| That's the Way of the World | |
| Type: | Soundtrack |
| Longtype: | / Studio album |
| Artist: | Earth, Wind & Fire |
| Cover: | Whiskeytown-Stranger's Almanac (album cover).jpg |
| Released: | March 3, 1975 |
| Recorded: | September 16 – October 2, 1974 |
| Studio: | Caribou Ranch (Nederland, CO); Sunset Sound (Los Angeles, CA); Hollywood Sound Recorders (Hollywood, CA); The Burbank Studios (Burbank, CA) |
| Genre: | |
| Length: | 38:23 |
| Label: | Columbia Legacy (1999 reissue) |
| Producer: | Maurice White, Charles Stepney |
| Prev Title: | Another Time |
| Prev Year: | 1974 |
| Next Title: | Gratitude |
| Next Year: | 1975 |
That's the Way of the World is the sixth studio album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released on March 3, 1975, by Columbia Records.[4] It was also the soundtrack for a 1975 motion picture of the same name.[5] [6] The album rose to No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 and Top Soul Albums charts.[7] [8] That's the Way of the World has also been certified Triple Platinum in the U.S. by the RIAA.[9] In 2002, the band released live version of the album, recorded in 1975 – .
That's the Way of the World was produced by both EWF leader Maurice White and Charles Stepney.The album spent three weeks atop the Billboard 200 chart. That's the Way of the World also stayed on top of the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart for five weeks altogether.
The single, "Shining Star", reached number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles charts. "Shining Star" went on to win a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.[10] [11] [12] The album's title track reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart and No. 12 on the Hot 100 chart.[13] [14]
Stephen Curwood of the Boston Globe said "these guys are great and this is a sound you shouldn't miss". Variety exclaimed "Earth, Wind & Fire turn their multi-voiced big soul sound loose on eight solid numbers".Daryl Easlea of the BBC wrote "Seen as a meditation on the rules of living, the album is nothing less than a spiritual soul masterpiece." He added "leader Maurice White synthesised all the elements of the group so far – straight-up funk, African mysticism, jazz and sublime balladry, and made a brief, focused album." Chris Albertson of Stereo Review described the band's performance as a "disco delight" and the recording itself as "excellent". Alex Henderson of Allmusic noted That's the Way of the World is "EWF's crowning achievement".[15] Gordon Fletcher of Rolling Stone said "Lousy production works to this LP's detriment — Maurice White has surprisingly chosen to have the entire album sound hot." Fletcher added "Great tunes (particularly the dynamic "Africano") and great musicianship are not what this one lacks — hopefully the next time out White will be able to tone things down accordingly in the places where a little under-statement is appropriate." LA Weekly called the LP "Serious romantic music to wear silk bellbottom slacks to." Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune wrote "Their new album 'That's the Way of the World' [Columbia], exploits the moods, if not the explosive instrumental power, that made their last platter 'Open Our Eyes,' a smash hit." Robert Christgau of the Village Voice found that "Here ethnomusicology and colloquial homiletics are tacked onto the funk and soul and doowop and jazz, which makes for an instructive contrast -the taped-in-Africa Matepe Ensemble, whose spontaneous laughter closes out the coda, versus Maurice White, whose humorless platitutdes prove there's more to roots than turning a mbira into an ersatz vibraphone." Vibe also proclaimed "That's the Way of the World coursed effortlessly through a myriad of genres, from rock to jazz to funk to heavy African influences".
That's the Way of the World was nominated in 1975 and 1976 for an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Album. EWF also won a Rock Music Award for That's the Way of the World in the category of Best Rhythm and Blues Album.[16] [17]
During 2004 That's the Way of the World was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2012 Rolling Stone placed the album at 486 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, calling it "make-out music of the gods".[18] For the 2020 update of the list, the album's rank climbed to number 420.[19]
| Chart (1975) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| US Top LPs & Tape (Billboard) | 1 | |
| US Top Soul LPs (Billboard) | ||
| Canada RPM Top Albums | 15[21] |
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | "Shining Star" | Billboard Hot Soul Singles | 1 |
| Billboard Hot 100 | 1 | ||
| "That's the Way of the World" | Billboard Hot Soul Singles | 5 | |
| Billboard Hot 100 | 12 |
| Publication | Accolade | Year | Rank | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pause & Play | Albums Inducted into a Time Capsule, One Album per Week | 2008 | |||||
| Robert Dimery | 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die[22] | 2005 | |||||
| Rolling Stone | The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time | 2012 | 486 | ||||
| 2020 | 420 | ||||||
| The Recording Academy | Grammy Hall of Fame | 2004 | |||||
| Vibe Magazine | 51 Albums representing a Generation, a Sound and a Movement | 2004 | |||||
| Rickey Vincent | Five Star Albums from "FUNK: The MUSIC, the PEOPLE, and the RHYTHM | ||||||
| National Association of Recording Merchandisers and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame | The Definitive 200[23] | 2007 | 187 | ||||
| Soultracks.com | The Greatest Soul albums of the 1970s[24] | 2009 | 1 | ||||
| (*) designates lists that are unordered. | |||||||