''Powerlight'' is the twelfth studio album by American band

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million r ...

, released in February 1983 by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. The album rose to No. 4 on the ''Billboard''

Top R&B Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated ...

chart and No. 12 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artist ...

chart. ''Powerlight'' was also certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

in the US by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

Overview

''Powerlight'' was produced by EWF leader Maurice White. According to White the LP's title has to do with "the

chakras Chakras (, ; sa , text=चक्र , translit=cakra , translit-std=IAST , lit=wheel, circle; pi, cakka) are various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, or the esoteric or ...

-- the centers of the body that connect us with cosmic power." Artists such as

Robert Greenidge Robert Greenidge (born 28 April 1950 in Success Village, Laventille, Trinidad) is a steelpan player. He is a member of popular music singer Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band and the instrumental group Club Trini. Greenidge has also collaborat ...

, Maxayn Lewis and Zakir Hussain also appeared on the album.

Singles

The album cut " Fall in Love with Me" rose to No. 17 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart and No. 4 on the

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Hot R&B Songs Hot R&B Songs is a chart released weekly by '' Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular R&B songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stations, digital download sales and streaming data. It was establi ...

chart. "Fall in Love with Me" was also

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nominated for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. As well another single entitled " Side by Side" got to No. 15 upon the

chart. "Straight From The Heart" was released as a single in the

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Critical reception

Robert Palmer Robert Allen Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003) was an English singer and songwriter. He was known for his powerful, soulful voice and wikt:sartorial, sartorial elegance, and his stylistic explorations, combining Soul music, so ...

of ''

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'' 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." '' 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". Tony Price of the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ci ...

'' 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!"

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

of the ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' 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 Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recor ...

homages, and when the synthesis is this catchy it's the best argument for universalism they'll ever make." Connie Johnson of the ''

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'' 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." With a 3 out of 5 stars rating,

Ken Tucker Kenneth Tucker is an American arts, music and television critic, magazine editor, and non-fiction book writer. Early life and education Tucker was born in Manhattan, New York City, New York, and raised in Stamford, Connecticut. He earned a ...

of the ''

Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Penns ...

'' wrote "Earth, Wind and Fire's new collection of Utopian funk, "Powerlight" (Columbia), has a glossy sheen that manages to coat even the banal songs with a pretty surface that's pleasing." Chip Stern of ''

Musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who w ...

'' claimed "Powerlight stands both as a testament to White's absolute mastery of production and EW&F's renewed vigour as a band." Charles McCollum of the ''

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is considered to be the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New H ...

'' said Powerlight "is the best set the group has produced in some time, with an often heady mixture of American pop stylings and in something new from (Maurice) White Brazilian textures." David Hepworth of ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' 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". Hugh Wyatt of the ''

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'' found "Earth, Wind & Fire gives new meaning to the word ''classy'', and I like it". Issac Hayes called ''Powerlight'' one of Earth, Wind & Fire's five essential recordings. ''Powerlight'' was also placed by music critic

of the

at No. 36 on his dean's list of 1983.

Track listing

Credits and personnel

*Ms. Pluto - additional backing vocals *Beloyd Taylor - additional backing vocals, guitar * Verdine White - bass guitar *Douglas Davis, Earl Madison, Frederick Seykora - larums, percussion * Fred White - drums, percussion * Roland Bautista - rhythm guitar *Dorothy Remsen *Keyboards -

Eduardo Del Barrio Eduardo Gutiérrez del Barrio, known professionally as Eddie del Barrio, is an Argentinian composer, arranger, songwriter, and pianist. He is a founding member of the jazz fusion band Caldera. He has collaborated with Earth, Wind & Fire, Stan Ge ...

, Rick Kelly,

Skip Scarborough Clarence Alexander "Skip" Scarborough (November 26, 1944 – July 3, 2003) was an American songwriter, best known for romantic ballads. Biography Scarborough was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He lived in Los Angeles most of his life. He died o ...

, 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 *Synthesizer (

Prophet-5 The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by the American company Sequential. It was designed by Dave Smith and John Bowen in 1977, who used microprocessors, then a new technology, to create the first polyphonic synthesizer with full ...

) - Azar Lawrence *Saxophone -

Donald Myrick Donald Myrick (April 6, 1940 – July 30, 1993) was an American saxophonist. A member of The Phenix Horns, he is best known for his work with Earth, Wind & Fire and Phil Collins. He played alto, tenor, and soprano sax as a member of Earth, Wind ...

*Steel drums -

*Synthesizer programming - Larry Dunn *Tabla - Zakir Hussain *Tenor saxophone - Andrew Woolfolk *Trombone - Bill Reichenbach Jr., Charles Loper,

George Bohanon George Roland Bohanon, Jr. (born August 7, 1937) is a jazz trombonist and session musician from Detroit, Michigan. In the early 1960s, he participated in Detroit's Workshop Jazz ensemble, with Johnny Griffith, Paula Greer, David Hamilton, Lefty ...

, Lew McCreary, Louis Satterfield *Trumpet -

Chuck Findley Charles B. Findley (born December 13, 1947 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania) is an American trumpet player known for his diverse work as a session musician. He also plays other brass instruments such as flugelhorn and trombone. His technical abilities ...

, Gary Grant, Michael Harris,

Oscar Brashear Oscar Brashear (born August 18, 1944) is an American jazz trumpeter Jerry Hey Jerry Hey (born 1950) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, horn arranger, string arranger, orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings, including Michael Jackson's ''Thriller'', ''Rock with You'', ...

*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

Production

*Strings arranged - Bill Meyers & George Del Barrio *Horns arranged - 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 -

Bernie Grundman Bernie Grundman is an American audio engineer. He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chris Bellman, Patricia Sullivan, and ...

*Additional Mixing - Tom Perry *Production Staff - Geri White, Leonard Smith & Monte White *Steel drums -

Rudolph Charles Rudolph Charles (1 October 1938 – 29 March 1985) was a musician and instrument maker of the steelpan, but most notably, he was a pioneer and leader of the steelband movement in Trinidad and Tobago. Also known as Charlo, The Hammer and Trail, a ...

*Producer - Maurice White *Recorded & Mixed -

Mick Guzauski Nathan "Mick" Guzauski is an American multi-platinum mixing engineer and sound engineer. His work spans a wide range of styles, including jazz, R&B, Latin, rock, pop, easy listening, funk and hip hop. He won a 2002 Latin Grammy for Thalía ...

*Composer, keyboards, piano - Eddie del Barrio *Horn arrangement, keyboards - George del Barrio

Charts and certifications

Charts

Albums

Singles

Certifications

Accolades

References

{{Authority control 1983 albums Earth, Wind & Fire albums Albums produced by Maurice White Columbia Records albums Albums with cover art by Shusei Nagaoka