Last Days And Time
Here's a special gift--I had been looking for this for YEARS!
The first one is my favorite..back in '72 I bought a card for Momma and wrote the lyrics out for her. Take particular note of 'Where Have All The Flowers Gone' too..Philip's first time singing with EWF and he is JAMMIN!!! Feel free to add to your playlist the ones you like and download em too if you want...edie

  1. play EWF-1972 — B4 Mom (my favorite)
  2. play EWF-1972 — A4 Power (my favorite)
  3. play EWF-1972 — B2 Where Have All The Flowers Gone (favorite)
  4. play EWF-1972 — B3 I'd Rather Have You
  5. play EWF-1972 — B1 Remember The Children
  6. play EWF-1972 — A3 Make It With You
  7. play EWF-1972 — A2 They Don't See
  8. play EWF-1972 — A1 Time Is On Your Side

'Last Days In Time' finds Earth,Wind & Fire at a certain peak of sorts.This is the bands debut album for Columbia and also the debut of singer Phillip Bailey in their band.Not only is his voice in peak form but EWF have obviously not quite let go of the ensemble-style jazzy funk they'd patented from their debut on Warner Brothers two years earlier (which is even rawer then THIS).That sound is most evident on the communal funk jams of "Time Is On Your Side",the wonderful "Remember The Children" and the brilliant instrumental workout "Power".And even while Bailey sings a couple pop covers in "Make It With You" and "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" Earth,Wind & Fire didn't get any hits from this album.Their sound was still far too eclectic and drew upon too many world and jazz music elements to really get over on the pop charts.So for a glimpse into EWF's pre-superstar days WITH Phillip Bailey this album is a good place to go.You certainly won't find anything from it on Columbia's 1978 greatest hits album 'The Best Of Earth,Wind & Fire' and even on more extensive compilations these songs are often skimmed over.So for any EWF fan I'd say this album is pretty essential.


Momma and Me at my Uncle Ely's Impala Lounge..Chicago 1976

Last Days And Time-EW&F
Enjoy!

Views: 14

Comment

You need to be a member of E.FM Radio to add comments!

Join E.FM Radio

Introspection

Entr'acte

  1. play Norman Brown — Night Drive
  2. play Norman Brown — Feeling
  3. play Norman Brown — Still
  4. play Miles Davis — miles 1
  5. play miles 2
  6. play miles 3
  7. play miles 4
  8. play miles 5
  9. play Marvin Gaye — I Met A Little Girl
  10. play Santana — 01 Singing Winds, Crying Beasts
  11. play Santana — 02 Black Magic Woman-Gypsy Queen
  12. play Mongo — 02. Afro Blue



The history of the Butlers/Raw Soul is dense, but for all of us music nerds, that's normal. It is not totally clear what year the Butlers actually formed but they released their first single in 1963 on Liberty Records. That single was "She Tried To Kiss Me" and another single followed on Guyden entitled "Lovable Girl." After the Guyden single the Butlers took a break not recording another record until the single "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" was released on the Phila label in 1966. The group also backed Charles Earland and Jean Wells on one Phila single ("I Know She Loves Me"). 


As you might be noticing, the Butlers were doing a fair amount of recording but not achieving much success. The group's recordings sold regionally but never had the promotion to make an impact on the national scene. After the single with Phila, the Butlers moved to the Fairmount label (part of the Cameo-Parkway family) and released a handful of singles, some being reissued singles of the past. The Butlers were with Fairmount for 1966-67 and then moved to Sassy Records. Sassy released the group's greatest single (in my opinion) "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" b/w "If That's What You Wanted." A copy of that 45 sold for just under $500 last summer on eBay. Even though that isn't that much in the world of record collecting--it's still a hefty sum. The Butlers released another single on Sassy ("She's Gone" b/w "Love Is Good") that appears to be even 
harder to come by then the "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" single.

 

The true history become a bit blurred here as the AMG biography states that the Butlers last record was released on C.R.S. in 1974 (". However, between 1971 and that single, Frankie Beverly formed a group called Raw Soul and released a number of singles. Some of the songs recorded by Beverly during this period are "While I'm Alone," "Open Up Your Heart," (both on the Gregor label) and "Color Blind." "Color Blind" was released by the Eldorado label and rerecorded by Maze. Beverly's big break came when Marvin Gaye asked Raw Soul to back him on a tour. Gaye helped Beverly/Raw Soul get a contract at Capitol. Beverly decided to take the group in a different direction, a name change occurred, and Maze was created. 

The above isn't the most complete history of Beverly but hopefully someone will know a way to get in touch with the man or his management because a comprehensive pre-Maze history needs to be done on Frankie Beverly (his real name is Howard, by the way). Below you'll find every Frankie Beverly (pre-Maze) song available to me right now ("Color Blind" will be up soon). 

If you have a song that is not included below, shoot it over to funkinsoulman (at) yahoo.com and it will go up in the next Frankie Beverly post (later this week--highlighting Maze). Also, if you have any more information please share your knowledge. The Butlers material has been comp-ed sporadically (usually imports) but the entire Maze catalog has been reissued and is available. 

Enjoy.  "She Kissed Me" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967) 
 
 "I Want To Feel I'm Wanted" (not sure which label or year) "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" (Phila, 1966) "Because Of My Heart" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967)
   
 "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" (Sassy, 1967)
   
 "If That's What You Wanted" (Sassy, 1967)
 



Frankie Beverly is one of those cats that has lasting power. He started in the music business doing a tour with doo wop group the Silhouettes and then formed his own group called the Blenders. The Blenders never recorded a single, Beverly wouldn't appear on wax until forming the Butlers a few years later. Along with Beverly, the Butlers included Jack "Sonny" Nicholson, Joe Collins, John Fitch, and Talmadge Conway.

Beverly would later enjoy great success fronting Maze and Conway would become a
well-known penning Double Exposure's
"Ten Percent" and the Intruders' "Memories Are Here To Stay." 
 While Maze is a phenomenal group, Beverly's work before that group will always stand out as his best (imo).

The Butlers produced tunes that most Northern Soul fans would kill for and Raw Soul gave the funksters something to pursue. If, by chance, you know of a way to get in touch with Frankie Beverly or his management, please drop me an e-mail. It would be absolutely great to do an interview with him about his pre-Maze work. He's still playing out, most recently doing a New Year's Eve show in Atlanta.
:: Funkinsoulman ::

Power...Through Simplicity ♪♫♪

Members

About

© 2024   Created by Edie Antoinette.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service