Customer Reviews

Last Days & Time

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

'Last Days In Time' finds Earth,Wind & Fire at a certain peak of sorts.This is the bands debut album for Columbia and also
the debut of singer Phillip Bailey in their band.Not only is his voice in peak form but EWF have obviously not quite let go of the
ensamble-style jazzy funk they'd patented from their debut on
Warner Brothers two years earlier (whitch is even rawer then THIS).That sound is most evident on the communal funk jams of
"Time Is On Your Side",the wonderful "Remember The Children" and
the brilliant instrumental workout "Power".And even while Bailey
sings a couple pop covers in "Make It With You" and "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" Earth,Wind & Fire didn't get any hits from
this album.Their sound was still far to eclectic and drew upon
too many world and jazz music elements to really get over on the
pop charts.So for a glimpse into EWF's pre-superstar days WITH
Phillip Bailey this album is a good place to go.You certainly won't find anything from it on Columbia's 1978 greatest hits
album 'The Best Of Earth,Wind & Fire' and even on more extensive
compilations these songs are often skimmed over.So for any EWF fan I'd say this album is pretty essencial.

Well, let me first say that I love EWF, but I think I'm that rare fan who actually has a preference for the early stuff [the Joe Wissert and Charles Stepney produced material on WB and Columbia] as opposed to their most successful material from the latter part of the '70s. Why? Because it's "RAWER."

This album is the first Columbia album by what was the NEW, post-Warner Bros. EWF. It was both Philip Bailey's and Jessica Cleaves' debut...along with Ralph Johnson and Larry Dunn, and also featured a couple of guys who would depart after this album (saxophonist Ronnie Laws took guitarist Roland Bautista with him; Bautista came back in the '80s). It's definitely a transitional album as the band still sounds more like the WB-version of the band than the band that became the standard-bearer in black music by the end of the '70s. That's fine with me, though.

Most of the songs are solid if not spectacular, showcasing a band in search of its identity...funky but still heavily influenced by flower power...a few rough edges here and there. If for no other reason, though, fans will want to check out the studio versions of "Remember the Children" and especially "Power". These are a couple funky, guitar driven songs that show just how much of an influence Jimi Hendrix was on black music (that's another subject, though). Roland Bautista was by far the loudest and rauchiest of all of EWF's guitarits, and these two songs are his biggest contributions to the EWF legacy.

"Power" is the centerpiece of the album, featuring 5 different sections--a kalimba intro; the main theme featuring the sax (the part that most fans are familiar with); the center section featuring the wildest guitar solo on ANY EWF album; a quiet section featuring Larry Dunn's Rhodes and Ronnie Laws' flutes; and the final restatement of the theme featuring a wild clavinet solo by Larry Dunn (followed by a kalimba outro).

As you might be able to tell, this is my favorite song on the ablum and my favorite EWF piece of all time. It shows that these guys were first rate musicians. Yeah, there were more instrumental pieces on later albums (like "Zanzibar", "Africano", "Biyo", and so forth), but "Power" is the crown jewel. It showed they could go toe-to-toe instrumentally with bands like Santana, Mandrill, and early Funkadelic.

For the record, though, I recommend the album for SERIOUS EWF fans. If you're one of those casual listeners who only knows songs like "September", "Boogie Wonderland", "Let's Groove", and "After the Love Has Gone", well...you might be turned off.

I went to a concert at the University of MD (in the mid 70s) to see EWF, Mandrill, and Stevie Wonder- the bands played in that order.
EWF, while starting the concert first, stole the show, playing "Power," "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," "Mom," to name a few- all from the Last Days and Time album. I've been a solid fan ever since! They still put on a great show. For the serious EWF fans, "Last Days and Time' is an absolute MUST to have in your collection! This is one of my favorite EWF recordings still!

The first Earth, Wind And Fire album to feature the peerless vocals of Philip Bailey, "Last Days And Time" finds the group still formulating its sound but coming up with a number of gems in the process. The genesis of their funk pop style is heard in gloriously raw form here with "Time Is On Your Side" and "Remember The Children", which benefit from some gritty rhythm guitar work and trippy horn sections. The ballads are the album's main weak point--they veer toward the soppy and precious, although the closing "Mom" manages to lift itself above the rest with a haunting melody and unusual string arrangement. The album's highlight and signature tune, however, has got to be "Power", eight minutes of sublime funk-fusion which moves through several moods and features some hot solos on the clavinet, sax and guitar. Although the ballads bring the album's rating down to three-and-a-half stars, "Last Days And Time" is most certainly recommended to those looking for raw, passionate early 70s funk/R&B played with both skill and passion.

earth,wind&fire's fourth album "last days and time"is 4 the most part a relaxed effort with the exception of three upbeat songs:"time is on your side"-which features maurice white's brilliant vocals and the group's polished horn section.the 8 minute funk workout:"power"which quietly begins with maurice's afrikan thumb instrument called the kalimba and from there this instrumental cooks with ronald laws's tenor saxophone and the rest of the band's jazzfunk assault."remember the children"is the funkiest of the three upbeat songs.it starts off immediately with horns blasting at full force-including maurice and phillip's onetwo vocal punch addressing the serious issue concerning young children."last days and time"is the first earth,wind and fire album 2 include musical interludes in between songs.

on the track "they don't see"-which addresses spiritual concerns has a nice warm sound,and sincerity 2 it."make it with you" is a nice remake of a song originally recorded by bread.the final three songs on the album are ballads.the beautiful "where have all the flowers gone"starts off with the sound of children playing and it's warm musical beginnings sets the tone nicely.phillip bailey's heartfelt vocal about a world that loses touch with humanity.the song also has a street corner chorus and ends with maurice's pained voice when he states:'we're killing each other cause you ain't got time for your brother...we're living in our last days and time'

however,my favorite ballad of the album is the very beautiful and elegant-"i'd rather have you" which
features the beautiful vocal stylings of jessica cleaves.her voice on this beautiful song is out of this world.the beautiful lines in which she sings:'scheming on wealth isn't my thing,i'd rather have you'/'even the sun is nothing to me,i'd rather have you'...this is a very beautiful lovesong.what else can be said about this elegant song as sung by jessica?nuff said.

the final song called "mom" which 2 me is the most beautiful mother's day song ever recorded.a tender guitar solo begins the song in of which maurice's sincere vocals add 2 the song's calming beauty of which maurice sings:"and in my life i'll always love her/and in my life i'll always care".../i dedicated this song 2 my own mother.this IS the ultimate song 4 mothers everywhere.a beauty of a song with larry dunn's incredible keyboard solo.the song ends where it started with the tender guitar solo and mr. dunn's keyboard fade.earth,wind&fire's "last days and time"was released in the spring or summer of 1972.i was in the third grade when this album was released.the timing couldn't have been more perfect to be a young kid around the time of the beginnings of a great legendary band...

This is the album were they began going down the path, with the majority of the memebers that we would come to know as the Mighty Elements. This album is raw, funky & progressive with a certain class and sophistication that only the Elements could pull off. The band doesn't hold back in the least, nasty guitar and bass, the usual amazing vocals and one of the, if not the, greatest instrumental offerings ever in the song "Power" composed by Maurice White. That song is truly a gift from above brought down by Maurice and given to us the listener for over 8 mintues of pure music composition mastery.

Although, this is this is Earth, Wind and Fire's 3rd album by that name, this was "New Frontier" of sorts for the band. They were making their first album on their new label, Columbia Records, only 2 of the original members are left at this point, Maurice and his brother, Verdine on bass with the only other hold over from their Warner Brothers days being their great producer, Joseph Wissert. But one of the many things this album does is it introduces us to Larry Dunn, Phillip Bailey & Ralph Johnson all of whom would form the foundation of greatness that was about to define the Elements as the greatest band ever and take us through what's become known as their classical period!

Some of my personal favorites on the record are the cover to "Where Have the Flowers Gone" where we get our 1st taste of Phillip Bailey's incredible vocals. I also love "Time is on Your Side", "What About the Children" both of which are down home,raw funk that never lets up from the first note to the last. "Mom" is a wonderful tribute to mothers everywhere and details in a beautiful and majestic fashion exactly what the feminine aspect truly gives if only received. This song, along with "Power", shows off the sophistication I spoke of earlier that this band possessed and truly is one of their more under appreciated classics.

The other thing this album showcases is Maurice White's & Joe Wissert's incredible songwriting, musicianship & production skills. This is probably their "hardest" overall album and the one that truly started the ball rolling towards the tremendous success they were about to enjoy as artists and performers. Columbia Records was fully behind the growth of this band unlike Warner Bros. and it translated into better marketing and support for both their studio and live material. This album is a historic one of sorts because the foundation is now laid for the Elements Of The Universe.

This album started it all for me as an Earth Wind & Fire fan. They played exciting rhythums in "Power" sang meaninful songs like "mom" "Where have all the Flowers Gone"and in this collection still had a female presents in Jessica Cleaves I had to have it again. It still is one of their greatest and that saying a lot for the elements.

I first heard this album shortly after it came out in 1972. I was young but there was definitely something different about this group. The original album jacket had various black and white photos of the group performing, rehearsing and apparently just hanging out. EWF impresses with all the aforementioned tracks like "Power", "They don't see" "Where Have All The Flowers Gone", etc., but unlike many I like the ballads too. In fact, what I miss on some of the later EWF albums is the deep sensual voice of Jessica Cleaves who showcases her wide range on "I' Rather Have You"; of course they will balance her loss to a great extent by stepping up the musicianship especially on cuts like "Sun Goddess" with Ramsey Lewis. But This album is a must have for any one who wants to experience the evolution of R&B through one of its greatest success stories.

To me (and I'm sure many would disagree), this is the best album EWF put out. Funkmeister says it's Phillip Bailey's debut, but I think this was when Jessica Cleaves, formerly of Friends of Distinction, was with the group (somebody correct me if I'm wrong).

Overall, I'd say 1972's "Last Days & Time" was a pretty
decent offering. I didn't really get into E, W & F until
1973's "Head To The Sky" after they made the final personel
changes which would bring them into their greatest
creative period and success from 1973-1982.
On this album, their first with Columbia Records,
they were still searching for their indentity and
unique niche. This is a very raw and tribal funky
jazz rock fusion sound with echoes of smoother
pop-influenced aspirations which they would sharpen
to a fine point within the next few years with
the help of the late great Charles Stepney and later
others like David Foster, Bill Champlain, and other
writers and production assistants.
This was the afrocentric, fist-raising but still
universal, afro & platform shoe-wearing, semi-glitter,
black hippyesque E,W & F, who played the black college
circuit and opened up shows for the likes of contemporaries
like Funkadelic, Mandrill, WAR, Rare Earth, New Birth,
Curtis Mayfield, Sly & The Family Stone, etc., and who
had also just a year before, after an uneventful 1970-71
stint with Warner Brothers Records, created the soundtrack
(basically for nothing!) to the 70's black cinema classic
"Sweet Sweetback's Baddass Song"!!
(A Little known fact to look up!)

This was also the emergence of some pivotal young band
members who would shape their future sound considerably:
Then 21 yr old Philip Bailey, whose beautiful & powerful
falsetto is very unpolished on this album, then 20 yr old
Larry Dunn, who Bailey brought to Maurice White's attention
as an amazing young keyboard player and one of his homeboys
from Denver, Colorado. Also young soprano sax and flutist
Andrew Woolfolk hailed from Denver and was brought in on
Bailey's recomendation. Then there was Al Mckay, a brilliant guitarist
who was probably more accomplished than all the
other band members besides Maurice White.
He had played behind established stars of the day like
The Watts 103rd Street Band, Issac Hayes, Johnnie Taylor
and many others. He would replace early guitarist
Roland Bautista, who would return years later for a
re-tooled and scaled down version of the band in the 80's.
Less pivotal to their sound, but just as brilliant in their musicanship
were other newcomers like guitarist Johnny Graham
(no relation to Larry),who along with Phillip, Larry,
Andrew and Verdine, were fresh out of college when they
joined and infused Maurice White's vision for E, W & F
with that youthful energy and openess!
There were also two female voices, Sherry Scott
of Philadelphia International Records fame.
(Y'all remember Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes smooth
jam "I Hope That We Can Be Together Soon"??..that was her
dueting with Teddy Pendergrass.)
Also, there was the rich and sultry voice of
Jessica Cleaves, who was a member of the late
60's/early 70's soul-pop vocal group "Friends Of Distinction".
After leaving "Friends" abruptly in mid '72, she joined
E, W &F briefly to fill in for Scott, who was doing things
between with P.I.R. and E, W & F.
Jessica would eventually leave E, W & F just as abruptly
a year later in mid '73, when her drug habit and less
than clean living & questionably spiritual lifestyle
clashed with E, W & F's then devoutly spiritual, non-pork
eating, mostly vegan, meditating, communal lifestyle.
Sherry Scott is singing lead on "I'd Rather Have You"
while Jessica's siren-like voice can be heard blending
with Phillip's falsetto throughout this album as well
as on "Head To The Sky". After Scott and Cleaves left,
Maurice decided not to replace them.
With Phillip's incredible 4 octave vocal range as well
as his own amazing baritone-tenor-falsetto and a few of
the other members tenor/falsettos, he decided that they
had the vocals pretty much covered! (-:
Younger brother and a brilliant Chicago session drummer
in his own right, Fred White, who had been playing the
likes of Donny Hathaway and Curtis Mayfield,
joined the band full time in 1973 along with the
equally adept drummer-percussionist Ralph Johnson,
and the band was then set "In The Stone" for the next 9 years!

The gems that still hold up on this album are:
"Time Is On Your Side", "They Don't See",
"Remember The Children", and "Mom".
The instrumental "Power" is cool on here and
worked for it's time, but I prefer it's live
infusion with 1975's "Africano", later featured
on "Gratitude" as the "Africano/Power Medley"!!
That version rocked!
As for the rest of this album, it's kind of dated and
doesn't hold up. They cover Bread's "Make It With You"
and Pete Seeger's folk-pop anti-war standard
"Where Have All The Flowers Gone" kind of lacklusterly
to me, but the song "I'd Rather Have You" is cool in
that early 70's soulful-pop Fifth Dimension meets
The Carpenters kind of way! (-:
But this album is essential in the musical evolution
of what E, W & F would become later on in the 70's,
when they ruled R&B and Pop music along with
the likes Stevie Wonder, and could fill stadiums and
large arenas all over the world!
Their music and elaborate stage shows were the
stuff of legend! (-: Though this album was one I
discovered and explored much later on (around 1980)
after E, W & F had been successful for awhile,
I think it's definitely worth a listen.
The cover art was quite innovative for it's time
and still catches the eye!