The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire
The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire is a compilation album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire issued in July 2002 by Columbia/Legacy. It has been certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.
Overview
With the LP came a sampler which featured remixes of Can't Hide Love and Let's Groove. During October 2002, the remix sampler was issued as a single and got to No. 4 on the UK Dance Singles Chart.Critical reception
Mark Anthony Neal of PopMatters proclaimed: "The Essential Earth, Wind, and Fire, chronicles the best music of arguably the most popular R&B/soul band of the last three decades." Barry Walters of Blender, who gave the collection a four out of five star rating, opined: "the 34 tracks on The Essential encompass these funky spiritualists’ many sides, from preachy to sensual to ecstatic." With a 4.5 out of 5 star rating, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic wrote: "The single-disc Greatest Hits remains the choice for the casual and the curious listener due to its concise concentration of classics, but anybody who wants a thorough retrospective should choose this." Howard Dukes of SoulTracks called the album "a collection that will definitely get the party started".Personnel
- Maurice White – vocals, kalimba, timbales, drums, producer, compilation producer
- Verdine White – vocals, bass, percussion
- Philip Bailey – vocals, congas, percussion
- Larry Dunn – piano, organ, synthesizer, programming
- Ken Yerke – violin
- Harris Goldman – violin
- Rollice Dale – viola
- Dennis Karmazyn – cello
- Harry Schultz – cello
- Fred Jackson Jr. – saxophone
- Herman Riley – saxophone
- Jerome Richardson – saxophone
- Tommy Johnson – tuba
- Harvey Mason – percussion
- Paulinho Da Costa – percussion
- Beloyd Taylor – background vocals
- Joe Wissert – producer
- Charles Stepney – producer
- Al McKay – producer
- Leo Sacks – compilation producer
Accolades
The following accolades attributed to The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire.| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
| Blender | U.S. | 500 CDs You Must Own: Rhythm & Blues | 2003 | Alphabetical order |