LP Review: All 'n All
Released: 1977
LP Charts: #1 R&B (9 weeks), #3 pop
On my album review for Spirit (A), I wrote that Earth, Wind & Fire had reached the musical mountaintop. I stand by those words. Spirit is my favorite album by EWF, but I think it’s fair to say that All ‘n All finds the group STILL on the mountaintop.
This was their first album since 1973’s Head to the Sky (B-) to not feature any production or arrangement from Charles Stepney, who died during the recording of Spirit. That means Maurice White was completely on his own to handle this album’s production and he does a masterful job keeping the band tight and focused.
Side 1
If you love tangos and cowbell, “Serpentine Fire” (#1 R&B, #13 pop) is the song for you. Spending seven weeks atop the R&B singles chart, it was proclaimed by Billboard as the biggest R&B hit of 1977. Probably the only song about a mystical fire snake to hold such an honor.
And if its weirdo lyrics weren’t weirdo enough for you, then the ballad “Fantasy” (#12 R&B, #32 pop) should satisfy your aspiration for strange lyrics. Written by Maurice, Verdine White, and Eddie del Barrio, “Fantasy” includes such lines as:
Take a ride in the sky
On our ship, Fantasii
All your dreams will come true right away
and
You will find
Other kind
That has been in search of you
Many lives has brought you to
Recognize, it's your life now in review
You’ll be unsurprised to learn that this song was influenced by Maurice watching Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Great movie, by the way.
A powerhouse of horn-driven funk, “Jupiter” follows up “Fantasy” and it too was clearly inspired by the aforementioned Steven Spielberg film. I mean, just look at these lyrics!
Searching in the sky one night, while looking for the moon
I viewed a mighty light approaching in a zoom
Need was there to tell someone of my discovery
Fifteen seconds later, a light appeared in front of me
To my surprise, there stood a man with age and mystery
His name was Jupiter and came to visit meThe name is Jupiter, from the galaxy
I came to meet you, to make you free
Deliver to you a flower from
A distant planet, from where I come
I know I’m sharing a lot of lyrics in this review, but the band was really tripped out on this album.
After all that weirdo music about space and mysticism, friend of the band Skip Scarborough—writer of “Can’t Hide Love” from Gratitude (A-)—stops by and co-authored “Love’s Holiday” with Maurice. As the title accurately alludes, this is a straightforward R&B love song. Although never released as a single, “Love’s Holiday” is easily one of the most popular EWF songs. Deservedly so. Maurice gives an excellent vocal performance, the bass work of Verdine is superb, the horns are subdued yet insistent, and there’s a great guitar solo that wraps the song up. The solo isn’t a pyrotechnic explosion, but instead burns with the right amount of restraint and tone befitting an R&B slow jam.
Interlude of Interludes
There are also two interludes on Side 1: “In the Marketplace” and “Brazilian Rhyme (Beijo)”. The former is Maurice noodling on his kalimba while the latter is AMAZING vocal riffing from Philip Bailey. In fact, “Brazilian Rhyme” is a truncated, reworked take of a longer version that never saw release in the US during the 1970s and I am mad it never was.
The whole track—interlude edition and the full-length version—is actually built on the melody of “Beijo Partido” by Brazilian artist Milton Nascimento. EWF did speed up the tempo of the song, but the influence is pretty obvious nonetheless.
Side 2
The second side of All ‘n All is a little more straightforward than the first side. How could it not be after all the space ships and anthropomorphic planets?
“I'll Write a Song for You” is a sparkling acoustic rock ballad. Yep, EWF is moving beyond its retinue of funk, soul, samba, and jazz… if only for a moment because on “Magic Mind” they are steeped in the funk. And on the instrumental “Runnin’” they go full steam ahead with the jazz and samba. It was a good steam, I suppose, cuz the track won a Grammy for Best R&B Instrumental.
And the album ends with gusto thanks to “Be Ever Wonderful”. A cascade of horns and Bailey’s pseudo-scatting loudly announces the song’s arrival. The song then quickly drops into a relatively quiet R&B ballad as Maurice and a saxophone slowly walk through the tune. Around the 3:30 mark the song turns up the volume as Bailey does some more lively ad libbing, the horns are let loose, and the band just chugs on for another 90 seconds.
A great album-ending song.
ALBUM GRADE: A
After “slumping” to just double platinum status on Spirit, EWF got back to triple platinum sales with All ‘n All. It was the best-selling R&B album of 1978 and won the Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group. All of those accolades and sales were warranted. This album along with Spirit represented the apex of Earth, Wind & Fire, so be sure to give both a spin.
Song Scores
Serpentine Fire: 9/10
Fantasy: 8/10
Jupiter: 8/10
Love’s Holiday: 9/10
I'll Write a Song For You: 7.5/10
Magic Mind: 7.5/10
Runnin’: 7.5/10
Be Ever Wonderful: 8/10