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Raise!

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AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:

Raise!

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  • Artist: Earth, Wind & Fire
  • Rating: StarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1981 10
  • Total Time: 38:16
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rhythm & Blues

Review

The end was near for Earth, Wind And Fire. This wasn't quite the disaster it was made out to be at the time, but it was their least distinguished overall album since the early days on Warner Bros., with the exception of the disastrous Sgt. Pepper episode. "Let's Groove" was just a recycled mid-tempo tune from the mid-'70s, and everything else sounded desultory and uninspired. It was no surprise that after one more album, White and company decided to take some time away from the scene. ~ Ron Wynn, Rovi

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Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Raise!

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Raise!
Studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire
Released November 14, 1981
Recorded May, 1981 at ARC/George Massenburg Studio, West Los Angeles, California, and Sunset Sounds Recording Studio, Hollywood, California
Genre Soul, R&B, Funk
Length 38:08
Label ARC/Columbia Records
Producer Maurice White
Earth, Wind & Fire chronology
Faces
(1980)		 Raise!
(1981)		 Powerlight
(1983)
Singles from Raise!
  1. "Let's Groove"
    Released: October 21, 1981
  2. "I've Had Enough"
    Released: 1982
  3. "Wanna Be With You"
    Released: January 19, 1982
Back cover
The back cover of Raise!

Raise! is the eleventh studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire, produced by the band's leader Maurice White for Kalimba Productions, and released in 1981 on ARC/Columbia Records. Raise! has been certified platinum in the US by the RIAA for sales of over a million copies and gold in the UK and Canada by the British Phonographic Industry and Music Canada respectively.[1][2]

Raise! was the bestselling R&B album of 1982.[3] The album featured the #1 R&B and # 3 Pop hit "Let's Groove". The single "Wanna Be With You" won EWF a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group.[4] Raise also marked the return to the band of rhythm guitarist Roland Bautista, last heard from on 1972's Last Days and Time.

Raise! would be the final EWF album to be released on ARC. The label would be discontinuted by Columbia Records the following year.

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 2/5 stars[5]
Rolling Stone 4/5 stars[6]
Robert Christgau B+[7]
Warr.org 3/5 stars[8]

Ken Tucker of Rolling Stone describes Raise! as a reflection of "street-gritty black pop" and that on "Let's Groove" and the fast, cutting "Lady Sun", the horn section screams like a car running a red light" and music critic Robert Christgau says that on the album (EWF) "felt a show of strength was due".[9][10]

Track listing

Side one
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Let's Groove"   Wayne Vaughn, Maurice White 5:37
2. "Lady Sun"   Beloyd Taylor 3:39
3. "My Love"   Wayne Vaughn, Maurice White 4:35
4. "Evolution Orange"   David Foster, O'Byrne, Maurice White 4:37
Side two
No. Title Writer(s) Length
5. "Kalimba Tree"   Maurice White 0:25
6. "You Are a Winner"   Beloyd Taylor 4:09
7. "I've Had Enough"   Philip Bailey, Greg Phillinganes, Brenda Russell 4:36
8. "Wanna Be With You"   Wayne Vaughn, Maurice White 4:36
9. "The Changing Times"   Beloyd Taylor 5:54

[11]

Cover art

The album art was designed by Roger Carpenter and Raise! was illustrated by Shusei Nagaoka. The front cover of Raise! features a presumed Egyptian female figure. The name of the band is present on the front cover, but the title is not.

On the back cover there is an illustration of a female figure in a sarcophagus, which is also divided into a purple left side and a blue right side. The sarcophagus appears to be hyper-modern. The title of the LP is presented in the top left corner of the back cover.

Charts

Album – Billboard
Year Chart Position
1981 Black Albums 1
Pop Albums 5
Year Chart Position[12]
1982 United Kingdom 11
Singles – Billboard
Year Single Chart Position
1981 "Let's Groove/I've Had Enough" Club Play Singles 3
"Let's Groove" Black Singles 1
Pop Singles 3
"Wanna Be With You" Black Singles 15
Pop Singles 51

Production

  • Arranged By [Horns, Strings] - Billy Meyers
  • Arranged By [Horns] - Jerry Hey
  • Arranged By [Strings] - David Foster
  • Artwork By [Design, Art Direction] - Mick Guzauski
  • Engineer - Ken Fowler, Ron Pendragon
  • Engineer [Assistant] - Stephen McManus
  • Engineer [Horn, String Overdubs], Mixed By - Mick Guzauski
  • Engineer [Vocal Overdubs], Mixed By - Tom Perry
  • Artwork By [Illustration] - Shusei Nagaoka

Performers

  • Bass, Other [Production Assistant] - Verdine White
  • Cello - Frederick Seykora, Jerome Kessler, Larry Corbett, Mary Louise Zeyen, Paula Hochhalter, Selene Burford
  • Co-producer, Written By - Philip Bailey
  • Concertmaster - Assa Drori, James Getzoff
  • Drums, Percussion - Fred White
  • Guitar - Johnny Graham, Roland Bautista
  • Keyboards - Billy Meyers, David Foster, Wayne Vaughn
  • Piano, Synthesizer, Other [Production Assistant] - Larry Dunn
  • Saxophone - Tom Saviano
  • Saxophone [Alto, Tenor] - Don Myrick
  • Saxophone [Tenor] - Andrew Woolfolk
  • Synthesizer, Effects [Vocoder] - Michael Boddicker
  • Trombone - Bill Reichenbach, Charles Loper, Dick Hyde, George Bohanon, Lew McReary, Louis Satterfield
  • Trumpet - Chuck Findley, Gary Grant, Jerry Hey, Larry G. Hall, Michael Harris, Oscar Brashear, Rahmlee Michael Davis
  • Viola - Alan DeVeritch, Allan Harshman, Gareth Nuttycombe, Pamela Goldsmith, Virginia Majewski
  • Violin - Anton Sen, Arkady Shindelman, Arnold Belnick, Betty LaMagna, Brian Leonard, Denyse Buffum, Endre Granat, Haim Shtrum, Henry Ferber, Irving Geller, Jerome Reisler, John Wittenbert, Mari Tsumura Botnick, Marvin Limonick, Myra Kestenbaum, Nathan Ross, Norman Leonard, Reginald Hill, Ronald Folsom, Sheldon Sanov, Thomas Buffum, William Hymanson, William Kurasch
  • Vocals [Additional] - Ms. Pluto
  • Vocals [Additional], Guitar - Beloyd Taylor
  • Vocals [Additional], Percussion - Ralph Johnson
  • Vocals, Drums, Kalimba, Backing Vocals, Producer - Maurice White
  • Vocals, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Philip Bailey[11]

Accolades

The information regarding accolades attributed to Raise! is adapted from rocklistmusic.co.uk.[13]

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
NME U.K Albums of the Year 1981 16

See also

References

  1. ^ RIAA Certification for Raise!
  2. ^ British Phonographic Industry certification for Raise!
  3. ^ Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums of 1982
  4. ^ www.earthwindandfire.com/bio_awards.html
  5. ^ Allmusic review
  6. ^ Rolling Stone review
  7. ^ Robertchristgau.com
  8. ^ Wilson & Alroy's Record Reviews
  9. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire Raise! album review". rollingstone.com. February 4, 1982. http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/302599/review/5944438/raise. Retrieved May 4, 2009. 
  10. ^ "Consumer Guide Album Earth, Wind & Fire: Raise!". robertchristgau.com. 1981. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=1116. Retrieved May 4, 2009. 
  11. ^ a b Raise on discogs.com
  12. ^ "Raise!". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=5534. Retrieved May 24, 2009. 
  13. ^ rocklistmusic - 1981 NME Lists

External links

Earth, Wind & Fire
Studio albums
Compilations
and live albums
Singles
Other albums
Related articles
Lists

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

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