Illumination (Earth, Wind & Fire album) explained

Illumination
Type:studio
Artist:Earth, Wind & Fire
Cover:EWF - Illumination.jpg
Released:September 20, 2005
Recorded:2004–2005
  • The Village Recorders
  • Larrabee North Studios, Los Angeles, California
  • Magnet Vision Studios, Santa Monica, California
  • Blakeslee Recording Company, Hollywood, California
  • Flyte Tyme West
  • The Dungeon Recording Studio, Atlanta, Georgia
  • Dungeon East Studios
  • Larrabee North
  • Luminous Sound
  • Glenwood Place Studios
  • KeffenDeez Place
  • Firehouse Studios
Genre:
  • R&B
  • Neo soul
Length:60:04
Label:Sanctuary
Producer:
Prev Title:Love Songs
Prev Year:2004
Next Title:Playlist: The Very Best of Earth, Wind & Fire
Next Year:2008

Illumination is the nineteenth studio album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released in September 2005 on Sanctuary Records.[1] The album rose to No. 8 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 32 on the Billboard 200 chart. Illumination was also Grammy nominated within the category of Best R&B Album.[2] [3] [4] It is the final Earth, Wind & Fire album to feature their founder and co-lead vocalist Maurice White.

Overview

Guest artists Big Boi, Kenny G, Kelly Rowland, will.i.am, Floetry and Brian McKnight are featured on Illumination.

Singles

A track titled "Pure Gold" rose to No. 23 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary singles chart and No. 15 on the Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart.[5] [6]

Another single titled "The Way You Move" feat. Kenny G reached No. 12 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs chart.[7]

A song called "Show Me the Way" feat. Raphael Saadiq rose to No. 16 upon the Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart.[8] "Show Me the Way" was also Grammy nominated in the category of Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

Another track titled "To You" which featured Brian McKnight reached No. 16 upon the Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart and No. 29 on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs chart.[9] [10]

Critical reception

Raymond Fiore of Entertainment Weekly declared "Earth, Wind & Fire’s Illumination is a fluid, unforced marriage of modern beats and retro, horn-lined soul.". Antony Hatfield of the BBC stated "Illumination is a great all star team effort, which should appeal to fans of all concerned." Bill Lamb of About gave a four out of five star rating and found that "Illumination is a truly classic package" that "effortlessly straddles the divide between classic and contemporary r&b." Jim Farber of the New York Daily News said "Their latest work features production and/or guest appearances from current hit makers like Will I. Am from the Black Eyed Peas, Big Boi from OutKast, Kelly Rowland from Destiny's Child, plus Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Raphael Saadiq and others. All these guests haven't overwhelmed Maurice White's great band. They've just freshened it up. Singer Philip Bailey sounds as buttery as ever, and the band's tart horn arrangements and melodies extend the buoyancy and pleasure of their hits." Ben Thompson of The Daily Telegraph wrote "Illumination does find them successfully holding their own alongside some of the biggest names of the 21st century." David Wild of Rolling Stone proclaimed "Illumination, taps into Santana's now-familiar Supernatural formula: Give a veteran great a hip replacement by surrounding it with lots of gifted youngbloods. On Illumination, the formula works well largely because the parties involved — including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Raphael Saadiq and Black Eyed Peas' Will.i.am — seem to sincerely treasure the EWF sound. "[11] Dave Simpson of The Guardian gave a four out of five star rating, describing the album as "an often storming return to form." With a 3 out of 5 star rating Steve Jones of USA Today noted "EWF is as vibrant as ever".

Illumination was Grammy nominated in the category of Best R&B Album. The album was also nominated for a Soul Train Music Award in the category of Best R&B/Soul Album – Group, Band or Duo. As well Earth, Wind & Fire was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in the category of Outstanding Duo or Group.[12] [13]

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. "Pure Gold" was featured in the movie Roll Bounce.[14]

Track listing

Bonus tracks

[15]

Credits and personnel

EWF Members and Guest Performances
Horn Section
String Section
Additional Musicians
Other Arrangers

Charts

Albums

YearChart Peak
position
2005US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums8
US Billboard 20032
Japan (Oricon)[16] 61
Italy (Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana)[17] 87
France (Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique)[18] 193

Singles

YearSingleChart Position
2004"The Way You Move"Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs12
Billboard Adult R&B Songs[19] 25
"Show Me the Way"Billboard Adult R&B Songs16
2005"Pure Gold"Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs23
Billboard Adult R&B Songs15
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop 76
"To You"Hot R&B/Hip-Hop 71
Billboard Adult R&B Songs16
Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs[20] 29

Notes and References

  1. Earth, Wind & Fire: Illumination. September 2005. Sanctuary Records.
  2. Web site: Earth, Wind & Fire: Illumination (Billboard 200). Billboard.com.
  3. Web site: Earth, Wind & Fire: Illumination (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums). Billboard.com.
  4. Web site: Earth, Wind & Fire. The Recording Academy. grammy.com.
  5. Web site: Earth, Wind & Fire: Pure Gold (Adult Contemporary). billboard.com. Billboard.
  6. Web site: Earth, Wind & Fire: Pure Gold (Adult R&B Songs). billboard.com. Billboard.
  7. Web site: Kenny G Featuring Earth, Wind & Fire: The Way You Move. billboard.com. Billboard.
  8. Web site: Earth, Wind & Fire Featuring Raphael Saadiq: Show Me The Way (Adult R&B). billboard.com. Billboard.
  9. Web site: Earth, Wind & Fire Featuring Brian McKnight: To You (Adult R&B). billboard.com. Billboard.
  10. Web site: Earth, Wind & Fire feat. Brian McKnight (Smooth Jazz Songs). billboard.com. Billboard.
  11. Web site: Earth, Wind and Fire: Illumination. December 19, 2005. People. people.com.
  12. Web site: R. Kelly earns three Soul Train award nods. February 2, 2006. Associated Press. today.com.
  13. Web site: 37th Annual Image Awards nominations. February 23, 2006. Variety. variety.com.
  14. Web site: Earth Wind & Fire. IMDB.com.
  15. Earth, Wind & Fire: Illumination. February 7, 2020. Sony Music.
  16. Book: Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Oricon Entertainment. Roppongi, Tokyo. 2006. 4-87131-077-9.
  17. Web site: Earth, Wind & Fire: Illumination. Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. italiancharts.com.
  18. Web site: Earth, Wind & Fire: Illumination. Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. lescharts.com.
  19. Web site: Earth, Wind & Fire feat. Kenny G: The Way You Move (Adult R&B Songs). Billboard. billboard.com.
  20. Earth, Wind & Fire Featuring Brian McKnight: To You (Smooth Jazz Songs). Billboard.

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