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All 'n All

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All 'n All is the eighth studio album by the American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released in November 1977 by Columbia Records.[1] The album peaked at No. 1 on the US BillboardTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart.[2][3] All 'n All has also been certified Triple Platinum in the US by the RIAA, Gold in Canada by Music Canada and Silver in the UK by the BPI.[4][5][6]

All 'n All
Cover art by Shusei Nagaoka
Studio album by
Earth, Wind & Fire
ReleasedNovember 21, 1977
RecordedAugust 1977
StudioHollywood Sound Recorders, The Burbank Studios, Sunset Sound
GenreR&B, soul, jazz, disco, funk, pop
Length38:46
LabelColumbia
ProducerMaurice White
Earth, Wind & Fire chronology
Spirit
(1976) 		All 'n All
(1977) 		The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1
(1978)
Singles from All 'n All
  1. "Serpentine Fire"
    Released: October 15, 1977
  2. "Fantasy"
    Released: January 1978
  3. "Jupiter"
    Released: April 1978
  4. "Magic Mind"
    Released: July 1978

Background

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All 'n All was produced by Maurice White for Kalimba Productions. A month-long trip to Argentina and Brazil served as his main source of inspiration. All 'n All was also recorded at the Hollywood Sound Recorders and The Burbank Studios, both located in Los Angeles, California. A 1999 reissue of the album features two demos of Love's Holiday and Runnin' respectively. As well as a live rendition of Brazilian Rhyme.[7]

Singles

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"Serpentine Fire" reached number one on the Billboard Hot Soul Songs chart and number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.[8][9] Another single, "Fantasy", peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot Soul Songs chart and number 14 on the UK Pop Singles chart.[10][11] "Fantasy" also earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Song.[12]

Critical reception

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The gatefold of All 'n All
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [13]
New Musical Express(favourable)[14]
Record Mirror     [15]
The Village VoiceB+[16]

A retrospective review by The Guardian lauded the album, saying, "Maurice White began his career as a drummer, and his band can sound like one enormous kit, where every crash and beat has its funky place" and "the whole shebang is punctuated beautifully by Milton Nascimento's Brazilian Rhyme."[17] Joe McEwen of Rolling Stone found that "As on past Earth, Wind and Fire records, All 'n All is filled with leaded brotherhood platitudes, Star Trek sci-fi and stiffly poetic love songs. This sounds overwrought and depressing (and maybe it is). But there's a catch: I like the record, for like much current black music, All 'n All elicits a schizophrenic response. If the album represents some of the worst in black music, it also has more than its share of the best."[18] The Los Angeles Times claimed that "All n All includes only two ballads and for a change both are as nifty as the R&B rockers. Possibly EW&F's finest collection."[19]

Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave the album a B+ grade. He remarked, "Focusing soulful horns, high-tension harmonies, and rhythms and textures from many lands onto a first side that cooks throughout. Only one element is lacking. Still, unsympathetic as I am to lyrics about conquering the universe on wings of thought, they make me shake my fundament anyway."[16] Alex Henderson of AllMusic described the album as a "diverse jewel".[13] With a four out of five star rating, Barry Cain of Record Mirror praised the album saying, "the spirit of Maurice White reigns supreme...the singer, writer, and producer casts his giant bird like shadow across every note, every peerless piece of slickery, every eye - blinking device. If anyone can claim to be the Fellini of funk It's Maurice White..."It's an EW&F album and I like it. Unashamedly."[15]

Phyl Garland, in her review for Stereo Review, noted that "the music is delightfully earthy in its appeal, an aural collage of rich vocal and instrumental textures underscored by highly danceable rhythms that never surrender to triteness. Though the very name of this group partakes of astrological symbolism, and though the lyrics of their songs often hint of galactic mysteries, the nine men who compose Earth, Wind & Fire play a kind of music that might be called neo-progressive soul, for it is a full light-year beyond what most groups are doing these days, soaring to celestial heights while sending out waves of mundane thrills."[20] John Rockwell of The New York Times proclaimed that "All 'n All shows Maurice White and his cohorts pushing their music ever more in a febrile jazz-rock direction. There are parallels, here, to white rock groups like Queen and Yes, but the very sophistication and single-mindedness of Earth, Wind and Fire's vision sets it apart from the bulk of rock-and-roll."[21] Monroe Anderson of the Chicago Tribune wrote that "the soul group's latest album release, All 'N All (Columbia), is a rare blend of poetry, passion, and artistic progression." Anderson added that "All 'N All is a nice indication that EW&F is trying to expose its fans to other forms of American music and take them across international and cultural borders."[22]

As an album, All 'n All won a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus. With the album's instrumental, "Runnin" also winning a Grammy for Best R&B Instrumental.[23] As well, All 'n All was nominated for an American Music Award in the category of Favorite Soul/R&B Album.[24]

Track listing

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Original release

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Side one[25]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Serpentine Fire"Maurice White, Verdine White, Reginald "Sonny" Burke3:51
2."Fantasy"Maurice White, Verdine White, Eduardo Del Barrio4:38
3."In the Marketplace (Interlude)"Maurice White0:43
4."Jupiter"Maurice White, Verdine White, Larry Dunn, Philip Bailey3:12
5."Love's Holiday"Maurice White, Skip Scarborough4:23
6."Brazilian Rhyme (Beijo)"Maurice White1:20
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I'll Write a Song For You"Philip Bailey, Al McKay, Steve Beckmeier5:23
2."Magic Mind"Larry Dunn, Philip Bailey, Al McKay, Maurice White, Verdine White, Fred White3:38
3."Runnin"Maurice White, Larry Dunn, Eddie del Barrio5:50
4."Brazilian Rhyme (Ponta de Areia)"Milton Nascimento0:53
5."Be Ever Wonderful"Maurice White, Larry Dunn5:08

[1]

1999 Reissue

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1999 Reissue[7]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Serpentine Fire"Sonny Burke (aka Reginald Burke), Maurice White, Verdine White3:51
2."Fantasy"Maurice White, Verdine White, Eduardo del Barrio4:38
3."In the Marketplace (Interlude)"Maurice White0:43
4."Jupiter"Philip Bailey, Larry Dunn, Maurice White, Verdine White3:11
5."September"Al McKay, Maurice White, Allee Willis3:36
6."Love's Holiday"Skip Scarborough, Maurice White4:22
7."Brazilian Rhyme (Beijo)"Maurice White (incorrectly credited to Milton Nascimento)1:20
8."Got to Get You Into My Life"John Lennon, Paul McCartney4:03
9."I'll Write a Song For You"Philip Bailey, Al McKay, Steve Beckmeier5:23
10."Magic Mind"Philip Bailey, Larry Dunn, Al McKay, Maurice White, Verdine White, Fred White3:38
11."Runnin'"Eddie del Barrio, Maurice White, Larry Dunn5:50
12."Brazilian Rhyme (Ponta de Areia)"Milton Nascimento0:53
13."Be Ever Wonderful"Maurice White, Larry Dunn5:07
14."Would You Mind (Demo version of 'Love's Holiday')"Skip Scarborough, Maurice White2:21
15."Runnin' (Original Hollywood Mix)"Eddie del Barrio, Maurice White, Larry Dunn3:19
16."Brazilian Rhyme (Beijo) (Recorded Live)"Maurice White2:32

Personnel

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  • Dorothy Ashby – harp
  • Phil Ayling – flute
  • Philip Bailey – vocals, percussion, congas
  • Blanche Belnick – violin
  • Roger Bobo – tuba
  • George Bohanon – trombone
  • Oscar Brashear – trumpet
  • Garnett Brown – trombone
  • Ronald Clark – violin
  • Ronald Cooper – cello
  • Paulinho Da Costa – percussion
  • Eduardo del Barrio – piano
  • Eumir Deodato – horn arrangement, string arrangement (7, 10)
  • Warren Dewey – additional recording engineer
  • David Duke – French horn
  • Larry Dunn – assistant producer, piano, Moog synthesizer, Oberheim synthesizer
  • Chuck Findley – trumpet
  • Norman Forrest – viola
  • Harris Goldman – violin
  • Jack Gootkin – violin
  • Janice Gower – violin, concertmaster
  • Johnny Graham – guitar solo (5), additional guitars
  • Terry Harrington – flute
  • Michael Harris – trumpet solo (9), additional trumpets
  • Ruth Henry – violin
  • Fred Jackson Jr. – flute
  • Ralph Johnson – drums
  • Jan Kelly – cello
  • Richard Klein – French horn
  • Paul Klingberg – audio mixing (12–14)
  • Renita Koven – viola
  • Betty LaMagna – violin
  • Carl LaMagna – violin
  • Mary D. Lindquist – violin
  • Linda Lipsett – viola
  • Art Macnow – direction
  • Steve Madaio – trumpet
  • Cameron Marcarelli – mixing assistant (12–14)
  • George Massenburg – recording engineer
  • James M. McGee – French horn
  • Al McKay – guitar solo (9), additional guitars
  • Abe Most – flute
  • Don Myrick – saxophone solo (9), alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone
  • Susan Ranney – acoustic bass
  • Alan Robinson – French horn
  • Gale Robinson – French horn
  • Marilyn Robinson – French horn
  • Jack Rouben – assistant recording engineer
  • Meyer Rubin – acoustic bass
  • Leo Sacks – audio mixing (12–14), reissue producer
  • Richard Salvato – direction
  • Sheldon Sanov – violin
  • Louis Satterfield – trombone
  • Skip Scarborough – piano
  • Haim Shtrum – violin
  • Daniel Smith – cello
  • Barry Socher – violin
  • Lya Stern – violin
  • David Stockhammer – violin
  • Barbara Thomason – viola
  • Tom Tom 84 – horn arrangement, string arrangement
  • Marcia Van Dyke – violin
  • Fred White – drums
  • Maurice White – audio mixing (12–14), original recording producer, vocals, drums, kalimba
  • Verdine White – assistant producer, vocals, electric bass
  • Mark Wilder – mastering
  • Andrew Woolfolk – tenor saxophone

[1]

Charts

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Albums

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Year Chart Peak
position
1977 US Top LPs & Tape (Billboard) 3
US Top Soul LPs (Billboard) 1
Canada Top Albums (RPM)[26] 3
Dutch Albums (Dutch Charts)[27] 4
New Zealand Pop Albums[28] 12
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[29] 11
UK Pop Albums[11] 13
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[30] 14

Year-end charts

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Year Chart Peak
position
1978 US Billboard 200 12
US Top Soul Albums (Billboard) 1
Dutch Albums (Dutch Charts)[31] 12
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[32] 31

Singles

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Year Single Peak positions[11]
US Hot 100 US R&B US Dance UK Pop Singles
1977 "Serpentine Fire" 13 1 – –
1978 "Fantasy" 32 12 – 14
"Jupiter" – – – 41
"Magic Mind" – – – 54

Certifications

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Certifications for All 'n All
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[33] Gold 50,000^
Japan — 127,340[34]
Netherlands (NVPI)[35] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[36] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[37] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Accolades

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Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Dave Marsh & Kevin Stein U.S. The 40 Best of Album Chartmakers by Year[38] 1981 13
Tom Moon U.S. 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die[39] 2008 *
The Guardian U.K. 1,000 Albums to Hear Before You Die[40] 2007 *

(*) designates lists that are unordered.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Earth, Wind & Fire: All 'n All. Columbia Records. November 1977.
  2. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: All 'n All (Top Soul Albums)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  3. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: All 'n All (Billboard 200)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  4. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: All 'n All". riaa.com. RIAA.
  5. ^ "Earth Wind & Fire - All 'N' All". bpi.co.uk. British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  6. ^ "EARTH, WIND AND FIRE - ALL N' ALL". Music Canada. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Earth, Wind & Fire - All 'n All (1999 Reissue). Columbia/Legacy. 1999.
  8. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Serpentine Fire (Hot Soul Songs)". billboard.
  9. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Serpentine Fire (Hot 100)". billboard.
  10. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Fantasy (Hot Soul Songs)". billboard.
  11. ^ a b c "Earth, Wind & Fire". Official Charts.
  12. ^ "Maurice White". grammy.com. The Recording Academy. November 23, 2020.
  13. ^ a b Henderson, Alex. "Earth, Wind & Fire: All 'n All". allmusic.com. Allmusic.
  14. ^ White, Cliff (February 11, 1978). Earth, Wind & Fire: All 'n All. New Musical Express.
  15. ^ a b Cain, Barry (January 7, 1978). "Earth, Wind & Fire: All 'n' All" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Record Mirror. p. 11.
  16. ^ a b Christgau, Robert. "Earth, Wind & Fire: All 'n All". robertchristgau.com. Village Voice.
  17. ^ "Artists beginning with E". guardian.com. The Guardian. November 19, 2007.
  18. ^ McEwen,Joe (January 26, 1978). "Earth, Wind & Fire: All n' All". rollingstone.com. Rolling Stone.
  19. ^ "Top 40 Records to Tie Your Ribbon Around". Los Angeles Times. December 18, 1977. p. 110. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  20. ^ Garland, Phyl (March 1978). "Earth, Wind & Fire: All 'n All" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Vol. 40, no. 3. Stereo Review. p. 77.
  21. ^ Rockwell, John (December 11, 1977). "Rock's History On Six Disks". The New York Times.
  22. ^ Anderson, Monroe (December 11, 1977). "This week's listening lineup". newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. p. 152.
  23. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire". grammy.com. The Recording Academy. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  24. ^ "1978 6th American Music Awards". archive.li. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 27, 2006.
  25. ^ Earth, Wind & Fire. “All 'n All”. Columbia / CBS. 1977.
  26. ^ "Top Canadian Albums". bac-lac.gc.ca. Vol. 28, no. 21. RPM. February 18, 1978.
  27. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: All 'n All". dutchcharts.nl. Dutch Charts.
  28. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: All 'n All". charts.nz. RIANZ.
  29. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire". Sverigetopplistan.
  30. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  31. ^ "Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  32. ^ "1978年アルバムヒットチャートTop50 【PRiVATE LiFE】年間ランキング". February 20, 2014. Archived from the original on February 20, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  33. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Earth Wind & Fire – All 'n All". Music Canada. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  34. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  35. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Earth Wind & Fire – All 'n All" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved July 16, 2022. Enter All 'n All in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1979 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  36. ^ "British album certifications – Earth Wind & Fire – All 'n All". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  37. ^ "American album certifications – Earth Wind & Fire – All 'n All". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  38. ^ Marsh, Dave; Stein, Kevin (1981). The Book of Rock Lists. Dell Publishing. p. 633. ISBN 0-440-57580-X – via Archive.org.
  39. ^ Moon, Tom (2008). 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. Workman Publishing Company. p. 250. ISBN 978-0-7611-3963-8. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009.
  40. ^ "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die". The Guardian. November 21, 2007. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
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