The Eternal Dance

The Eternal Dance
Box set by
Earth, Wind & Fire
ReleasedSeptember 8, 1992
Recorded1971−1989
Genre
Length188:43
LabelColumbia
Producer
Earth, Wind & Fire chronology
Heritage
(1990) 		The Eternal Dance
(1992) 		The Very Best of Earth, Wind & Fire
(1992)

The Eternal Dance is a compilation album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire issued in September 1992 on Columbia Records.[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The New York Times(favorable)[3]
Entertainment Weekly(B)[4]
The Washington Post(favourable)[5]
Baltimore Sun[6]
Rolling Stone[7]
Los Angeles Daily News(favourable)[8]
Philadelphia Inquirer[9]

J.D. Considine of The Baltimore Sun declared that "though this set shows off all sides of the EWF sound, its reliance on outtakes and unreleased live material underscores just how much instrumental sparkle this crew could muster."[6] Ann Powers of The New York Times noted "a fan's attention may fade over the course of the album's four hours; but this music always meant to make memories, sounds as nice in the background as it does up close".[3] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called the box set "essential for hardcore Earth, Wind & Fire fans"[2]

Patricia Smith of The Boston Globe also placed The Eternal Dance on her lists of the top ten recordings of both 1992 and 1993.[10][11]

Track listing

Disc one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Fan the Fire"Wade Flemons, Maurice White, Don Whitehead4:58
2."Love Is Life"Wade Flemons, Maurice White, Don Whitehead5:02
3."I Think About Lovin' You"Sherry Scott5:58
4."Interlude*"Larry Dunn0:52
5."Time Is on Your Side"Roland Bautista, Maurice White, Verdine White3:39
6."Where Have All the Flowers Gone"Pete Seeger4:52
7."Power"Maurice White8:11
8."Keep Your Head to the Sky"Maurice White5:10
9."Evil"Philip Bailey, Maurice White4:58
10."Mighty Mighty"Maurice White, Verdine White3:03
11."Feelin' Blue"Kenny Altman4:25
12."Hey Girl (Interlude)*"Charles Stepney, Maurice White0:35
13."Open Our Eyes"Leon Lumkins5:06
14."Shining Star (alternate mix)*"Philip Bailey, Sonny Burke, Larry Dunn, Maurice White, Verdine White3:24
15."Happy Feelin'"Philip Bailey, Larry Dunn, Al McKay, Maurice White, Verdine White3:18
16."Reasons"Philip Bailey, Charles Stepney, Maurice White4:59
17."Shining Star (original album version)"Philip Bailey, Larry Dunn, Al McKay, Maurice White, Verdine White2:50
18."That's the Way of the World"Philip Bailey, Charles Stepney, Maurice White, Verdine White5:44
Disc two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Kalimba Story/Sing a Message to You [live]**"Maurice White, Verdine White7:23
2."Head to the Sky/Devotion [live]**"Philip Bailey, Maurice White6:28
3."Sun Goddess [live]"Jon Lind, Maurice White7:37
4."Mighty Mighty [live]*"Maurice White, Verdine White5:03
5."Interlude"Maurice White0:27
6."Can't Hide Love"Skip Scarborough4:07
7."Sing a Song"Al McKay, Maurice White3:24
8."Sunshine"Philip Bailey, Larry Dunn, Al McKay, Maurice White4:16
9."Getaway***"Peter Cor, Beloyd Taylor3:57
10."Saturday Nite"Philip Bailey, Al McKay, Maurice White4:03
11."Spirit"Larry Dunn, Maurice White3:11
12."Ponta de Areia - Brazilian Rhyme (Interlude)**"Fernando Brant, Milton Nascimento2:08
13."Fantasy"Eduardo del Barrio, Maurice White, Verdine White4:38
14."Serpentine Fire"Sonny Burke, Maurice White, Verdine White3:51
15."I'll Write a Song for You"Philip Bailey, Steve Beckmeier, Al McKay3:18
16."Be Ever Wonderful"Larry Dunn, Maurice White5:07
17."Beijo (Interlude) (a.k.a. Brazilian Rhyme)"Maurice White1:20
18."Got to Get You into My Life"John Lennon, Paul McCartney4:10
Disc three
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."September"Al McKay, Maurice White, Allee Willis3:35
2."Boogie Wonderland"Jon Lind, Allee Willis4:48
3."After the Love Has Gone"Bill Champlin, David Foster, Jay Graydon4:25
4."In the Stone"David Foster, Maurice White, Allee Willis4:25
5."Dirty (Interlude)*"Maurice White0:52
6."Let Me Talk"Philip Bailey, Larry Dunn, Ralph Johnson, Al McKay, Maurice White, Verdine White4:07
7."And Love Goes On"Larry Dunn, David Foster, Brenda Russell, Maurice White, Verdine White4:03
8."Pride"Philip Bailey, Larry Dunn, Al McKay, Maurice White, Verdine White4:11
9."Demo*"Barry Mann, Maurice White1:30
10."Let's Groove"Wayne Vaughn, Maurice White5:37
11."Wanna Be With You"Wayne Vaughn, Maurice White4:35
12."Little Girl (Interlude)*" 0:17
13."Night Dreamin'*"Wornell Jones, Maxayn Lewis2:58
14."Fall in Love With Me"Wanda Vaughn, Wayne Vaughn, Maurice White5:47
15."Magnetic"Martin Page4:20
16."System of Survival"Skylark4:59
17."Thinking of You"Wanda Vaughn, Wayne Vaughn, Maurice White4:39
18."Gotta Find Out****"Victor Hill, Bernard Spears, Billy Young5:44
19."That's the Way of the World [live]^"Charles Stepney, Maurice White, Verdine White7:36

[1]

Key
  • (*) Previously unreleased
  • (**) Portions previously unreleased
  • (***) Additional unreleased intro
  • (****) Released as B-side and international editions of Heritage
  • (^) Previously unavailable on album

Accolades

Publication Author Country Accolade[10][11] Year Rank
Boston Globe Patricia Smith U.S The Year's Top 10 Recordings 1992 3
Boston Globe Patricia Smith U.S The Year's Top 10 Recordings 1993 *

References

  1. ^ a b Earth, Wind & Fire: The Eternal Dance. Columbia Records. September 1992.
  2. ^ a b Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "Earth, Wind & Fire: The Eternal Dance". allmusic.com. Allmusic.
  3. ^ a b Powers, Ann (13 December 1992). "POP MUSIC; The Grooves. The Box. Ribbon-Ready". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Browne, David (December 11, 1992). "The Eternal Dance". ew.com. Entertainment Weekly.
  5. ^ Himes, Geoffrey (November 6, 1992). "EARTH, WIND FIRE: BIG-BAND ELEMENTS". The Washington Post.
  6. ^ a b Considine J.D. (November 29, 1992). "Compact Collections". The Baltimore Sun.
  7. ^ Considine, J D (10 December 1992). "Season of Box Sets -- The Eternal Dance by Earth Wind and Fire". Rolling Stone. No. 645–646. p. 170. ProQuest 220157977.
  8. ^ "More Boxed Sets". Observer-Reporter. Los Angeles Daily News. November 28, 1992 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ Moon, Tom (3 December 1992). "Greatest Gift Hits: A Guide to the Box Sets, Those Musical Collections That Show the Magnitude of an Artist's Work. Anthologies of Pop From Billie Holiday to Chants to Motown". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C.1. ProQuest 1839126491.
  10. ^ a b Smith, Patricia (December 17, 1992). "The Year's Top 10 Recordings". newspapers.com. The Boston Globe. p. 122.
  11. ^ a b Smith, Patricia (December 16, 1993). "The Year's Top 10 Recordings". newspapers.com. The Boston Globe. p. 140.