I have got to get around to reviewing this awesome, awesome double album, but until I do you can take my word for it that its the instrumental (and vocal) bomb.

Teleportive, transcendent and timeless. I must say that these are the words that come to mind when I think of this group, and particularly this album, one of my all time favorites.

From the very introduction of Earth, Wind and Fire (EWF) to the stage by MC Perry Jones, the feel of this live musical outing is very tangibly real, present and piercing. It doesn’t always have the same affect on me all the time, but the times when it has its most powerful affect, it’s unrelenting. I still can’t believe that the music was actually recorded live. In fact, due to their live stage energy, I’ve purchased most of the live DVD concerts of Earth, Wind and Fire. But ironically, I’ve not played a single one for lack of an ideal sitting room to play them as loud as I’d like to in order to truly enjoy them. So, instead, I’ve not even watched a single frame of any of the 3 or 4 DVD’s, except "Shining Star - The Origin of Earth, Wind and Fire", a retrospective, which I greatly recommend.

The genius of this group is easy to appreciate; no single act – as far as I know – has combined uplifting, spiritual messages in as upbeat and as harmonically sound a package as has the great Earth Wind and Fire.

“Stop lookin’ what’s behind you, fame ain’t never go find you, right on... Yearn and Learn’, that’s what you do” posits the #3 track: “Yearnin’ Learnin’”. What simpler and universal message could be more apt to the common person who just wants to find a way to their personal success in life, however complex or simple that may be.

As I write these words, re-listening to the instant classic, “Devotion” I find myself still finding the improbability of the velvety soft, airborne vocals of Phillip Bailey being employed to express the importance of “blessing the children” in a “mission to bring y’all a melody, to reinforce sweet sweet harmony”. As one of the “Voices” of the period in his prime, there were certainly a multitude of more selfish concepts with which his voice could have illuminated for the masses and yet the public had the good fortune of getting greatness in the interest of goodwill and the betterment of man.

The “Sun Goddess” collaboration with Ramsey Lewis is a record that has lent itself to many near accidents for me while driving. “Pwayoooh… pwop, pwop, Pwayoooh“. At minute 1:55, it becomes clear to the uninitiated, that there is a voice in the midst of the vocals that seems to get to another place - to wrap the surrounding harmonies into and around itself - that voice again, being Mr. Bailey.

Everyone’s immediate favorite, “Reasons” gives everyone a reason to want to gear up their two step and ask the first available partner to the dance floor. That’s if the bride isn’t currently preoccupied. Reasons, as you probably already know, is a wedding reception classic, which is ironic because even its author, Bailey, will confide its theme is of deceit and infidelity. But no one really cares once Don Myron starts wailing on that alto horn at 4:27. “He plays so beautiful, don’t you agree?”

“Shining Star“, is among the many ETW records that showcases the dynamic duoism of Maurice White and Phillip Bailey’s voices. Using a sporting analogy, each of them represents a franchise player, capable of carrying the team. Together, they are one of music’s great vocal tandems, each with their old unique brilliance (Maurice’s riff at Shining Star’s 3:31 comes to mind) yet neither as satisfying as the emergent greatness achieved by their combination.

The ETW horns become true co-stars of “Sing a Song”, the buoyant, up tempo positive themed anthem. “...When you feel down and out, sing a song...”. Who would disagree? But it’s so much more fun with the EWF horns blaring in sonic abandon.

“Celebrate“ is short. At only 3:06 minutes, it’s so short as to be a freebie. But it’s also an illustration of the style of my White-Bailey tandem - here, always culminating in the Bailey-sung lyrics: “… soon we’ll be movin’ on”. This record also demonstrates White’s penchant for his brilliant, often jazzy, multi-octave, nasal delivery that so complements Bailey’s vocal re-entry throughout their music (though here at 0:41).

And then we come to “Can’t Hide Love“. This song clearly puts all of the working parts of ETW together to make it the classic it is. Let’s see: there’s White’s peerless bass, this time delivered in a staccato fashion, followed in predictable succession by a wide open-spaced, Bailey falsetto at the chorus. There are the crisp horns, which, again, co-star as lead vocals. There’s the poignant, braggadocios lyrics delivered dead-on by White, which cause an intellectual double take in anyone whose ever been a consenting adult. Verdine Whites’ tight bass line holds this thing all up from the bottom. And to end it all, Phillip leads the harmonies, slowly, but unerringly, into the low stratosphere, but still within audible range.

Where do I start with this congenital vocal genius?  I'll start by saying I am probably one of this man's die hard fans of his earliest work, but like many have been unable to divorce the man from the public image.  Thats unfortunate but its true.

With that said, Michael could not not appear on my Top 10 list because at one time in my life I looked in the mirror and saw Michael.  I wanted to be like Mike. When I opened my mouth to be like him though, sounds ushered from my mouth that indicated to me that perhaps I should stick to dancing like Mike only.

Michael's tonal quality in his early recordings was straight from heaven.  The power and control riveted women of all ages.  Probably lost in all of the pop success though was the biriliant arrangements of "The Love You Save" which Berry Gordy rightfully proclaimed as one of Motown's best ever and the simple but timeless "I'll Be There" which any music lover could probably name in just two notes.

Michael's later fortunate twist of fate was that his voice became as unique and charismatic (if not more) than the fine instrument it was as a child, giving some of his early adult work like "Rock With You" immediate acceptability and timelessness which is elusive for former child stars.  This special collection captures the broad range of Michael with perhaps a biased concentration toward the latter solo artist at the expense of the prococious genius, but for the convenience of having this much of the work together, its worth the period bias.