Illumination (Earth, Wind & Fire album)
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Illumination is the 19th 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.
Background
The recording process for Illumination was originally conceived as a solo album for singer Philip Bailey. He recorded songs for the project "This Is How I Feel", "Work It Out" and "Elevated". A few months into recording, Bailey wanted to shift the focus of the project. He decided to make it into an Earth, Wind & Fire album- a move that was inspired by his oldest son, who co-wrote the song "Work It Out". Bailey reached out to the remaining members of the band to help work on what became their next studio recording.[1] They signed with Sanctuary Records' urban music division, which was run by former Destiny's Child manager Mathew Knowles.[2]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [3] |
| BBC | (favorable)[4] |
| Rolling Stone | [5] |
| about.com | [6] |
| Washington Post | (favorable)[7] |
| Seattle Post Intelligencer | (A)[8] |
| Entertainment Weekly | (favourable)[9] |
| USA Today | [10] |
| The Times | [11] |
| The Guardian | (favorable)[12] |
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".[13] Antony Hatfield of the BBC in his review stated that the album was "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".[14] 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".[15]
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 Grammy nominated in the category of Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.[16]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lovely People (feat. will.i.am)" | Keith Harris, will.i.am | 4:28 |
| 2. | "Pure Gold" | James Harris III, Terry Lewis, Tony L. Tolbert, Bobby Ross Avila, Issiah J. Avila | 4:40 |
| 3. | "A Talking Voice (Interlude)" | Philip Bailey | 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)" | Patrick Brown, Marqueze Ethridge, Ray Murray, Antwan Patton, Rico 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" | Brandon Bennett, Patrick Brown, Samuel Christian, Ray Murray, Rico Wade | 5:11 |
| 10. | "Elevated (feat. Floetry)" | Marsha Ambrosius, Darren Henson, Keith Pelzer, Natalie Stewart | 4:37 |
| 11. | "Liberation (feat. Vikter Duplaix)" | Junius Bervine, Vikter Duplaix | 5:25 |
| 12. | "To You (feat. Brian McKnight)" | Brian McKnight | 4:37 |
| 13. | "The Way You Move" | Antwan Patton, Carlton Mahone, Patrick Brown | 4:36 |
Bonus tracks
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Love Together (feat. will.i.am)" | will.i.am, Keith Harris | 4:18 |
| 2. | "Autumn (feat. Music Soulchild) (only on the Japanese release)" | 4:37 |
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.[18] "Pure Gold" was featured in the movie Roll Bounce.
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 |
References
- ^ Earth, Wind & Fire - Illumination (CD liner notes). Sanctuary Urban Records. 06076-87541-2
- ^ "Platinum Music Stars Earth Wind & Fire Ink New Record Deal with Mathew Knowles' Sanctuary Urban Records Group; Album Slated for October 5 Release". businesswire.com. Business Wire. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
- ^ 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. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
- ^ Hatfield, Anthony (2005-10-05). "Earth, Wind & Fire Illumination Review". bbc.com. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
- ^ Himes, Geoffrey (March 10, 2006). "EARTH, WIND & FIRE "Illumination" Sanctuary". washingtonpost.com. 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
