Faces (Earth, Wind & Fire album)
| Faces | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire | ||||
| Released | October 14, 1980 | |||
| Recorded | September 1980, George Massenburg/ARC Studios, West Los Angeles, Los Angeles | |||
| Genre | R&B | |||
| Length | 60:34 | |||
| Label | ARC/Columbia Records | |||
| Producer | Maurice White | |||
| Earth, Wind & Fire chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Singles from Faces | ||||
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Warr.org |  |
Faces is the tenth studio album, a double-album by the R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire, released on October 14, 1980 on ARC/Columbia Records. The album reached number 2 and number 10 on the Billboard Black and Pop albums charts respectively.
It has been certified gold in the US by the RIAA. In a 2007 interview when asked which EWF album is his favorite Earth, Wind & Fire leader Maurice White replied "Probably Faces because we were really in tune, playing together and it gave us the opportunity to explore new areas".
The lead-off single was "Let Me Talk". The songs "You", and "Sparkle" followed as single releases. Unlike previous Earth, Wind and Fire albums, there was no U.S. tour in support of the album. This was also the last Earth Wind and Fire recording with guitarist Al McKay, who left the group the next year. This album is noted for featuring Steve Lukather, guitarist for EWF's label mate Toto, on the songs "Back on the Road" and "You Went Away".
The song "Pride" was sampled in Raw Man's "Lovers".
2 extra interludes have been included as part of the album since the release of the Columbia Master's collection in 2011. The track "Oriental" (this interlude is actually on the original album at the very end of "In Time") comes directly before "Faces" while "Pipe Organ" (This interlude was like wise originally part of the song Faces at its conclusion) follows it. Also tracks "You" & "Take it to the Sky" feature significantly longer edits though in the case of "Take it to the Sky" the content comes from the end of "Sail Away".
"You" was released as a 7" Single in November 1980 in the UK as an edited version (3:55). The B-side contained the full album version of "Pride". UK Cat No: CBS A1204. UK Jazz Funk and Soul DJs, led by Robbie Vincent and Chris Hill, flipped the single and preferred to play "Pride" on their radio shows and at clubs/venues. "Pride" was and is still considered the stronger track, being a retro throwback to the Earth Wind & Fire sound associated with early hits such as "Saturday Nite" and "Mighty Mighty". The 7" version of "You" was added to the album with a number of other bonus tracks when the album was remastered and updated to CD in 2010.
The information regarding accolades attributed to Faces is adapted from SoulTracks.com.
...
Wikipedia