Day 386: Earth, Wind & Fire – Raise!
It’s once again the 21st night of September, so happy Earth, Wind & Fire day! I think this is what kicked off my Earth, Wind & Fire phase last year, I was on this day last year when I listened to my first Earth, Wind & Fire album. I’m sure part of the reason I’ve been having such a nice time recently is because I listen to a lot more of these guys. To commemorate, it’s time to listen to my sixth Earth, Wind & Fire album, Raise!
Album cover courtesy of ARC and Columbia
Released in November 1981, Raise! was the group’s eleventh studio album, and it follows their usual recipe of providing disco-tinged funk, soul and R&B with spiritual and/or amorous lyrics. It features one of their most enduring hits, “Let's Groove” and it reached the top of the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, as well as number five on the Billboard 200.
Raise! is obviously another beautiful album from one of the best, most spiritually uplifting groups that I know. There’s just something about Earth, Wind & Fire that warms me from the inside, and having them on and having a little dance is always just a surefire way to make yourself feel at least a little bit better. It’s nice to think that the 21st of September is now just a nonofficial international holiday that people around the world are celebrating by listening to these guys, it can only be good for our collective wellbeing.
Is jolly spiritual funk some sort of a secret cheat code to happiness? Empirically, I’d say it could be, it works for me at the very least. While listening to Raise! I found myself thinking that I wish every day was Earth, Wind & Fire day, but if all it means is that I listen to Earth, Wind & Fire, with a little bit of effort every single day could easily be Earth, Wind & Fire day for me. Granted, that might be a tad bit much, but I think more generally, I’ll always have this band in my back pocket as an option to put on whenever I just want to have a nicer day – when it comes to that, Earth, Wind & Fire is bar none.
Raise! isn’t Earth, Wind & Fire at their best, but even when they’re not at a career-peak, they’re still excellent. They’re incredibly consistent in making feel-good songs that you want to groove to, but just when you think you know what you’re getting, they hit you with the closing track “The Changing Times”, which is much more of an ‘80s pop-sounding track with a big guitar solo. Apparently this album is the last traditional-sounding Earth, Wind & Fire album before they start veering in a different direction, and there’s echoes of that in this song. It’s good, but just very unexpected.
I could never give Raise! any less than an 8/10, no album that opens with something as good as “Let’s Groove” could get any less. It’s going into the arsenal of stuff to listen to when I need a pick-me-up.