a mostly relaxed mellow classic

earth,wind&fire's fourth album "last days and time"is 4 the most part a relaxed effort with the exception of three upbeat songs:

"time is on your side"-which features maurice white's brilliant

vocals and the group's polished horn section.-the 8 minute funk

workout:"power"which quietly begins with maurice's afrikan thumb instrument called the kalimba and from there this instrumental

cooks with ronald laws's tenor saxophone and the rest of the

band's jazzfunk assault."remember the children"is the funkiest

of the three upbeat songs.it starts off immediately with horns

blasting at full force-including maurice and phillip's onetwo

vocal punch addressing the serious issue concerning young

children."last days and time"is the first earth,wind and fire

album 2 include musical interludes in between songs.on the track "they don't see"-which addresses spiritual concerns has a nice warm sound,and sincerity 2 it."make it with you" is a nice remake of a song originally recorded by bread.the final three

songs on the album are ballads.the beautiful "where have all the flowers gone"starts off with the sound of children playing and

it's warm musical beginnings sets the tone nicely.phillip bailey's heartfelt vocal about a world that loses touch with

humanity.the song also has a street corner chorus and ends with maurice's pained voice when he states:'we're killing each other

cause you ain't got time for your brother...we're living in our

last days and time'/however,my favorite ballad of the album is

the very beautiful and elegant-"i'd rather have you" which

features the beautiful vocal stylings of jessica cleaves.her

voice on this beautiful song is out of this world.the beautiful

lines in which she sings:'scheming on wealth isn't my thing,i'd

rather have you'/'even the sun is nothing to me,i'd rather have you'...this is a very beautiful lovesong.what else can be said about this elegant song as sung by jessica?nuff said.the final

song called "mom" which 2 me is the most beautiful mother's day song ever recorded.a tender guitar solo begins the song in of

which maurice's sincere vocals add 2 the song's calming beauty

of which maurice sings:"and in my life i'll always love her/and in my life i'll always care".../i dedicated this song 2 my own

mother.this IS the ultimate song 4 mothers everywhere.a beauty of a song with larry dunn's incredible keyboard solo.the song

ends where it started with the tender guitar solo and mr. dunn's keyboard fade.earth,wind&fire's "last days and time"was released in the spring or summer of 1972.i was in the third grade when

this album was released.the timing couldn't have been more

perfect to be a young kid around the time of the beginnings of a great legendary band...

Remember This Album

'Last Days In Time' finds Earth,Wind & Fire at a certain peak of sorts.This is the bands debut album for Columbia and also

the debut of singer Phillip Bailey in their band.Not only is his voice in peak form but EWF have obviously not quite let go of the

ensamble-style jazzy funk they'd patented from their debut on

Warner Brothers two years earlier (whitch is even rawer then THIS).That sound is most evident on the communal funk jams of

"Time Is On Your Side",the wonderful "Remember The Children" and

the brilliant instrumental workout "Power".And even while Bailey

sings a couple pop covers in "Make It With You" and "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" Earth,Wind & Fire didn't get any hits from

this album.Their sound was still far to eclectic and drew upon

too many world and jazz music elements to really get over on the

pop charts.So for a glimpse into EWF's pre-superstar days WITH

Phillip Bailey this album is a good place to go.You certainly won't find anything from it on Columbia's 1978 greatest hits

album 'The Best Of Earth,Wind & Fire' and even on more extensive

compilations these songs are often skimmed over.So for any EWF fan I'd say this album is pretty essencial.

The Best EWF Ever Was

To me (and I'm sure many would disagree), this is the best album EWF put out. Funkmeister says it's Phillip Bailey's debut, but I think this was when Jessica Cleaves, formerly of Friends of Distinction, was with the group (somebody correct me if I'm wrong).