In their seventies heyday, Earth Wind and Fire were one of the hottest touring acts in the world and an unstoppable singles machine. Band leader Maurice White and main singer Phillip Bailey had a chemistry that was almost unbeatable, and top notch musicians brought the chops. White eventually hit a supple groove that was both funky and popular, and when the hits started coming, like "Shining Star" and "September," they helped make disco into a bit less of a dirty word.

They had another secret weapon in the EWF Horns. Punchy when they needed to be, smooth jazz when required, they often provided an 'x' factor in the band's best work. The band mixed these elements into a dynamite stage show that rivaled George Clinton's Mothership era for sheer audacity and showmanship. While there are no live tracks here, if you've ever seen the camp classic Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, you'll see a tiny fraction of the excitement when the band performs "Got To Get You Into My Life."

Listening to this CD several years after what EWF tunes had been trimmed from my library is a real trip down memory lane. From the opening Black Pride Themed "Shining Star" to the road-trip classic "Getaway," these are all memorable hook-fests that livened up many an AM radio in the 70's. White often had a Utopian vision that he emphasized in his lyrics making these tunes both danceable and uplifting. Bailey's distinguished falsetto livened the ballads (like "After The Love Has Gone"), but EWF's real genius was making songs that were irresistible funky grooves. If you don't find yourself bopping to "Boogie Wonderland," check and make sure your feet are still attached.

Only frustration - missing "Love's Holiday," "Magnetic," "System of Survival" or anything post 1983. Could have been a double disc, easily. But really, even without them, this single disc EWF CD is indispensable if you're an oldies buff.

One word: dance!
When I play this CD I just have to start dancing!

I had fairly high expectations for this CD and was not disappointed. I had always liked their songs I'd heard on the radio while growing up in the 70's and into the 80's, but don't consider myself a huge fan. I had one other hits collection of theirs - Best of Earth Wind and Fire Volume 1 - which I thought was pretty good, but am not familiar with other recordings they have done.
The liner notes included an informative overview of the history of the group including which members were involved in which recording, and the chart positions each single achieved.
I knew this CD included all of the songs I knew and liked, and several I was not familiar with. Serpentine Fire and Saturday Night are the two I like best of those I was not familiar with before I bought this disc. Gratitude and Mighty Mighty are not bad, although I don't like them as much as the others on the disc, but they do not ruin the overall flow of or enjoyment of the disc.
I would highly recommend this for any fans of Earth Wind and Fire who would like to get a superior single disc collection of the best known songs by one of the era defining groups of the 70's and 80's.

Price was good. Product was received in good time. Condition was good. Didn't like the fact that there was no receipt or tracking information available.

I thank G-d for good products like this one.. These singers knew how to sing and sung good quality music.. May you find enjoyment as I and my Fiance have.. Amein..

Sincerely Pharez1~~~

I am not a huge EW&F fan, but my fiance is. I bought this for her and watch her bop in the car while traveling. There are many great classics on this CD, enough to keep me interested. Let's Groove kicks, and September, and others. I still hear live bands play this music.

Overall, a great CD, although there are a few somewhat obscure selections that I wouldn't have called 'greatest hits."

Nothing but the classics for me! I loved this cd and I received it in immaculate condition.

Take it from an OLD baby-boomer...you can't sit still and listen to this CD! I call it my "get up and clean the house while you dance" music. Excellent!!!

If you're an EWF devotee, you have to purchase this CD. It is fabulous! I'm buying a second one for my husband for father's day.

I'm gonna complain a bit here - the live Devotion (off Gratitude, killer studio version made furtherly killer live) and Keep Your Head to the Sky are still missing. Why? Is this one of those stupid cross-label things? Because those are really annoying. And this contains Boogie Wonderland, most likely their worst hit, either that or Let's Groove. Both are disco. Not a coincidence. And they drop All About Love, as well as I'll Write a Song for You. Give me a break! Four of their greatest songs, dropped off a cliff. Splat. Why? Saturday Night's an OK song, but I don't see it as the Best of Earth Wind and Fire. But if you swap those three off, put the four I mentioned on, and keep the rest, you've got the real best of Earth, Wind and Fire. Unlike the 1978 Greatest Hits release, this DOES contain Mighty Mighty, Kalimba Story AND Serpentine Fire, three essentials. Plus it adds After the Love is Gone, a worthy addition to any self-respecting EWF hits collection (or at least any one released after 1978), and their greatest song ever maybe. I'd bet on it. Plus nine of the ten tracks on the '78 release, not coincidentially the nine classics (Got to Get You Into My Life, Fantasy, Can't Hide Love, Getaway, That's the Way of the World, Shining Star, September, Reasons, Sing a Song) - note how they dropped Love Music, which is cool by me because it's just an average song and average songs don't belong on best-ofs, even if they were huge hits (*cough cough Saturday Nite*).
Yes, this is a great intro, but don't stop here. Why? All in All, Spirit, Gratitude, That's the Way of the World and Open Our Eyes are all good picks, that's why. But this is the compilation the band deserved.

This album is soooo hot! Makes you wanna just jump up on a table and start dancing. (I tried it at work, but they yelled at me!). I am LOUSY at remembering song names, but I recognized a bunch of them. "September" is so hot! and one of my favorites. So is "Boogie Wonderland" (Dance, Ooo ooo oo, Dance, ooo ooo ooo!) (STOP ME! QUICK!) Like I said, most of the album is hot dance-to-me music. There are a few slow songs, like "After the Love Has Gone". 17 tracks at a total running time of a hair over 1 hour 7 minutes.

Don't put this on in the car and get behind a school bus! Torture!

My sister is a very hard person to buy gifts at Christmas, but last September she mentioned she would like a CD by Earth Wind & Fire. She opened the CD on Christmas eve and insisted we listen to "September" for the next 15 minutes. She was very happy and so was I. I have to admit the CD is a good one and I am ordering a copy for myself.

Bring back the old school music with soul. Great songs and good memories.

Great CD to listen to! Takes you back in time with a lot of great hits.

It's a compilation, so you expect to hear all of the hits of one of the best groups of all time, and that's exactly what you hear on this CD. For those like me that never replaced the EWF albums with CDs, this is a must have because you get the best of the best on one CD. There are always a few songs that you wish had made the cut, but you will not regret owning this CD. The EWF concert in Vegas in Sept. proved yet again that this is one of the best bands to ever grace the stage. Thirty years later, they are still amazing.

What a super compilation of Earth, Wind, and Fire's great tunes. Listening to this Cd reminded me of what great tunes these dudes put out. Shinin' Star was such a classic back in the day. And man those funky horns on Getaway. Sing A Song and the passionate Fantasy are also classic chestnuts. However there are plenty of shoulda been classics like the groovin' Saturday Night and the cool ballad Reasons.

What can I say? There are some fast, others slow, those which groove, and others with jazzy touches. But nearly everyone is a gem.

I bought this CD about a year ago. It is a dynamic, excellent collection of Earth, Wind & Fire's best songs. They go from 1973 to 1981 with the hits and even included the heavily requested Reasons. When I first heard them in 1978, I thought that their 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1976 hits were all new, all off of one new album. But these songs from various years just showed me the massive impact they had in the '70s. The live band, the emphasis on horns and a complete band playing music and tearing it up. And funky songs like September, Serpentine Fire, Getaway, Boogie Wonderland and others. Maurice White's knew what he wanted out of this band and they're still doing it over 35 years later with live performances in 2006! Although I miss Maurice in the band, Verdine White, Philip Bailey and this other fellow are keeping his dream alive. Other favorites I like are Let's Groove, That's the Way of the World, the mellow After the Love has Gone and others. They chose a good 17 for this collection, and while it's not the most perfect, it fully compiles their success of hits and well requested songs!

If you enjoy music from Earth, Wind, and Fire, you will enjoy this CD. Although I'm not an EW&F afficionado, this CD seems to have all of their most common hits. I bought it because I liked the song "Fantasy" as well as a few others, but realized that I was familiar with nearly all the songs on the CD. This CD is well worth the price for anyone that likes even a few of this group's songs.

This is such a nice collection of The Earth, Wind & Fire's hits. Most of the songs on here topped the R&B charts, and this collection includes their #1 hits. My favorites songs are "September," "Sing a Song," "Reasons," "Let's Groove," and "After The Love Has Gone." I recommend this cd to people who like 70's R&B.

The music of the 70's today has shown a definitive effect on what we hear on radio and on television today. Although there are times where we see the past as something better than the future. That has been the case with acts putting their music into musicals like Billy Joel for Movin' Out, and John Lennon's music for the short-lived Imagine. That also has happened with Earth Wind & Fire, who recently had there catalog of great songs showcased for the upbeat Off-Broadway show Hot Feet. It still has proven that there music hasn't been forgotten by the public at all, and this collection of their music is also not forgotten either.

Earth Wind & Fire: Greatest Hits is a single disc reflection of the group during their 1970's hey day and all of the tracks that are still just shown as true guilty pleasures today. The songs on this collection still stand out today, and they sound better than they did before on this collection. The album includes classics like their standard Shining Star, the soulful and elequent After The Love Has Gone, Fantasy, the funky & upbeat September, and Let's Groove. They are just delightful to listen to, and still stand out very weel with the essence of Disco, Soul, Funk & R&B.

Although it is a shame that the group hasn't captured what they had back in the 70's, but Earth Wind & Fire are still great to listen to today. Their 1998 Greatest Hits is a truly a really definitive record, and I absolutely recommend this a whole lot for anybody who wants to be a shining star.


Album Cover: B

Songs: B+

Price: B+

Remastering: A

Overall: B+

This is one of my top five favorite albums ever. The only problem is, it makes me want to go out and buy all the original albums the songs came from!

This cd has about 3 songs that are real kickers-really good. The rest is not the best of E&F, like I would anticipate. I would not recommend this cd

Great musicians and great music. Takes me back to good times. I love this group; the words are easy to understand and they are CLEAN!

This is the best one-disc compilation of EW&F that is out there and the remastered sound means they've never sounded better. All the tracks are worthy selections and 17 songs means you get great value for your money. If you are new to EW&F and want to get a good representation of the band without having to get all the albums, then this one is the one for you; tracks that stand the test of time. Highly recommended!

This collection is almost perfect, and with a band like EWF, it's hard to include EVERYTHING, but this would've made 'Greatest Hits' a 5 star effort -

1. Substitute the studio version of 'Reasons' with the classic LIVE VERSION (8:22) from 'Gratitude'!!
2. And include BOTH 'Love's Holiday' & the 'Brazilian Rhyme' (interlude) for a BETTER (Almost PERFECT!) SINGLE DISC COMPILATION!!

I did this, and there's more than enough time on a CD, so EWF fans can make the perfect CD to take out in the car or at work. Missing tracks aside, 'Greatest Hits' is a sound investment, and I love the linernotes & packaging. Maybe Legacy will get it right next time, but why wait!
Peace, SD
(fr.'Chaka's World')

If you like E,W and F, you will love this CD. Excellent songs from beginning to end. I am very glad I purchased this.

This CD compiles EWF's best! It's just one hit after another, and it sounds awesome. I grew up when these songs were originally released, and now, this is my kids' favorite CD. I HIGHLY recommend this CD for anyone who loves EWF!!!

My favorite tracks are Reasons and After the Love Has Gone. the vocals are outstanding - I use the repeat button to listen to these tracks endlessly.

EWF's greatest hits is one of those rare albums you can't help but like. This is an album you can put on and leave on. So if you're looking for you're own soul soundtrack, look no further.

Earth, Wind, and Fire have a great album. Listen to songs "September" and "Lets Groove". Not even the samples are enough.

I love their Greatest it covers everything they did and more! THey have such talent specially in their prime in the 70's they were it back then and I love their stuff. With the sweet trumpet, Key boards, and vocals. Earth Wind & Fire have some R&B and Funk Mixed together so perfectly!

This cd is so great. It contains music that will bring your spirits up and make you appreciate life. It's funky and soulful. It has the funkiness and hard edge of Parliament-Funkadelic and the charm and glow of Stevie Wonder. Everybody should have a copy of this cd in their home.

Way back in the '70s, house parties were all the rage in my circle of friends, and on a Saturday night, everybody would gather at someone's house, invited or not, to party the night away.

The dance floor would usually be in the garage, or patio and the music would be in sets of "fast" music, such as disco, funk or calypso/soca, and "slow" music, which of course became the hold-me-tight session. Often, a couple would stay on one spot for the whole session, which was lovingly referred to as "rent-a-tile".

The reason for this rambling is to explain why this album is a must have for baby boomers who danced away the '70s and '80s. Earth, Wind & Fire are, after all, the three elements in the astrological charts, and their music symbolizes the spirit of those happy times.

The album contains their first two hit songs from the album "Open Our Eyes" which went gold with "Mighty Mighty" and "Kalimba Story", and also their follow up hits "That's the Way of the World", "Shining Star" and "Reasons", which has been widely copied since then. It's also got their hits from 1975's "Gratitude", 1976's "Spirit", and 1977's "All n' All", which produced my all time favorite "Fantasy" and also "Serpentine Fire". Throw in "Boogie Wonderland" and "After the Love is Gone" and 1981's "Let's Groove", and you can understand why this compilation would be a '70s/'80s party staple.

Since my favorites are "Fantasy", "Reasons", and "After the Love is Gone", you can probably tell that I rented many tiles during the late '70s and early '80s. This album brings back the warm and fuzzies of those days.

Amanda Richards, May 28, 2005

Throughout the 70's a group known as Earth Wind & Fire brought happiness to the radio waves and the dance floors. This group had some outa-sight funky songs that made you tap your foot and roller skate to the rhythm. Their songs, reflecting the innocence of the era, were colorful and upbeat. The direction and genius of Maurice White was responsible for making this funk possible. Vocally, they were a soulful chorus with Phillip Bailey's falsetto leading throughout most of these songs.

The opening number "Shining Star" is more than a far-out funky tune. Just listen to that vocal blend and that rousing arrangement. "That's The Way of the World", "September", "Sing a Song", "Mighty Mighty", "Saturday Night", and "Get Away" are trade mark songs of the group. Nobody can remake these or has even tried. Yet, the group has successfully recorded other's songs like "Can't Hide Love" and "Got To Get You Into My Life". The highlights that deserve giving more than a quick listen are "Fantasy" which is a gorgeous blend of voices, "Kalimba Story" which a totally original song written by Maurice White, "Reasons" which is a gorgeous love song with Phillip Bailey in the lead vocal, and last, but not least, "After The Love Has Gone" which is a very fine ballad.

One cannot leave out the musical arrangements that accompany the vocal group of Earth Wind & Fire. While it is extremely rare today to find comparable talent on a recording, it was also quite rare in the 70's era to find such artistry on studio recordings. But this is what added to the group's sound and what made them so popular. There were rich sounds from not only keyboards, guitars, drums, and saxophones, but instruments that brought the full experience: trumpets, trombones, congas, flutes, violins, violas, tubas, harps, and timpani.

This collection of songs is fun for those who remember the funk era and fun for those who just want to experience enjoyable, upbeat music. A must have treasure!!!