Earth, Wind & Fire/Netherlands 1979

This is what everyone has been waiting for!!! This monster band created a new pop music by fusing funk, R&B/soul, jazz, Africa, Brazil, etc., and released their historic masterpiece “Sun God” followed by “September” and “Best of” with the strongest horns, Phoenix, and this is the divine and astonishing live performance from their heyday!!! From the world tour with the super technical horn section Phoenix Horns, the performance at Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands on March 14, 1979 has been recorded in full, including the encore “September”, over two hours, in amazing high quality stereo sound, carefully mastered by the label from the legendary Taper’s treasured master tapes!!! First, please take a look at this set list. Including the masterpiece “Space Fantasy” and most of the numbers included in “Sun God”, the album is a furious development, including hit songs from the mid-70s onwards, rare solo corners by each member, and the encore “September”. Earth was a miracle of an Afro-American band and was the best band ever. Led by the prelude of the leader Maurice (who still exists today) playing kalimba and African piano, “Jupiter” starts with that intro of raging horns, and it’s so cool that I almost choked on my breath. It is followed by the pop “Shining Star”, the mellow “Love’s Holiday”, and the long-awaited “Space Fantasy” with Maurice and Philip’s twin lead vocals that start with that impressive intro. Sandwiched between “Saturday Night,” the album features the soulful “Be Ever Wonderful,” featuring Maurice’s majestic velvet voice, and the huge hits “That’s the Way of the World” and “Magic Mind.” The album then launches into the highlight of the first half, “Got to Get You into My Life,” which features a stunning horn section from the intro, featuring a perfectly coordinated, fast-paced phrase that sounds like a tongue twister that the Phoenix Horns cannot imitate, which was used as a short interlude on the studio album. The “Brazilian Aftertaste” is an absolutely amazing song. The second half of the show began with the groovy and difficult “Runnin’,” which proved the incredible talent of the band, including the horns, followed by solo sections featuring each member, including percussion by Ralph and Maurice, trumpet and saxophone by Michael and Don of Phoenix, Larry’s keyboards, Fred’s drums, and Verdin’s bass, which has become a hot topic on stage for its flashy performances. Then there was the “Song of Sacred Love,” which we can listen to in detail, “Reasons,” where Philip’s astonishing high notes seem to reach the heavens, and then “Sing a Song,” “Warriors of the Sun,” which opens “Sun God,” and “Getaway,” all in a non-stop, furious performance. And for the encore, the audience was turned into a melting pot of excitement, and the final song was “September”… The strongest twin lead vocals of Maurice and Philip, Larry’s keyboard with extraordinary skills and sense, the best rhythm (cutting) guitar on par with Ray Parker Jr., the master Al, Johnny’s tasteful lead guitar dramatically crying, Fred and Verdin’s rhythm section, who are weak in the knees due to the outstanding combination because they are brothers, and the percussion section that colors the rhythm in a variety of ways. This album perfectly captures the heyday of Earth, Wind & Fire with the Phoenix Horns, a band with outstanding talent among bands of their kind, and a miracle of 20th century music that shines even more brightly in a live performance; it’s a wonderful performance that cannot be expressed in words and for which I sincerely thank God; you can’t talk about 70’s music without listening to this; I’m not exaggerating when I say this!!! Live at Ahoy,Rotterdam,Netherlands March.14.1979 EX-AUD 2018 Original Remaster 120 min Disc-1 1. Biyo 2. Jupiter 3. Shining Star 4. Love’s Holiday 5. Fantasy 6. Saturday Nite 7. Be Ever Wonderful 8. That’s the Way of the World 9. Magic Mind 10. Horn Section Introduction – Brazilian Rhyme 11. Got to Get You into My Life Disc-2 1. Runnin’ 2. Percussion Solo 3. Trumpet Solo 4. Saxophone Solo 5. Keyboards Solo 6. Drum Solo 7. Bass Solo 8. I’ll Write a Song for You 9. Reasons 10. Sing a Song 11. Srpentine Fire 12. Getaway – encore 13. September Maurice White – Lead Vocals,Percussion Phillip Balley – Lead Vocals, Percussion Larry Dunn – Keyboards, Piano Al McKay – Guitar Johnny Graham – Guitar Andrew Woolfolk – Saxophone Verdine White – Bass Fred White – Drums Ralph Johnson – Percussion, Vocals with Phenix Horns