The Need of Love is the second studio album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released in November 1971 by Warner Bros. Records.[2] The album reached No. 35 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart.[3] The Need of Love would be the band's final album for Warner Bros. until 1993's Millennium on Reprise Records.
| The Need of Love | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 1971 | |||
| Recorded | 1971 | |||
| Studio | Sunset Sound Studios, Hollywood | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 31:41 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Joe Wissert | |||
| Earth, Wind & Fire chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Need of Love | ||||
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Overview
editThe Need of Love was produced by Joe Wissert and recorded at Sunset Sound Studios, Hollywood.[2]
Artists such as Jean Carne sang on the album.[4]
The track, "Everything Is Everything", is a cover of the Donny Hathaway song.
Singles
edit"I Think About Lovin' You" reached No. 44 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart.[5]
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| Village Voice | (C+)[7] |
| Billboard | (favourable)[8] |
| Chicago Sun Times | (favourable)[9] |
| Jazz Journal |  [10] |
Al Rudis of The Chicago Sun Times wrote "Their second album, The Need of Love again displays some unusual music that might be called avant garde were it not so melodic and entrancing. The nine-member group mixes excellent jazzy instrumentals with harmony singing and chanting, some big band sounds and some free-form parts as well as solid soul beats. It all works beautifully, and while the elements of Earth, Wind and Fire aren't new, this mixture of them is a unique sound."[9] With a three out of five star rating John Bush of AllMusic stated "The ambitions of Earth, Wind & Fire only increased after their stellar debut, and the group brought an abstract sense of composition to their sophomore record, The Need of Love. The opener, a ten-minute piece named "Energy," is proof enough, with several extended passages inspired by everything from free jazz as well as in-the-pocket funk like Kool & the Gang. The next song up, "Beauty" is also positive and intriguing, though in an overly similar groove as "Fan the Fire" from the first album. The closer, a cover of Donny Hathaway's gloriously funky "Everything Is Everything," does justice to the original (and that's saying a lot). Compared to the debut, The Need of Love lacks a sense of exuberance as well as a passel of solid songs and performances.".[6] Billboard noted that the album would "is certain to make people more aware of their presence".[8] Bruce Lindsay of Jazz Journal also gave The Need of Love a 3.5 out of 5 star rating, saying "as evidence of a tight, stylish, band in the early stages of its career this is a worthwhile album".[10]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Energy" | Wade Flemons, Sherry Scott, Maurice White, Don Whitehead | 9:39 |
| 2. | "Beauty" | Wade Flemons, Maurice White, Don Whitehead | 4:14 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3. | "I Can Feel It In My Bones" | Wade Flemons, Maurice White, Don Whitehead | 5:04 |
| 4. | "I Think About Lovin' You" | Sherry Scott | 6:02 |
| 5. | "Everything Is Everything" | Richard Evans, Phil Upchurch | 6:46 |
Personnel
edit- Sherry Scott - vocals
- Wade Flemons - vocals
- Jean Carne - vocals, backing vocals
- Chet Washington - tenor saxophone
- Alex Thomas - trombone
- Michael Beal - guitar, harmonica
- Don Whitehead - acoustic and electric pianos, vocals
- Doug Carn – Hammond B3 organ
- Verdine White - bass
- Maurice White - drums, vocals, percussion, kalimba
- Yackov Ben Israel - percussion, congas
- Oscar Brashear - trumpet solo [4][2]
Charts
edit| Chart (1972) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Top LPs & Tape | 89 |
| Billboard Top Soul LPs | 35 |
References
edit- ^ Coleman, Mark; Soults, Franklin (2004). "Earth, Wind & Fire". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 269–270. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ a b c Earth, Wind & Fire: The Need Of Love. Warner Bros. Records. November 1971.
- ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: The Need of Love (Top Soul Albums)". billboard.com.
- ^ a b "JEAN CARNE: A REVELATION REUNION". bluesandsoul.com. Blues & Soul.
- ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: I Think About Lovin' You Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". billboard.com. Billboard.
- ^ a b Bush, John. "Earth, Wind & Fire: The Need Of Love". allmusic.com. Allmusic.
- ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: The Need of Love". robertchristgau.com. Village Voice.
- ^ a b "Album Reviews". Billboard. Vol. 83, no. 49. December 4, 1971. p. 46 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Rudis, Al (December 3, 1971). "Earth, Wind & Fire: The Need of Love". newspapers.com. Chicago Sun Times. p. 43.
- ^ a b Lindsay, Bruce (July 9, 2019). "Earth, Wind And Fire: Earth, Wind And Fire / The Need Of Love". jazzjournal.co.uk. Jazz Journal.