Illumination is an album by R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire. It was released in September 2005 on Sanctuary Records. It featured collaborations with several artists including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Kenny G, Kelly Rowland, Will I Am, and Brian McKnight. Illumination debuted at number 32 on the Billboard 200 Chart, and number 8 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart.
[edit] Reception
The album received positive reviews from critics. Raymond Fiore of Entertainment Weekly described the album as "a fluid, unforced marriage of modern beats and retro, horn-lined soul".[11] Antony Hatfield of the BBC in his review stated that the album was a "a great all star team effort" and added that it "combines Latin, funk and soul but the likes of Raphael Saadiq, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis have brought a more contemporary hip-hop and R&B sound to the table".[12] Of Illumination the Washington Post's Geoffrey Himes felt that "The EWF voices and horns are given contagious hooks for their retro sound, while underneath, the producers cook up new beats for a new century".[13]
Illumination was Grammy nominated for Best R&B Album, was also nominated for a Soul Train Music Award in the category R&B-soul album and EWF garnered an NAACP Image Award nomination for Best Duo or Group for Illumination. The single "Pure Gold" reached number 23 on the Adult Contemporary chart and was also Grammy nominated in the category Best Production Non-Classical. Another single, "Show Me The Way", a collaboration with Raphael Saadiq was nominated for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.[14]
[edit] Track listing
| Writer(s) |
| 1. |
"Lovely People (feat. will.i.am)" |
Keith Harris, Will I Am |
4:28 |
| 2. |
"Pure Gold" |
Bobby Ross Avila, Issiah J. Avila, James Harris III, Terry Lewis |
4:40 |
| 3. |
"A Talking Voice (Interlude)" |
|
0:19 |
| 4. |
"Love's Dance" |
James Harris III, Terry Lewis, Tony L. Tolbert |
4:28 |
| 5. |
"Show Me The Way (feat. Raphael Saadiq)" |
Taura Jackson, Raphael Saadiq |
7:47 |
| 6. |
"This Is How I Feel" (feat. Kelly Rowland, Big Boi & Sleepy Brown)" |
P. Brown,M. Ethridge, R. Murray, A. Patton, R. Wade |
4:21 |
| 7. |
"Work It Out" |
James Bailey, Taura "Aura" Jackson, Raphael Saadiq, Kelvin Wooten |
4:29 |
| 8. |
"Pass You By" |
Raphael Saadiq, Taura Jackson |
4:59 |
| 9. |
"The One" |
B. Bennett, P. Brown, S. Christian, R. Murray, R. Wade |
5:11 |
| 10. |
"Elevated (feat. Floetry)" |
M. Ambrosius, D. Henson, K. Pelzer, N. Stewart |
4:37 |
| 11. |
"Liberation (feat. Vikter Duplaix)" |
Bervine, Duplaix |
5:25 |
| 12. |
"To You (feat. Brian McKnight)" |
|
4:37 |
| 13. |
"The Way You Move" |
Brown, Mahone, Patton |
4:36 |
[edit] Bonus track
| Writer(s) |
| 1. |
"Love Together (feat. will.i.am)" |
Brown, Mahone, Patton |
4:18 |
[15]
[edit] Uses in other media
"This Is How I Feel" was featured in the movie Hitch and "Love's Dance" was featured in the feature film Robots.[16]
[edit] Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year |
Chart |
Position |
| 2005 |
The Billboard 200 |
32 |
| Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums |
8 |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year |
Single |
Chart |
Position |
| 2005 |
"Pure Gold" |
Adult Contemporary |
23 |
| Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks |
76 |
| "To You" |
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks |
71 |
[17]
[edit] References
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ BBC review
- ^ Rolling Stone review
- ^ about.com review
- ^ Washington Post review
- ^ Seattle Post Intelligencer review
- ^ Entertainment Weekly review
- ^ USA Today review
- ^ The Times review
- ^ The Guardian review
- ^ Fiore, Raymond (September 16, 2005). "Illumination (2005) Earth, Wind & Fire". ew.com. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1105418,00.html. Retrieved 5 June, 2009.
- ^ Hatfield, Anthony (2005-10-05). "Earth, Wind & Fire Illumination Review". bbc.com. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/25bd/. Retrieved 5 June, 2009.
- ^ Himes, Geoffrey (Friday, March 10, 2006). "EARTH, WIND & FIRE "Illumination" Sanctuary". washingtonpost.com. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/09/AR2006030900585_pf.html. Retrieved 5 June, 2009.
- ^ The timeless appeal of Earth Wind & Fire - Jet Magazine
- ^ Illumination on allmusic.com
- ^ Earth Wind & Fire on IMDB.com
- ^ Illumination - Charts on Allmusic.com
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