Earth Wind & Fire: Happy Feelin’

Continuing my focus on the music of 1975, coming in at #12 on my Top 20 is the best Soul album of the year. That’s The Way Of The World is the sixth album by Earth Wind & Fire. It follows a couple of very successful releases by the group in 1973 and 1974, but this 1975 album is the band’s crossover masterpiece. It was a #1 R&B and Pop album, and includes several crossover hits (including the #1 Billboard Top 40 hit “Shining Star”). Six of the eight songs on the album are EWF classics. “Shining Star” is quintessential funk and the title track is one of the greatest soul ballads ever written. The rest of the tunes are a mix of Afro-soul, jazz funk, and ballads. There are other EWF albums that are just as good (if not better) but this is the one that I go back to when I want to jam down the highway. With the state of the world today, I don’t know if there is a better album to dust off and throw on the turntable than this one if you want to groove the shit away from yourself for a while.

Share the feelin’ with your brother, don’t stop caring for one another

If you are interested in other years, check out my Year in Review series.

To listen to all of the songs of the day, check out the Radio Faux Show Song of the Day playlist.

• Best of 1975