in the US by the RIAA.[3]
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Contents
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Reception
Yahoo Music calls Open Our Eyes "simply superb" and Robert Christgau in his review of the album describes it as a "fucking tour de force."[4][5] Devotion has been sampled by Yo-Yo featuring Ice Cube on the track You Can't Play With My Yo-Yo featured on her album Make Way for the Motherlode. Drum Song was sampled by Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes on the single The Block Party that was featured on her 2001 album Supernova.[6]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [7] |
| Blender | |
| PopMatters | (favourable) [8] |
| Yahoo Music | (very favorable)[9] |
| Warr.org |  [10] |
| Robert Christgau | A− [11] |
Track listing
Original release
| Side one | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Mighty Mighty" | Maurice White, Verdine White | 3:03 | ||||||
| 2. | "Devotion" | Philip Bailey, Maurice White | 4:50 | ||||||
| 3. | "Fair But So Uncool" | Rick Giles, Charles Stepney | 3:39 | ||||||
| 4. | "Feelin' Blue" | Kenny Altman | 4:28 | ||||||
| 5. | "Kalimba Story" | Maurice White, Verdine White | 4:03 | ||||||
| Side two | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 6. | "Drum Song" | Maurice White | 5:10 | ||||||
| 7. | "Tee Nine Chee Bit" | Maurice White, Charles Stepney, Verdine White | 3:45 | ||||||
| 8. | "Spasmodic Movements" | Eddie Harris | 1:50 | ||||||
| 9. | "Rabbit Seed" | Maurice White | 0:31 | ||||||
| 10. | "Caribou" | Charles Stepney, Rick Giles | 3:25 | ||||||
| 11. | "Open Our Eyes" | Leon Lumkins | 5:06 | ||||||
2001 Reissue
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mighty Mighty" | Maurice White, Verdine White | 3:03 |
| 2. | "Devotion" | Philip Bailey, Maurice White | 4:50 |
| 3. | "Fair But So Uncool" | Rick Giles, Charles Stepney | 3:39 |
| 4. | "Feelin' Blue" | Kenny Altman | 4:28 |
| 5. | "Kalimba Story" | Maurice White, Verdine White | 4:03 |
| 6. | "Drum Song" | Maurice White | 5:10 |
| 7. | "Tee Nine Chee Bit" | Maurice White, Charles Stepney, Verdine White | 3:45 |
| 8. | "Spasmodic Movements" | Eddie Harris | 1:50 |
| 9. | "Rabbit Seed" | Maurice White | 0:31 |
| 10. | "Caribou" | Charles Stepney, Rick Giles | 3:25 |
| 11. | "Open Our Eyes" | Leon Lumkins | 5:06 |
| 12. | "Ain't No Harm To Moan (Slave Song)" | Larry Dunn, Maurice White | 5:21 |
| 13. | "Fair But So Uncool (Walkin' In N'Awlins Mix)" | Charles Stepney, Rick Giles | 3:37 |
| 14. | "Step's Tune" | Charles Stepney, Maurice White | 2:33 |
| 15. | "Dreams" | Larry Dunn, Maurice White, Phillip Bailey | 3:23 |
Charts
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Black Albums | 1 |
| Pop Albums | 15 |
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | "Devotion" | Black Singles | 23 |
| Pop Singles | 33 | ||
| "Kalimba Story" | Black Singles | 6 | |
| Pop Singles | 55 | ||
| "Mighty Mighty" | Black Singles | 4 | |
| Pop Singles | 29 |
See also
References
- ^ Open Our Eyes - Charts on Allmusic.com
- ^ a b Open Our Eyes on Allmusic.com
- ^ RIAA Certification for Open Our Eyes
- ^ Open Our Eyes - Robert Christgau
- ^ Open Our Eyes - Yahoo Music
- ^ Earth, Wind & Fire music sampled by others
- ^ Henderson, A. (2011). "Open Our Eyes - Earth, Wind & Fire | AllMusic". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r6504. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
- ^ Warner, S. (2011). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Open Our Eyes / Spirit < PopMatters". popmatters.com. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/earthwindandfire-reissues/. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
- ^ Epstein, Dan (2011). "Earth, Wind & Fire Reviews on Yahoo! Music". music.yahoo.com. http://ca.music.yahoo.com/library/default.asp?m=content&add=review&i=12038816&. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
- ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire". warr.org. 2008. http://www.warr.org/ewf.html#OOE. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
- ^ Christgau, R. (2011). "Robert Christgau: Album: Earth, Wind & Fire: Open Our Eyes". robertchristgau.com. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=1111. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
- ^ Open Our Eyes on discogs.com
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