Day 349: Earth, Wind & Fire - Open Our Eyes

It’s time to continue to explore one of the best bands I’ve discovered during this project – of course I’d listened to a bit of Earth, Wind & Fire, but I didn’t know just how much I loved them until I actually sat down to listen to a full album. Open Our Eyes is the earliest of the four albums I’ve covered so far, so I’m keen to see if I like it as much as the other ones.

Album cover courtesy of Columbia Records

Open Our Eyes was released in 1974 as the group’s fifth studio album. It was also the breakout album that finally got them mainstream success – it reached number one on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and it brought them in front of a mainstream audience. The song “Mighty Mighty” was also their first hit single, peaking at 29 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The album is tried and true Earth, Wind & Fire, it’s spiritual funk with a variety of influences, including jazz, Latin, soul and Africana. However, Open Our Eyes maybe sounds a bit more unpolished and funk-oriented than their later work during their golden era. I also prefer the cleaner production in their later work, as well as the explosiveness of their more disco-oriented stuff, as this one is more freewheeling and mellow.

It’s good, but I prefer their later albums, with the exception of the instrumental jazz tune, "Spasmodic Movements", and “Caribou”. I also liked the opener “Mighty Mighty” and the closing titular track, which is a gospel number. Open Your Eyes is good to listen to to hear how they got where they ended up as a band, but it’s not my favourite of theirs. But come on, it’s Earth, Wind & Fire, it’s obviously still fun to listen to. I’m giving it a conservative 7.5/10.