I decided to listen to Earth, Wind & Fire the same way I would evaluate the style of any other artist: I listened through three of their albums — Gratitude, All ‘N All, and I Am.
As a brief introduction, the music of Earth, Wind, & Fire is characterized by an upbeat, optimistic tone with a driving bass. They extensively integrate smooth vocal harmonies into their music, as well as high brass, using a dedicated brass section, the Phenix Horns.
Their music, while excellent on a song-by-song basis, is lacking, however, as a whole. While a well integrated brass section can bring an extra dimension to a song, Earth, Wind & Fire overuse this brass; it appears in almost every single song. Coupled with the same optimistic and upbeat tone and the same lyrical themes, every song is basically the same. Each song is full of closed, high vocal harmonies, triumphant horns, and a driving drum set and bass line, portraying moods ranging from upbeat to optimistic to upbeat and optimistic.
Therefore, without any diversity and experimentation in their sound, Earth, Wind & Fire is nowhere close to the title of Greatest of All Time. Any band that could be feasibly considered such must be able to draw interest for longer than a cursory inspection; without a full exploration of the full range of emotion, the style and works of Earth, Wind & Fire as a whole are worth no more than a brief survey, almost like visiting a noteworthy, yet mundane place: you go once to see what it’s like, then never go again, because it really isn’t worth it.
The monotony of their music, however, is negated when one considers each song individually; while their style may be lacking complexity, each of their songs does provide an interesting experience.
I could, of course, analyze September, but that’s far too overplayed. As such, here’s my favorite Earth Wind & Fire song:
The song starts with a slow, epic feeling introduction featuring an electric piano solo; then, strings and horns trumpet the build up to the first stanza. A heavily syncopated bass line drives the piece forward into its discussion of love:
Every man has a place, in his heart there’s a space
And the world can’t erase his fantasies
Take a ride in the sky, on our ship fantasii
All your dreams will come true, right away
And we will live together, until the twelfth of never
Our voices will ring forever, as one
For those unfamiliar (I had to google this), the phrase twelfth of never refers to a date that will never come to pass; it’s application to love was popularized by a popular song by Johnny Mathis, Twelfth of Never, in which the the phrase refers to the date that his lover will stop loving him.
Other than dated expressions, there isn’t anything cryptic or puzzling here; the lyrics quite simply discuss the fantasy of love using flight in some sort of magical ship as a metaphor for freedom and liberty. Since this ship is called the ship “Fantasii” and somehow makes dreams come true “right away,” it is most definitely intended to be a figment of dreams and fantasy.
Every thought is a dream, rushing by in a stream
Bringing life to the kingdom of doing
Take a ride in the sky, on our ship fantasii
All your dreams will come true, miles away
Our voices will ring together until the twelfth of never
We all, will live love forever, as one
Now, another metaphor is introduced, comparing the thought of being together to a life-giving stream.
In the next stanza, the lyrics return in a much lower harmony:
Come to see, victory in a land called fantasy
Loving life, a new decree,
Bring your mind to everlasting liberty
A short, slower version of the song’s main theme acts as a contrasting bridge which I quite appreciate as a break from the song’s otherwise overwhelming fast tempo. Before the listener has a chance to catch a break, the song swiftly accelerates back into its main theme and style, where it returns with the vocals one octave lower.
As one
Come to see, victory in a land called fantasy,
Loving life, for you and me, to behold, to your soul is ecstasy
You will find, other kind, that has been in search for you,
Many lives has brought you to
Recognize it’s your life, now in review
I absolutely love the key change that occurs right about here, followed by more metaphors to flight and freedom.
And as you stay for the play, fantasy, has in store for you,
A glowing light will see you through
It’s your day, shining day, all your dreams come true
As you glide, in your stride with the wind, as you fly away
Give a smile, from your lips, and say
I am free, yes I’m free, now I’m on my way
Come to see, victory in a land called fantasy,
Loving life, for you and me, to behold, to your soul is ecstasy
You will find, other kind, that has been in search for you,
Many lives has brought you to
Recognize it’s your life, now in review
Time to rate this song.
Lyrically, the song is a poetic and highly figurative expression of some sort of romantic fantasy. However, despite its elegance, it lacks any sort of deeper meaning; it merely projects the feeling of upbeat optimism Earth, Wind & Fire are known for. It explores no part of human nature; it contains no mysteries of life. For that, I give the song a 3/5.
In terms of instrumentation and its’ innovative usage of sound, viewed independently of EW&F’s other works, the song is a solid 5. In the song, we have plenty going on. There are three or possibly four vocal lines. The song prominently features a brass section as well as a string section in the background in some places, most notably the introduction. The electric piano chooses appropriate sounds; my only complaint is that the short piano solo elects not to use an actual acoustic grand. Of course, this set of instrumentation is the set of sounds used for literally every other Earth, Wind & Fire song, which have brought this song’s instrumental complexity down to probably a 2.
Finally, in terms of melodic and rhythmic complexity, the song is 5. The song’s many instruments all, for the most part, play independently. The song contains layers upon layers of melodies, counter-melodies, and accompaniments: if only the song’s lyrics could be the same! For those layers of unique and interesting melodies and rhythms, and because Fantasy contains enough depth for me to notice something new every time I listen, I feel this song deserves a 5.
In summary, this song takes a 4 1/3 on my scale when viewed independently of Earth, Wind, & Fire’s other works; when viewed from that standpoint, it takes a mere 3 1/3.
For the above reasons, I expect Earth, Wind & Fire to feature prominently in Kelvin Wang’s mixtape.
The Null Alephant 
May this phrase resonate eternally in the minds of EWF listeners: “moods ranging from upbeat to optimistic to upbeat and optimistic”.
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