Maps of Music

Last Days and Time (1972)

Where the lyrics of Last Days and Time take you, and where it was really made.

Earth, Wind & Fire's third album was recorded in Hollywood, and it includes covers of Bread and Pete Seeger instead of only the band's own songs.

Key places

Where the album was recorded (1972)

Recording site Sunset Sound — The album was produced by Joe Wissert and recorded at Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, California. The point marks the studio itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Last Days and Time is the third studio album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire
• Released in October 1972 by Columbia Records
• Produced by Joe Wissert
• Recorded at Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, California
• Includes covers of Bread's "Make It with You" and Pete Seeger's "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"

Background

• Released on Columbia, the label the group moved to after its earlier period
• Chart results: No. 15 on the US Billboard Top Soul Albums chart, No. 9 on the UK Blues & Soul Top British Soul Albums chart
• The single "Mom" reached No. 39 on the Cashbox Top R&B Singles chart

Recording

• Recorded at Sunset Sound Studios, Hollywood
• Engineers Kent Nebergall and Al Schmitt; Al Schmitt also handled the remix
• Mastered by Johnny Golden and Bob MacCloud Jr. at Artisan Sound Recorders, Hollywood, California
• Personnel: Maurice White (vocals, drums, kalimba), Verdine White (vocals, bass, percussion), Philip Bailey (vocals, congas, percussion), Jessica Cleaves (vocals), Roland Bautista (acoustic and electric guitars), Larry Dunn (piano, organ, clavinet), Ronnie Laws (flute, soprano and tenor saxophones), Ralph Johnson (drums, percussion)

Cover

• Design by Mati Klarwein
• Photography by Roland Charles

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com · ja.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1969 by Maurice White, originating out of the Salty Peppers.
• Known for a kalimba sound, a dynamic horn section, elaborate stage shows, and the contrast between Philip Bailey's falsetto and Maurice White's tenor.
• Music spans jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop.

Members

• Prominent members include Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Ralph Johnson, Larry Dunn, Al McKay, Roland Bautista, Robert Brookins, Sonny Emory, Ronnie Laws, Sheldon Reynolds and Andrew Woolfolk.
• Maurice White, the founder, died on February 4, 2016.

Career

• Among the best-selling bands ever, with sales of over 90 million records worldwide.
• Won six Grammy Awards out of 17 nominations and four American Music Awards out of 12 nominations.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994.
• Received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2019, becoming the first Black group to be inducted.
• Had a hiatus from mid-1984 to mid-1987.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Barry Lazell of Sounds gave the album a 3 out of 5 stars review
• Variety called the album "pulsating"
• Billboard found the album's dynamic soul rock style to be its main ingredient
• Paul Sexton of Record Mirror gave a 1979 review of 3 out of 5 stars and welcomed the release in the UK of the group's first CBS album

Reappraisal

• William Ruhlmann of AllMusic gave a 3 out of 5 stars review and said that by the third album the group had forged an individual sound by absorbing nearly everything that had gone before in the previous ten years
• Ruhlmann noted that the album draws on Motown's many eclectic styles, the horn-filled R&B of Sly & the Family Stone, and some of the fusion style of Weather Report
• Edward Hill of the Plain Dealer tied the album to the jazz-like instrumental experimentation that followed Marvin Gaye's vision of coming desolation, noting it came out a year after What's Going On
• Ovid Goode Jr. of the Los Angeles Daily News praised the album's fresh sound among many rock-jazz groups and described its eight tunes as moving

Records

• US Billboard Top Soul Albums: No. 15
• UK Blues & Soul Top British Soul Albums: No. 9
• Cashbox Top R&B Singles: "Mom" No. 39

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Producer Jimmy Jam became a fan of EWF after listening to this album.
• Hip hop artist Nas was inspired by the LP's cover art, and British singer Gabrielle named the album as one of her favorites.
• Two of the album's covers are Bread's "Make It with You" and Pete Seeger's "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"; Philip Bailey sang the Seeger song.
• The single "Mom" reached No. 39 on the Cashbox Top R&B Singles chart.
• It is the group's first album on the Columbia label.

Sources: ko.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org

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