Customer Reviews
EWF - The Promise
Excellent Album!!!! Every song on this album is awesome! Now that is the EWF I have always loved!
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Earth Wind & Fire In A Romantic Kind Of Mood
By the time 'The Promise' came around tastes had again changed in EWF's favor-new jack was out and neo soul was in!'The Promise',for once features a great vocal balance-Maurice White and Philip Bailey both vocally soar to the sky just like they used to. It might be easy to guess a lot of hard core Earth Wind & Fire fans had a hard time sitting through the bands 1990's releases that largely found the band pandering to modern rap and new jack tastes. The majority of these tunes showcase the smooth songwriting of the band at mid and low tempos-there are only two uptemp tunes here,both terrific. The marvelously crafted "All In The Way" and the classicly funky "Dirty"-yes it's a remix of an older unrealesed tune from 1979 but it sounds great. Of the ballads the stratospheric "Betcha'" and the dynamic "Freedom" are standouts. And there are more then a fare share of surprises such as the title song-trickled throughout the CD in the form of brief interludes-all with a great modern African type rhythm and some of Maurices great rhythmic kalimba playing. "Wiggle" is a funky tune reminiscent of "Mizar" from the 'Powerlight' album but isn't even as long as that interlude,sadly. Both should've been fleshed out. In the bands vast catolog 'The Promise' is the bands modern day equivilant of their 1980 'Faces'-it is'nt particularly commercial and was never intended to be. What it does do is focus on the fact that Maurice and company can still turn in great tunes and the Phenix horns and their classic instrumentation are still highly relevant and all generations of listeners will still flock to hear them,particularly the young generation without the band having to change their basic sound. Plus it also provides a wonderul album lengh experience even if it contains no major hits. 'The Promise' lives up to it's title of what Earth Wind & Fire fans expected for over a decade-for the band to just be themselves.
The Promise is a Winner, BUT Get The Japanese Import Edition!
These tracks ARE NOT TO BE MISSED, and it's a shame that EWF fans in the USA don't get the superior editions of CDs that are sold in Japan. Like most EWF fans, I rushed out to buy 'The Promise' when it was released a few years ago, but later found a Japanese Import edition of the CD with 2 BONUS TRACKS ('Soul' & 'So Lucky').
At any rate, I invested in one of those Japanese imports, sold my inferior USA edition, and then added 2 extra bonus remixes of 'All In The Way' (the Maxi CD single is STILL AVAILABLE!!) to create a 21 Track ULTIMATE EDITION of 'The Promise' which is GREAT! EWF fans can do the same thing if record companies insist on selling inferior CDs to fans in the USA!
1. I'm giving the USA Edition of 'The Promise' 4 Stars. . (The digipak case & lack of the 2 Bonus Tracks are a BIG letdown!)
2. The Japanese Import is rated higher because of more music, and the packaging is also superior. . . lyrics & standard jewel case included!!
All in all. . . a 4. 5 star rating for 'The Promise'!!
Peace, SD
(of Chaka's World).
. You can see a complete list of all Earth Wind & Fire discography, or go back to the Earth Wind & Fire tabs
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