That's the Way of the World

That's the Way of the World
Soundtrack album by Earth, Wind & Fire
Released March 15, 1975
Recorded September 16, 1974 - October 2, 1974, Caribou Ranch (Nederland, CO); Sunset Sound (Los Angeles, CA); Hollywood Sound Recorders (Hollywood, CA); The Burbank Studios (Burbank, CA).
Genre R&B, soul, funk
Length 38:23
Label Columbia
Legacy (1999 reissue)
Producer Maurice White, Charles Stepney
Earth, Wind & Fire chronology
Another Time
(1974)Another Time1974		 That's the Way of the World
(1975)		 Gratitude
(1975)Gratitude1975
Singles from That's the Way of the World
  1. "Shining Star"
    Released: January 21, 1975
  2. "That's the Way of the World"
    Released: June 17, 1975

That's the Way of the World is the sixth studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire, released on March 15, 1975 by Columbia Records. It was also the soundtrack for a 1975 motion picture of the same name which featured several of the band members in cameo roles. Included on the album was the single "Shining Star", which was a #1 U.S. pop and R&B hit. Another popular single was the title track, which reached #12 on the pop chart. The album spent three weeks atop the Billboard Pop Albums Charts, five nonconsecutive weeks atop the Soul Albums chart.[1][2]

That's the Way of the World was also the third best-selling pop album and the number one best-selling R&B album of 1975 respectively and has been certified triple platinum in the U.S by the RIAA.[3][4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[5]
Billboard(favorable)[6]
Robert ChristgauB+[7]
MusicHound[8]
Rolling Stone(favorable)[9]
Vibe(favorable)[10]
Virgin Encyclopedia[11]
The Guardian(favorable)[12]
Cashbox(favourable)[13]
BBC(favourable)[14]

The album received generally positive reviews from critics. Billboard described the album as "a very tightly produced and performed package" and added in their review that "EW&F has some of the finest musicians in any band and the compositions are all top-notch".[6] Music critic Robert Christgau noted that on the album "this unit can do so many things it qualifies as the one-man band of black music even though it has nine members".[7] That's the Way of the World has also been described by Alex Henderson of Allmusic as and "one of the strongest albums of the 1970s" and "EWF's crowning achievement".[5]

That's the Way of the World was nominated in 1975 and 1976 for an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and also won a Rock Music Award in the category of Best Soul Album.[15][16]

Track listing

Original release (33280)[17]

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Shining Star"Philip Bailey, Larry Dunn, Maurice White2:50
2."That's the Way of the World"Charles Stepney, Verdine White, M. White5:45
3."Happy Feelin'"Al McKay, V. White, P. Bailey, L. Dunn, M. White3:35
4."All About Love"L. Dunn, M. White6:35
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."Yearnin' Learnin'"P. Bailey, C. Stepney, M. White3:39
6."Reasons"P. Bailey, C. Stepney, M. White4:59
7."Africano"L. Dunn, M. White5:09
8."See the Light"Louise Anglin, P. Bailey, L. Dunn6:18

Covers and samples

"Reasons," the album's breakout love ballad, has been covered by Stanley Turrentine, Ramsey Lewis, Maxi Priest and other artists.[19] "Reasons" has also been sampled by Master P on Intro/17 on his album 99 Ways to Die.[20] In 1988, saxophonist Najee covered the song from his album Day by Day.[21] In 1999, Groove Armada sampled the drum intro of "Happy Feelin'" for their song I See You Baby.[22]

Personnel

Credits are adapted from Allmusic[5] and the album’s Liner Notes[17][18]

Production

  • Producer – Maurice White (Original), Leo Sacks (Reissue)
  • Co-producer – Charles Stepney (Original)
  • Recording Engineer – George Massenburg (1-8), Curt Wittig (8)
  • Mixing – George Massenburg (1-8), Maurice White (9-13), Paul Klingberg (9-13), Leo Sacks (9-13)
  • Mixed at Hollywood Sound Recorders (Hollywood, CA).
  • Mastered at Kendun Recorders (Burbank, CA).
  • Art Direction – Howard Fritzen
  • Design – Stephen Newman and Shusei Nagaoka
  • Photography – Norman Seeff
  • Musical Arrangements – Earth, Wind & Fire and Charles Stepney

Charts

Album - Billboard
Year Chart Position
1975 Pop Albums 1
Black Albums
Singles – Billboard
Year Single Chart Position
1975 "Africano" Disco Singles 1
"Happy Feelin'" Disco Singles
"Shining Star" Black Singles
Pop Singles
"That's the Way of the World" Black Singles 5
Pop Singles 12

Accolades

The information regarding accolades attributed to That's the Way of the World is adapted from AcclaimedMusic.net,Soultracks.com and www.rockhall.com.[23][24][25]

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Pause & Play U.S. Albums Inducted into a Time Capsule, One Album per Week 2008 *
The Recording Academy Grammy Hall of Fame Albums and Songs 2004 *
Robert Dimery 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005 *
Rolling Stone The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 2003 493
Vibe Magazine 51 Albums representing a Generation, a Sound and a Movement 2004 *
Rickey Vincent Five Star Albums from "FUNK: The MUSIC, the PEOPLE, and the RHYTHM *
National Association of Recording Merchandisers and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Definitive 200 2007 187
Soultracks.com The Greatest Soul albums of the 1970s 2009 1
(*) designates lists that are unordered.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hogan, Ed. "Maurice White - Biography". allmusic.com. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
  2. ↑ "RIAA Certification for That's the Way of the World". riaa.com. Archived from the original on 2015-10-16.
  3. ↑ Billboard. com - Top Billboard 200 Albums of 1975
  4. ↑ ^ Billboard. com - Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums of 1975
  5. 1 2 3 4 Henderson, Alex. "Earth, Wind & Fire: That's the Way of the World". allmusic.com.
  6. 1 2 Album Reviews. Billboard Magazine. March 8, 1975. p. 84.
  7. 1 2 Christgau, Robert. "Earth, Wind & Fire: That's the Way of the World". robertchristgau.com.
  8. ↑ Holtje, Steve (1996). Earth, Wind & Fire: That's The Way Of The World. Musichound Rock: The Essential Album Guide.
  9. ↑ Fletcher, G. (2011). "Earth, Wind & Fire: That's The Way Of The World : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on May 4, 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  10. ↑ "Vibe - Google Bücher". books.google.com. 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  11. ↑ "Acclaimed Music - That's the Way of the World". Acclaimed Music. 2010. Archived from the original on 2011-01-17. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  12. ↑ "Old music: Earth, Wind & Fire – That's the Way of the World". theguardian.com.
  13. ↑ Cashbox Album Reviews. Cashbox Magazine. March 8, 1975. p. 36.
  14. ↑ Easlea, D. (2010). "Earth, Wind & Fire That's the Way of the World Review". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  15. ↑ earthwindandfire.com/bio_awards Archived 2009-03-07 at the Wayback Machine.
  16. ↑ "Big night for rockers". The Leader - Post. 1975. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  17. 1 2 Earth, Wind & Fire. “That’s the Way of the World” (Album Notes). Columbia. 1975.
  18. 1 2 Earth, Wind & Fire: "That’s the Way of the World" (Remastered). Columbia / Legacy. 1999.
  19. ↑ Covers of Reasons on allmusic.com
  20. ↑ Samples of Reasons on samplespot.com Archived 2011-10-06 at the Wayback Machine.
  21. ↑ "Day by Day overview". Allmusic.com.
  22. ↑ "I See You Baby" sample of "Happy Feelin'" at Whosampled.com
  23. ↑ "Acclaimed Music - That's The Way Of The World". Archived from the original on 2008-07-06. Retrieved 2009-02-17.
  24. ↑ Definitive 200 - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Archived April 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  25. ↑ The Greatest Albums of the 70s on soultracks.com
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