Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My Intro To The Elements Of The Universe!, June 17, 2006
Though I know they made 3 albums before this one
with an early line up of some of the best jazz players
of the time and future jazz players even
(Hubert & Ronnie Laws)...
1973's "Head To The Sky" was my first introduction
to the elements of the universe aka Earth, Wind & Fire!
They are my all-time favorite band and this is the
album that started that love affair between them and myself!
In 1973, I was a 9 yr old kid who was developing my
own burgeoning musical gifts,
and boy, was there so many great musical
mentors from that time to follow...
Stevie was in the middle of his incredible creative
run with "Innervisions" taking the world by storm!
Donny Hathaway was at his brilliant peak with
the now iconic "Extensions Of A Man"..
( I miss Donny!)
WAR was groovin' with "Deliver The Word",
Sly Stone was bumpin' the airwaves with his
last good effort "Fresh",
a pre-mothership Funkadelic was ripping it up
and slightly freaking my little 9 yr old brain out
with their 1973 effort "Cosmic Slop",
The Isley Brothers had revamped and were begining
their incredible 70's multi-platinum streak with
"3+3"....
Man, it was truly a time of artistic giants
and the bar was set high then! (Unlike today!)
Of course I was exposed to all this and more by
my mother and older cousins who were doing their thing
at that time with the weed, wine and parties!
But even then, my musical aesthetic was way keen
and I was absorbing everything I heard at warp speed!
One day my momz brought home an album with this group of smiling faces on it,
adorned in the flower / peace regalia of the time
and it read "HEAD TO THE SKY"..
I listened intently as she put it on and the tribal thunderstorm that is the intro to "Evil" swept me up!
That was the first time I'd ever heard the instrument
that was to become an E,W&F staple in years to come..
the kalimba, and man could Maurice wail on that thing!
I loved the atmosphericness of this album!
All music was like that then, it created it's
own atmosphere and took you to a heightened place.
After the tribal funk of "Evil", my young ears
were treated to what sounded like angels ascending
from heaven as the sitar/fender rhodes intro of
"Keep Your Head To The Sky" began with
Verdine purculating underneath on bass and
Al Mackay and Johnny Graham doing their thing subtlely.
Then a 21 yr old Phillip Bailey, one of the greatest
falsetto voices ever, at the height of his gifts,
began to sing and I was transfixed!
When that angelic sounding chorus kicked in,
I felt like I had left my body!
And just when I thought I couldn't go any higher..
Philip and Jessica Cleaves, who would leave the group soon after this album was released,
chimed together like songbirds from nirvana!
That did it!...I was disciple from then on!
"Build Your Nest" was as funky as an
old batch of cabbage!
It had a good message and a young Larry Dunn
was wearing that clavinet out big time!
Then a piercing sonic interlude led to
the gospel-inflected and deeply introspective
song "The World's A Masquerade", one of my
faves to this day!
Maurice was holding church!..laying down his
story of how humanity is hypocritical & phony at times,
and Phillip and the choir was testifying in the background!
It was pure rapture to my ears then and still
gives me chills now, some 33 yrs later!
Side Two opened with the breezy jazzy-funk
of "Clover", which was great too, followed by the
latin-jazz fusion of "Zanzibar" which is like an
iliad through afro-carribean music utopia!
To say that this album and group left an
indelible impression on my pysche is an understatement!
Of course, after this one was a string of majestic
and innovative material which grooved the world
and made them the icons that they are!
But this album was my introduction to them,
and like any first love, it lingers in your memory forever!
--Enjoy---
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Early & rough in their career but still fantastic, March 5, 2000
Some may prefer EWF's more polished, radio-friendly recordings from the mid-to-late 70's, but 1973's "Head To The Sky" is one of their greatest efforts. This early in the game EWF were alerady composing angelic ballads like "World's A Masquerade", displaying their infallible skill for harmony arrangements. The opening track, "Evil" is a mysterious piece, incorporating funk guitars, latin rhythms, ghostly back-up vocals and Maurice White's ever-present kalimba, which is used here to spooky effect. "Build Your Nest" is a favorable funk jam, the ballad "Keep Your Head To The Sky" showcases Phillip Bailey's and Jessica Cleaves' wonderful falsetto voices. The last two tracks, "Clover" and "Zanzibar" incoporate funk, rock, african & latin rhythms into spacious instrumental jams that would become absent from their later records and appear only onstage.The album also features wonderful horn arrangements, all the strengths you hear on this album will be better developed on later efforts. (Also recommended, 1972's "Last Days & Time".)
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Zanzibar!, January 25, 2000
Zanzibar is one of the great extended jazz-rock numbers of the early seventies. It is on a par with the Rascal's Peaceful World and Parliment's Maggot Brain. It lies about half way between the two in intensity. At over 15 minutes, it is a departure from the rest of EWF' other music and probably alienates a number of fans and short attention span reviewers. I give the album 5 stars based on this cut. The others are more traditional soul, and are very good. EWF had not gotten into the pop stage yet.
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