I Am

Earth, Wind & Fire took its musical abilities and knowledge very seriously, which is why they had largely avoided the disco craze in the years leading up to 1979’s I Am. Longtime R&B musicians considered disco a watered-down pop fad, but ironically, what disco needed most was those very musicians. So, when EW&F finally caved in and discovered disco for themselves with I Am, the results were wondrous. “Boogie Wonderland” became a definitive disco song for the same reason that “Shining Star” had become a definitive funk song a few years earlier: even though the songs seem simple and catchy on the surface, they contain the DNA of a highly evolved musical consciousness. “In the Stone,” “Let Your Feelings Show” and “Rock That!” are disco songs but they are anything but watered-down. Maurice White and band bring the same level of commitment and expertise to these pieces that they brought to their most epic and complex orchestral works. The band’s heavenly touch is particularly evident on “After the Love Has Gone” and “You and I,” sublime ballads that slow down the pace so that the laymen can bask in the beauty of EW&F’s craft.