Open Our Eyes

Open Our Eyes
Studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire
Released March 25, 1974
Recorded August 1973, Caribou Ranch
Nederland, Colorado, U.S.
Genre Soul, funk, jazz
Length 39:52
Label Columbia/Legacy
Producer Maurice White
Joe Wissert
Charles Stepney
Earth, Wind & Fire chronology
Head to the Sky
(1973)Head to the Sky1973		 Open Our Eyes
(1974)		 Another Time
(1974)Another Time1974
Singles from Open Your Eyes
  1. "Mighty Mighty"
    Released: February 1, 1974
  2. "Kalimba Story"
    Released: June 14, 1974
  3. "Devotion"
    Released: September 7, 1974

Open Our Eyes is the fifth studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire, released on March 25, 1974 on Columbia Records. The album went to number one on the R&B Charts and number 15 on the Pop Charts. Open Our Eyes contained the Billboard charting singles, "Mighty Mighty" (R&B #4, Pop #29), "Devotion" (R&B #23, Pop #33) and "Kalimba Story" (R&B #6, Pop #55).[1] The album was made available in a digitally remastered version in 2001, which includes 4 previously unreleased bonus tracks.[2] Open Our Eyes has been certified platinum in the US by the RIAA.[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Blender
PopMatters(favourable) [5]
Rolling Stone(favorable)[6]
Warr.org[7]
Robert ChristgauA− [8]

Rolling Stone calls Open Our Eyes a "cheerful" LP with lots of "positive elements". Robert Christgau also describes the album as a complete "tour de force".[6][8]

Track listing

Original release

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Mighty Mighty"Maurice White, Verdine White3:03
2."Devotion"M. White, Philip Bailey4:50
3."Fair But So Uncool"Rick Giles, Charles Stepney3:39
4."Feelin' Blue"Kenny Altman4:28
5."Kalimba Story"M. White, V. White4:03
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Drum Song"M. White5:10
7."Tee Nine Chee Bit"M. White, C. Stepney, P. Bailey3:45
8."Spasmodic Movements"Eddie Harris1:50
9."Rabbit Seed"M. White0:31
10."Caribou"C. Stepney, R. Giles3:25
11."Open Our Eyes"Leon Lumpkins5:06

[9]

2001 Reissue

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Mighty Mighty"Maurice White, Verdine White3:03
2."Devotion"M. White, Philip Bailey4:50
3."Fair But So Uncool"M. White, Rick Giles, Charles Stepney3:39
4."Feelin' Blue"Kenny Altman4:28
5."Kalimba Story"M. White, V. White4:03
6."Drum Song"M. White5:10
7."Tee Nine Chee Bit"M. White, C. Stepney, P. Bailey3:45
8."Spasmodic Movements"Eddie Harris1:50
9."Rabbit Seed"M. White0:31
10."Caribou"C. Stepney, R. Giles3:25
11."Open Our Eyes"Leon Lumpkins5:06
12."Ain't No Harm To Moan (Slave Song)"M. White, Larry Dunn5:21
13."Fair But So Uncool (Walkin' In N'Awlins Mix)"C. Stepney, R. Giles, M. White3:37
14."Step's Tune"M. White, C. Stepney2:33
15."Dreams"M. White, C. Stepney, L. Dunn3:23

[4][10]

Personnel

Credits are adapted from Allmusic[4] and the album's liner notes.[9][10]

Production

  • Earth, Wind & Fire - Musical arrangements
  • Maurice White - Producer (Original recording), Audio Mixing (12-15)
  • Bruce Botnick - Recording Engineer, Remix
  • Paul Klingberg - Audio Mixing (12-15)
  • Leo Sacks - Producer (Reissue), Audio Mixing (12-15)
  • Charles Stepney - Associate Producer (Original recording), Musical arrangements
  • Joe Wissert - Producer (Original recording)

Charts

Album – Billboard
Year Chart Position
1974 Black Albums 1
Pop Albums 15
Singles – Billboard
Year Single Chart Position
1974 "Devotion" Black Singles 23
Pop Singles 33
"Kalimba Story" Black Singles 6
Pop Singles 55
"Mighty Mighty" Black Singles 4
Pop Singles 29

See also

References

  1. ↑ Open Our Eyes - Charts on Allmusic.com
  2. ↑ Open Our Eyes on Allmusic.com
  3. ↑ RIAA Certification for Open Our Eyes Archived 2015-10-16 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. 1 2 3 Henderson, A. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Open Our Eyes". allmusic.com.
  5. ↑ Warner, S. (2011). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Open Our Eyes / Spirit < PopMatters". popmatters.com. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  6. 1 2 Emerson, Ken (May 9, 1974). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Open Our Eyes". rollingstone.com.
  7. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire". warr.org. 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  8. 1 2 Christgau, R. (2011). "Robert Christgau: Album: Earth, Wind & Fire: Open Our Eyes". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  9. 1 2 Earth, Wind & Fire. “Open Our Eyes” (Album Notes). Columbia. 1974.
  10. 1 2 Earth, Wind & Fire. “Open Our Eyes” (Remastered). Legacy’s Rhythm Soul Series. Columbia / Legacy. 2001.
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