Alex Henderson

Earth, Wind & Fire
Electric Universe [Expanded Edition]

When Earth, Wind & Fire recorded Electric Universe in 1983, R&B was in the process of getting a high-tech makeover. Many of the things that had defined R&B during the 1970s—the punchy horns of Tower of Power, the Ohio Players and George Clinton’s Parliament/Funkadelic, the lavish orchestration that producer/songwriters Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff favored at Philadelphia International Records—were going out of style, and R&B was well on its way to becoming an electronic world of synthesizers, sequencers and drum machines. A variety of influences were affecting the new urban contemporary school of R&B, ranging from hip-hop to new wave rock to the electronic synth-pop of Germany’s seminal Kraftwerk (whose “Trans Europe Express” was sampled by hip-hop icon Afrika Bambaataa on his 1982 hit “Planet Rock”). EWF’s founder/leader Maurice White was well aware of the fact the 1980s were shaping up to be a whole new ballgame for R&B—and when he produced Electric Universe, EWF   incorporated elements of synth-pop and new wave and made a concerted effort to bring their sound into the 1980s.

Originally released by Columbia Records/CBS Records (now Columbia Records/Sony Music) in November 1983, Electric Universe was EWF’s 13th studio album. White founded the first EWF lineup in 1969, and throughout the 1970s, horns were a prominent part of their sound. Horns, however, take a back seat to synthesizers on Electric Universe: Andrew Woolfolk (who played on many of EWF’s 1970s albums) is employed on saxophone, but the Phenix Horns (EWF’s horn section in the 1970s and early 1980s) are gone. And a more new wave-ish EWF emerges on songs like “Electric Nation,” “Spirit of a New World” and the single “Magnetic” (which reached #10 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart in the United States). “Magnetic” remains this album’s best known single, although the mid-tempo “Touch” made it to #23 on Billboard’s U.S. R&B singles chart—and “Moonwalk” was a minor hit, peaking at #67 on that chart.

From the funky “Sweet Sassy Lady” to the ballads “Could It Be Right” and “We’re Living in Our Own Time,” an experimental mood prevails on this album (which climbed to #8 in the U.S. on Billboard’s R&B albums chart and #40 on Billboard’s pop albums chart). But for all its synthesizers and drum machines, Electric Universe is not 100% electronic. Many of the musicians who were part of EWF during the 1970s remained, including Verdine White (Maurice White’s younger brother) on electric bass, Fred White (another one of his siblings) on drums, Larry Dunn on piano, Roland Bautista on guitar and Ralph Johnson on percussion. Maurice White and Philip Bailey continued to share the lead vocals, and White still played his kalimba (a traditional African instrument). In other words, Electric Universe is both played and programmed.

Back in 1983, Electric Universe was originally released as an eight-track LP. But this reissue expands Electric Universe to a 16-track CD with bonus material that features three versions of “Magnetic” (including an instrumental version and an extended dance remix).

One of the people who helped EWF achieve a more new wave-ish, synth-pop-influenced sound on Electric Universe was British songwriter Martin Page, who wrote “Magnetic” and co-wrote “Spirit of a New World” and “Electric Nation.” Page wrote “Touch” with Jon Lind, who co-wrote EWF’s 1979 smash “Boogie Wonderland” and is also known for co-writing songs that were major hits for Vanessa Williams (“Save the Best for Last” in 1992), Madonna (“Crazy for You” in 1985) and others.

Interviewed in May 2015, Maurice White (who is now 73) reflected on Page’s contributions to Electric Universe. “Martin, being British, was very familiar with the English sound—so he contributed a different direction to the music,” White explains. “It was an adventure to veer off the path I’d already established, but I wanted to deliver something fresh in this album—not to just repackage the past. As a consequence, you definitely hear EWF represented, but the album was a departure that might resonate even more with today’s young people—whose ears are accustomed to hearing the music that this album influenced—than it did with our fan base at the time it was originally released.”

White adds: “We continued to explore the possibilities of the new technology. We were able to experiment with what seemed at the time to be unlimited musical potential.”

EWF had made some futuristic moves in 1981, when a vocoder was used on the #1 R&B favorite “Let’s Groove.” But “Let’s Groove” was full of horns, and synthesizers weren’t nearly as prominent on 1981’s Raise! or 1983’s Powerlight as they are on Electric Universe.

“I didn’t know where I was going—I just followed the music,” Maurice White recalls. “A song like ‘Magnetic’ was a departure from what we had been doing. I was reluctant to go there but was convinced by others involved with the project to follow the music through a maze. So there was an experimental element to this album as opposed to the more defined and personal resonance of the past.”

After Electric Universe, EWF went on hiatus—and both Maurice White and Philip Bailey concentrated on their solo careers. In 1984, Bailey enjoyed considerable success with his second solo album, Chinese Wall, and the rock-influenced single “Easy Lover” (a duet with Phil Collins that reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and was a #1 pop smash in the UK). White’s first solo album (a self-titled LP) came out in 1985, and EWF’s founder enjoyed a major hit that year with his remake of the Ben E. King classic “Stand By Me.” But EWF were reunited in 1987 with their album Touch the World and the comeback hit “System of Survival.” 2015 marks EWF’s 46^th anniversary, and the band is still recording and touring after all these years.

In 1983, the times were clearly a-changin’ for R&B—and with Electric Universe, there was no doubt that Earth, Wind & Fire were determined to forge ahead.

—Alex Henderson, June 2015

Alex Henderson’s work has appeared in Billboard, Spin, Salon.com, Creem, The L.A. Weekly, AlterNet, JazzTimes, Jazziz, The Raw Story, Cash Box, HITS, CD Review, Skin Two, Black Beat, The Pasadena Weekly, Black Radio Exclusive (BRE), Music Connection, The New York City Jazz Record, Jazz Inside Magazine and many other well-known publications. Henderson (alexvhenderson.com) also contributed several thousand CD reviews to the popular Allmusic.com website and The All Music Guide’s series of music reference books.