Let's Groove (The Best Of Earth, Wind & Fire) - Earth, Wind & Fire

...tracks.

1.: Let's Groove
2.: Boogie Wonderland
3.: Saturday Nite
4.: In The Stone
5.: I've Had Enough
6.: Can't Let Go
7.: Fall In Love With Me
8.: Star
9.: September
10.: Jupiter
11.: Got To Get You Into My Life
12.: Fantasy
13.: Evil
14.: That's The Way Of The World
15.: You Can't Hide Love
16.: Reasons
17.: After The Love ...
...the bands music for quite some time and always loved the track "lets groove" but amazingly it seemed to escape my grasp for some time, never popping up on any of the compilation albums I owned, after having my interest in the film jogged whilst watching Disneys "Kronks new groove" I decided there was nothing else for em to do then search out the bands albums to find one with the track included. It didn't take much of a search ... more

I've been a very naughty girl recently spending obscene amounts of money treating myself, disgraceful aren't I! Ok, so when I say obscene amounts of money I actually mean the grand sum of £2.10 and when I talk about treating myself, well it was on a 2nd hand CD on Ebay, but who cares about the minor details eh! So what was the must have CD that tempted me to spend such a huge wad of cash? Well it was Earth, Wind & Fire Lets Groove, once again proving my musical taste is much older than my age.

Earth, Wind & Fire are an American band formed in the very late 60's who released some classic 1970's Disco hits and some 80's classics with a bit more of a R&B edge. The band have seen many line up changes over the years and have released nearly 40 albums which include studio albums, live recordings and compilations, their singles tally is over 50 and they are still performing and receiving awards now in 2008. Lets Groove is one of the many Greatest Hits releases by the band and naturally features some of the bands biggest hits as well as a few lesser known tracks.

1.: Let's Groove
2.: Boogie Wonderland
3.: Saturday Nite
4.: In The Stone
5.: I've Had Enough
6.: Can't Let Go
7.: Fall In Love With Me
8.: Star
9.: September
10.: Jupiter
11.: Got To Get You Into My Life
12.: Fantasy
13.: Evil
14.: That's The Way Of The World
15.: You Can't Hide Love
16.: Reasons
17.: After The Love Has Gone

I've been a fan of the bands music for quite some time and always loved the track "lets groove" but amazingly it seemed to escape my grasp for some time, never popping up on any of the compilation albums I owned, after having my interest in the film jogged whilst watching Disneys "Kronks new groove" I decided there was nothing else for em to do then search out the bands albums to find one with the track included. It didn't take much of a search on Ebay for a CD with a good selection of songs on and I'm glad that I chose this one now, I had to bid for it which I usually avoid in favour of "buy it now" items, but it's proved worth it.

The album kicks off with "lets groove" which is perhaps the best way for any disco/r&b album, it's funky beat and uplifting feel prepare you for the rest of the album, making you eager to hear more from the group. "Boogie Wonderland" comes next and is perhaps the groups best loved track, even little Elsa loves this track and declares "like that one!" every time it comes on, I imagine everyone's heard this song at some point in there life, it's 70's Disco at it's best full of sing along lyrics and arm waving melody. Other classics from the band include the Disco track "September" the beautiful ballad "After the love has gone" and the slightly more mellow "Fantasy"

It is track 11 though which stood out to me, I recognised it as soon as it started but didn't have the CD case to hand to find out the title, it was familiar but didn't sound like Earth, Wind & Fire released it originally, it was slightly swing based and my first thought was "this kinda sounds like something the Beatles would do" it was only when the lyrics kicked it that I realised it sounded Beatles-esque because it was a Beatles cover, "Got to get you into my life" is a really fun take on the original track, smoother than the original and I love listening to the track when it comes on, often skipping forward to hear it or repeating it once it's finished.

The other tracks are all enjoyable but don't stand out to me as much as the ones I mentioned earlier, you can listen to the album straight through as it flows well and the bands style is reliable throughout, there aren't any surprises that will find you reaching for the remote to skip through. While the audience for this album will be restricted to fans of 70's Disco and similar music it's still a good release and a great collection of the bands hits. I'm not comfortable with the band being described as R&B which has become associated with far more modern styles of music but I guess if it weren't for groups like this inspiring today's artists then our current idea of the R&B genre would be very different indeed, perhaps even non-existent. Overall I can highly recommend the album for fans of the bands music or for someone who just loves uplifting music with a good beat and a party feel.

Lets Groove can be found in music stores and online from £5, or if you're after a bargain like I was check out Ebay and you might just pick up a great deal.

You can find the groups website at- http://www.earthwindandfire.com/index.html 

...less