Rating:
Genre: R&B
Release Date: 07/30/2002

Columbia/Legacy's double-disc set The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire lives up to its title by offering 34 tracks of the groundbreaking funk band at its peak. All of the hits, whether they're R&B or tunes that crossed over to the pop charts, are here, along with important album tracks that capture the range and depth of EWF. Since this focuses on their peak of the '70s and early '80s, there's very little here that doesn't qualify as "essential," which makes it a better bet than their box set. The single-disc Greatest Hits remains the choice for the casual and the curious listener due to its concise concentration of classics, but anybody who wants a thorough retrospective should choose this.

~Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

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Tommy Johnson - Tuba
Philip Bailey - Percussion
Philip Bailey - Conga
Philip Bailey - Vocals
Philip Bailey - ?
Earth, Wind & Fire - Arranger
Earth, Wind & Fire - Main Performer
Maurice White - Drums
Maurice White - Timbales
Maurice White - Vocals
Maurice White - Kalimba
Maurice White - Producer
Maurice White - Compilation Producer
Dorothy Ashby - Harp
Bill Meyers - Horn Arrangements
Bill Meyers - String Arrangements
Bill Reichenbach Jr. - Trombone
Jerome Richardson - Saxophone
Bobby Bryant - Trumpet
Azar Lawrence - Synthesizer
Azar Lawrence - Piano
Azar Lawrence - Keyboards
Herman Riley - Saxophone
Deodato - Arranger
Deodato - Conductor
Fred Jackson - Saxophone
David Foster - Synthesizer
David Foster - Piano
David Foster - Keyboards
David Foster - String Arrangements
Roland Bautista - Guitar
Marilyn Baker - Viola
Robert Appere - Engineer
Eduardo del Barrio - Synthesizer
Eduardo del Barrio - Piano
Eduardo del Barrio - Keyboards
George DelBarrio - Synthesizer
George DelBarrio - Piano
George DelBarrio - Keyboards
Delores M. Bing - Cello
Oscar Brashear - Trumpet
Garnett Brown - Trombone
Denyse Buffum - Viola
David Campbell - Viola
Charles Veal - Concert Master
Ronald Clark - Violin
Ronald Cooper - Cello
Larry Corbett - Cello
Paulinho Da Costa - Percussion
Rollice Dale - Viola
Assa Drori - Violin
David Duke - French Horn
Larry Dunn - Organ
Larry Dunn - Synthesizer
Larry Dunn - Piano
Larry Dunn - Production Assistant
Larry Dunn - Synthesizer Programming
Pavel Farkas - Violin
Henry Ferber - Violin
Chuck Findley - Trumpet
Winterton Garvey - Violin
Pamela Gates - Violin
Harris Goldman - Violin
Harris Goldman - Concert Master
Joseph Goodman - Violin
Jack Gootkin - Violin
Janice Gower - Concert Master
Gary Grant - Trumpet
Mick Guzauski - Engineer
Michael Harris - Trumpet
Michael Harris - Flugelhorn
Jeanette Hawes - ?
Marlo Henderson - Guitar
Jerry Hey - Trumpet
Jerry Hey - Horn Arrangements
Wanda Hutchinson - ?
Ralph Johnson - Percussion
Ralph Johnson - Drums
Dennis Karmazyn - Cello
Jan Kelley - Cello
Barbara Korn - French Horn
Gina Kronstadt - Violin
Richard Lepore - Tympani [Timpani]
Linda Lipsett - Viola
Charles Loper - Trombone
Steve Lukather - Guitar
Jacqueline Lustgarten - Cello
Joy Lyle - Violin
Steve Madaio - Trumpet
Arthur Maebe - French Horn
Virginia Majewski - Viola
Miguel Martinez - Cello
Harvey Mason, Sr. - Percussion
George Massenburg - Engineer
Lew McCreary - Trombone
Al McKay - Guitar
Al McKay - Percussion
Al McKay - Vocals
Al McKay - Producer
Sidney Muldrow - French Horn
Billy Myers - Synthesizer
Billy Myers - Piano
Billy Myers - Keyboards
Don Myrick - Saxophone
Ross Pallone - Engineer
Richard Perissi - French Horn
Tom Perry - Engineer
Jerry Peters - Synthesizer
Jerry Peters - Piano
Jerry Peters - Keyboards
Steve Porcaro - Synthesizer
Steve Porcaro - Piano
Steve Porcaro - Keyboards
Paul Polivinick - Viola
Benjamin Powell - Trombone
Jerome Reisler - Violin
Marilyn Robinson - French Horn
Dean Rod - Engineer
James Ross - Viola
Henry Roth - Violin
Louis Satterfield - Trombone
Skip Scarborough - Synthesizer
Skip Scarborough - Piano
Skip Scarborough - Keyboards
Haim Shtrum - Violin
Harry Shultz - Cello
Maurice Spears - Trombone
Charles Stepney - Synthesizer
Charles Stepney - Piano
Charles Stepney - Arranger
Charles Stepney - Keyboards
Charles Stepney - Producer
Charles Stepney - Associate Producer
Linn Subotnick - Viola
Ilka Talvi - Violin
Beloyd Taylor - Guitar
Beloyd Taylor - Vocals
Barbara Thomason - Viola
Tom Tom 84 - Horn Arrangements
Tom Tom 84 - String Arrangements
Kevan Torfeh - Cello
Wayne Vaughn - Synthesizer
Wayne Vaughn - Piano
Wayne Vaughn - Keyboards
Verdine White - Bass
Verdine White - Percussion
Verdine White - Vocals
Verdine White - Production Assistant
Sheila Whitt - ?
Mark Wilder - Mastering
Joseph Wissert - Producer
Andrew Woolfolk - Flute
Andrew Woolfolk - Percussion
Andrew Woolfolk - Sax (Soprano)
Andrew Woolfolk - Sax (Tenor)
Ken Yerke - Violin
James Dunham - Viola
Leo Sacks - Liner Notes
Leo Sacks - Compilation Producer
Daniel Smith - Cello
John Walz - Cello
Jerome Webster - Violin
William Henderson - Violin
Marie Fera - Cello
Joseph Livoti - Violin
Anton Sen - Violin
Sherman Bryana - Violin
Leena Sherman - Violin
Judith Talvi - Violin
Rosmen Torfeh - Violin
Laury Woods - Viola
Robert Spano - Engineer
Clark Duval - Product Manager
Maxine Lewis - Synthesizer
Maxine Lewis - Piano
Maxine Lewis - Keyboards
Jeffrey Mayer - Photography
Rick Kelly - Synthesizer
Rick Kelly - Piano
Rick Kelly - Keyboards
Steve Crimmel - Engineer
Sandy Speiser - Photography
Richard Salvato - Direction
Sheldon Sanow - Violin
Bruce Talamon - Cover Photo
Craig Widby - Engineer
Richard Goodman - Engineer
Kyle Wofford - A&R
Sandy Seemore - Violin
Seth Foster - Mastering
Zakir Hussein - Tabla
Ben Wright - Horn Arrangements
Ben Wright - String Arrangements
George Bohanon - Trombone
Darren Salmieri - A&R
Art Macnow - Direction

Central Heating
    Heatwave / CD / 1977
Ultimate Collection
    Teena Marie / CD / 2000
LateNightTales
    Jamiroquai / CD / 2003
Back 2 Back: The Ultimate Collection
    Atlantic Starr/Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes / CD / 2004
Best of Earth, Wind and Fire [Mastercuts]
    Earth, Wind & Fire / CD / 2007

Release Date: 07/30/2002
Genre: r&b