Touch the World

Earth Wind & Fire

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: October 1987
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000DS42
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #149,153 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. System of Survival

2. Evil Roy

3. Thinking of You

4. You and I

5. Musical Interlude: New Horizons

6. Money Tight

7. Every Now and Then

8. Touch the World

9. Here Today and Gone Tomorrow

10. Victim of the Modern Heart

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars SECOND WIND (3.5 Stars), December 1, 2004

By	Christopher Williams (Syracuse, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When life deals you lemons, you make lemonade. After the tremendous failure of The Fire's 1983 cosmic voyage, Electric Universe, the legendary band came crashing down to Earth. After a four-year hiatus and a few solo efforts, a reformed EW&F picked up the pieces and released Touch The World, which I consider to be their "down to Earth" album.

Just the fact that the group was willing to come back was enough to make me smile, but how is the album??? Well, I know you want to hear that all the original members came back with their instruments cocked and ready, and just blew the roof off the joint, but let's be real. Those Phenix Horns don't work cheap, and hey, wouldn't a drum machine be more economically sound than dragging Ralph Johnson back into the studio? No, the synthetics that dominated the last album are still there, but wait a minute. This actually sounds like R&B! Also, the album has a much more street feel than ever before, with much attitude and plenty of "boom-bap" in almost every cut. The joints to cue up here are "System Of Survival", which challenges everyday stress with dance; "Evil Roy", for those cats that stay doin' nuthin'; "Thinking Of You", another slick R&B cut; and "Touch The World", which features the Hawkins Family and is the first gospel joint from this group since "In The Stone" off their '79 album, I Am. This album stands out because of its era-appropriateness at the time of release.

No song on this album is truly wack, but the album does have its faults. One being the lost chemistry between Maurice and Phillip, possibly due to the already seasoned solo career of Phillip Bailey. Another being that there are virtually NO live instruments outside of synthesizers. Andrew Woolfolk saxes it up on "New Horizons", but then he's ghost. The group did an excellent job in redefining themselves, but even with only 5 members, you know there is just too much talent there for this to be the best they can offer. These negatives are, however, outweighed by many positives: Not only did this album put EW&F back on the map to gold status, but it also brought them back to their core R&B audience, and most importantly, Earthly subject matter. Overall, this is a trump tight budget album that brought a glimmer of hope to Earth Wind's future and truly touched the world.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars touch the world, February 28, 2003

By	davey d (stone mountain, ga United States) - See all my reviews

Touch the world. Maurice & the boyz definitely put it down on this one. Not celebrated as previous releases however,this production imparta EWF capability to stay in stride with the times. System of Survival & Thinking of You, fortifies the standard we've come to expect from EWF. The remaining tracks provide a smooth variety that should nuture the musical appetite of any EWF enthusiast. This is one you must have in your EWF collection.

5.0 out of 5 stars EWF's MOST UNDERRATED ALBUM - A MASTERPIECE, September 9, 2007

By	OBSERVER (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

No EWF collection would be complete without "Touch The World." Often Described as a "comeback" album it is nothing of the sort. This work shows the true genius and mastery of music and lyrics that made EWF legendary from the funky, danceable and yes, politically relevant "System of Survival"to the hopelessly romantic "Every Now And Then" you will find something to love on each track of this wonderful album. So do not believe the rumors that this is some kind of "sub-EWF work." It is big, bad, bold and able to stand up to the best of the band's work.