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Millennium (Earth, Wind & Fire album)

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Millennium
File:Earth, Wind & Fire - Millennium.jpg
Studio album by
Earth, Wind & Fire
ReleasedSeptember 14, 1993
Recorded1992-1993
StudioSonic Lab, Capitol Studios, Andora Studios, Devonshire Studios
Genre
Length63:55
LabelReprise Records
ProducerMaurice White
Earth, Wind & Fire chronology
The Very Best of Earth, Wind & Fire
(1992) 		Millennium
(1993) 		The Very Best
(1994)
Singles from Heritage
  1. "Spend The Night"
    Released: 1993
  2. "Sunday Morning"
    Released: 1993
  3. "Two Hearts"
    Released: 1993

Millennium is the sixteenth studio album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire released in September 1993 on Warner Bros. Records.[1] The album reached No. 8 on the US Billboard Top R&B Albums chart, No. 39 on the US Billboard 200, No. 18 on the Japanese Pop Albums chart and No. 29 on the Dutch Album Top 100.[2][3][4][5] Millennium has also been certified Gold in Japan by the RIAJ.[2]

Overview

Millennium marked the band's return after 21 years to Warner Bros. Records. The album was also produced by EWF's founder and leader Maurice White.[1]

Artists such as Prince and Ronnie Laws appeared on the LP.[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Vibe(favourable)[7]
Morning Call(favourable)[8]
Boston Globe(favourable)[9]
Dayton Daily News[10]
Associated Press(favourable)[11]
USA Today[12]
Detroit Free Press(favourable)[13]
The Independent(favourable)[14]
Buffalo News[15]

Tom Sinclair of Vibe proclaimed that EWF "demonstrate they still have the knack for constructing mellifluous R&B on the visonary/romantic tip."[7] With a 4 out of 5 stars rating the Buffalo News commented "EW&F, one of the few groups that kept black popular music alive when disco ruled, has poured new life into a proven musical formula. Its latest project contains a plethora of kalimbas, blaring horns, and converging Afro-Cuban and Latin rhythms. Add the stratospheric voices of EW&F founder Maurice White, and star-lead vocalist Philip Bailey, and behold: a revamped re-creation of the message-laden, massaging tunes the band was known for in its heyday."[15] Paul Willistein of The Morning Call wrote "There are more than half a dozen standouts among the disc's 16 tracks, making this a must have for longtime fans."[8] Renee Graham of The Boston Globe noted that Millennium "returns the band to its funk/r&b roots" with a "tasty bit of Minneapolis funk".[9] With a three out of four star rating James T. Jones IV of USA Today found that the band "returned to their trademark sound: snappy horns, kalimba (thumb piano), falsetto harmonies, Afro-Cuban influences, instrumental interludes and philosophical lyrics."[12] Derek Ali of the Dayton Daily News gave a 3.5 out of 5 stars rating saying "With its Millennium album, Earth, Wind & Fire proves its one of those rare groups that can maintain a musical style for several decades while keeping pace with today's sounds".[10] Gary Graff of the Detroit Free Press wrote "EWF returns to the joyous R&B that made it famous, landing smooth if not exactly landmark results."[13] Andy Gill of The Independent stated "if it's an old-style R&B sensibility you're after, the new Earth, Wind & Fire album may be just the ticket."[14]

The Buffalo News placed the album on its list of the best R&B/Hip-Hop albums of 1993.[16] Millennium was also nominated for a Soul Train Music Award within the category of Best R&B/Soul Album - Group, Band or Duo.[17]

Singles

The track "Sunday Morning", earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group.[18] Released as a single, it peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart, No. 20 on the Hot R&B Singles chart and No. 35 on the Adult Contemporary chart.[19][20][21]

The album cut "Spend the Night" reached Nos. 36 and 42 on the Billboard Adult R&B Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts, respectively.[22][23]

Covers

The Prince-penned track, "Super Hero", was covered by the New Power Generation featuring the Steeles for the soundtrack to the film Blankman.[24][25]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Even If You Wonder"Nicky Brown, Jeffrey Cohen, Jon Lind, Maurice White4:38
2."Sunday Morning"Sheldon Reynolds, Maurice White, Allee Willis4:39
3."Blood Brothers"Nicky Brown, Jon Lind, Brock Walsh, Maurice White5:23
4."Kalimba Interlude"Maurice White0:31
5."Spend The Night"Dawn Thomas4:24
6."Divine"Philip Bailey, Ken Barken, Roxanne Seeman4:33
7."Two Hearts"Burt Bacharach, Philip Bailey, Maurice White5:06
8."Honor The Magic"Freddie Ravel, Maurice White3:05
9."Love Is The Greatest Story"Faye Freenberg, David Lawrence, Maurice White4:38
10."The "L" Word""Nicky Brown, Jon Lind, Maurice White, Allee Willis4:34
11."Just Another Lonely Night"Linda Stokes, Michael Stokes4:38
12."Super Hero"Prince4:10
13."Wouldn't Change A Thing About You"Philip Bailey, Frankie Blue4:47
14."Love Across The Wire"Philip Bailey, Thom Bell, Maurice White3:34
15."Chicago (Chi-Town) Blues"Nicky Brown, Jon Lind, Brock Walsh, Maurice White4:58
16."Kalimba Blues"Maurice White0:35

Charts

Album
Year Chart Position
1993 U.S. Billboard 200 39
U.S. Billboard Top R&B Albums 8
Japanese Albums (Oricon) 18[2]
Dutch Albums (Dutch Album Top 100) 29[3]
Sweden Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 50[26]
Singles
Year Single Chart Position
1993 "Spend the Night" U.S. Billboard Adult R&B Airplay 36
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles 42
"Sunday Morning" U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles 20[21]
U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 31[27]
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs 35[19]
U.S. Billboard Adult R&B Songs 10[28]
Canada RPM Top Singles 33[29]
Dutch Singles (Dutch Single Top 100) 26[30]
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Top 40 34[31]
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 53
"Two Hearts" U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles 88

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[32] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ a b c Earth, Wind & Fire: Millennium. Warner Bros. Records. September 1993.
  2. ^ a b c Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  3. ^ a b "Earth, Wind & Fire: Millennium". dutchcharts.nl.
  4. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Millennium (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard.com.
  5. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Millennium (Billboard 200)". Billboard.com.
  6. ^ Henderson, Alex. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Millennium". allmusic.com. Allmusic.
  7. ^ a b Sinclair, Tom (September 1993). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Millennium". Vol. 1, no. 1. Vibe Magazine. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  8. ^ a b Willistein, Paul (December 4, 1993). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Millennium". The Morning Call. p. 77.
  9. ^ a b Graham, Renee (October 21, 1993). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Millennium (Reprise)". Boston Globe. p. 108 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b Ali, Derek (October 8, 1993). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Millennium". Dayton Daily News. p. 72 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Wine, Steven (December 25, 1993). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Millennium (Reprise)". Associated Press. p. 25 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b Jones, James T. IV. (October 4, 1993). "Three '70s R&B acts bring grooves to '90s". USA Today. p. 04D. ProQuest 306599814.
  13. ^ a b Graff, Gary (October 11, 1993). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Millennium". Detroit Free Press. p. 43 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ^ a b Gill, Andy (September 16, 1993). "ALBUMS / Return of the vox Pop: Andy Gill on Iggy Pop and the week's new releases". newsbank.com. The Independent. p. 31.
  15. ^ a b "In Brief". buffalonews.com. The Buffalo News. November 5, 1993.
  16. ^ Simon, Jeff (December 13, 1993). "FROM OUR CRITICS -- FROM YOUR HOLIDAY GIFT LISTS". The Buffalo News. p. 81.
  17. ^ Sandler, Adam (February 1, 1994). "Jackson, Braxton top Soul Train nominees". variety.com. Variety.
  18. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire". Grammy.com.
  19. ^ a b "Earth, Wind & Fire: Sunday Morning (Adult Contemporary Songs)". Billboard.com.
  20. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Sunday Morning (Adult R&B Songs)". Billboard.com.
  21. ^ a b "Earth, Wind & Fire: Sunday Morning (Hot R&B Songs)". Billboard.com.
  22. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Spend The Night (Adult R&B Songs)". Billboard.com.
  23. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Spend The Night (Hot R&B Songs)". Billboard.com.
  24. ^ "How Prince Became a 'Super Hero'". diffuser.fm.
  25. ^ "Blankman: Original Soundtrack". allmusic.com.
  26. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire". sverigetopplistan.se.
  27. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: (Rhythmic Songs)". Billboard.com.
  28. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Sunday Morning (Adult R&B Songs)". Billboard.com.
  29. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Sunday Morning (RPM Top Singles)". Bac-lac.gc.ca.
  30. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Sunday Morning". dutchcharts.nl. Dutch Charts.
  31. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: (Mainstream Top 40)". Billboard.com.
  32. ^ "Japanese album certifications – Earth, Wind and Fire – Millennium" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved July 2, 2020. Select 1995年4月 on the drop-down menu
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