More of the Music of Earth, Wind and Fire

More Recordings by George Massenburg

We’re pretty sure that the first track on side one, Shining Star, is made from a dub tape, a common occurrence with planned hit singles. The rest of the songs on side two are a step up in class; when you play the side, see if you don’t hear some veiling and smearing on Shining Star, both of which are good indications of a dubby tape.

These are problems we hear in the sound of practically all the Heavy Vinyl pressings that, let’s be honest, we waste our time auditioning, which leads us naturally to conclude that they are not really made from master tapes, but high quality analog dubs or high-rez digital masters. Some of course sound better than others, but none will ever sound the way this copy does. 

Last time around we wrote about how bad the first track sounds on most copies. Now we think we have a better understanding of why.

That’s The Way Of The World starts off with great music that is, apparently, very difficult to reproduce. The typical copy makes “Shining Star” literally sound like a cassette, and a bad one at that! No highs, no lows, harsh vocals, and no real energy. When you hear it done right, you immediately remember why you love this song – the vocals are warm and present, the bassline is groovin’, and the energy makes you wanna grab someone and dance!

Relatively speaking of course. The song can still sound good, if you can ignore some of the radio EQ, just not as good as what follows. Compare it to the title track that follows and we think you will hear exactly what we mean.

TRACK LISTING

Side One

Shining Star
That’s the Way of the World
Happy Feelin’
All About Love

Side Two

Yearnin’ Learnin’
Reasons
Africano
See the Light

AMG Rave Review

Earth, Wind & Fire has delivered more than its share of excellent albums, but if a person could own only one EWF release, the logical choice would be That’s the Way of the World, which was the band’s best album as well as its best-selling. There are no dull moments on World, one of the strongest albums of the 1970s and EWF’s crowning achievement.