LP Review: Raise!
Released: 1981
LP Charts: #1 R&B (11 weeks), #5 pop
After Faces (C+) basically extended Earth, Wind & Fire’s late 1970s pop-funk sound to the very early 1980s with little commercial and artistic effect, Raise! finds EWF deciding to incorporate synthesized funk for the first time. Look at the album cover. It’s half ancient Egyptian statue and half… uh… modern Egyptian statue? Future Egyptian statue? The point is, EWF is sending a visual cue alerting you to the shake up.
The shake up, albeit somewhat illusory, worked. Released in November 1981, Raise! ultimately spent a ridiculous 11 weeks atop the R&B albums chart. That time at the top for Raise! was clearly spurred by the hit “Let’s Groove” (#1 R&B, #3 pop), which also happened to be the final mega-single of EWF’s career.
Hereafter, they’d notch a few more top 10 R&B hits, but exactly zero top 10 pop hits.
Truth be told, “Let’s Groove” isn’t that much different than EWF’s previous dance hits. The only updates are the use of a vocoder and some synth bass. Other than that you have the horns, Philip Bailey’s high-pitched vocals on the chorus, and Maurice White handling the verses. It’s performed well, but this isn’t a song that was truly charting new ground for the band.
A frustration I do have with this song, is that once again on a dance song, the band didn’t let anybody solo on an instrument. The whole song approaches six minutes in length, but the initial euphoric groove rush wears out at about three minutes. Perfect time for a guitar or sax solo to reinvigorate the song.
Those tensions I just identified—good grove that can’t sustain an entire song plus modest incorporation of synth sounds that don’t fundamentally alter EWF’s sound—continues throughout this album.
“Lady Sun” and “Evolution Orange” are in the same mold as “Let’s Groove”. “You Are A Winner” moderately breaks the mold with its jittery beat. “I’ve Had Enough” is a wussy song. “The Changing Times” is a lame attempt at new wave. “Wanna Be With You” (#15 R&B) is an above-average slow jam. Wish it had a little more verve to its groove, though.
For my money, “My Love” is the best song on this album. It’s a sparse, slow, slinky funk ballad. Some good ole cruisin’-in-the-car music. And it has a saxophone solo.
ALBUM GRADE C+
Well, at least Side 1 of this album was a good. Side 2 however is pretty stale. So in the end, this album is just kinda there. Not too exciting, but not offensive either.
I should also give some belated props to Wanda Vaughn, one of the Emotions, for singing prominent background vocals on “Let’s Groove” and “My Love”.
Song Scores
Let’s Groove: 7/10
Lady Sun: 7/10
My Love: 7.5/10
Evolution Orange: 7/10
You Are A Winner: 6.5/10
I’ve Had Enough: 5/10
Wanna Be With You: 6.5/10
The Changing Times: 5/10