Raise!
| Raise! | ||||
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Cover art by Shusei Nagaoka
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| Studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire | ||||
| Released | November 14, 1981 | |||
| Recorded | May 1981 | |||
| Studio | ARC/George Massenburg Studio, West Los Angeles, CA Sunset Sounds Recording Studio, Hollywood, CA |
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| Genre | R&B, soul, funk | |||
| Length | 38:08 | |||
| Label | ARC, Columbia | |||
| Producer | Maurice White | |||
| Earth, Wind & Fire chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Raise! | ||||
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| Back cover | ||||
The back cover of Raise!
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Robert Christgau | B+ |
Raise! is the eleventh studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire, produced by the band's leader Maurice White for Kalimba Productions, and released in 1981 on CBS Records. Raise! has been certified platinum in the US by the RIAA for sales of over a million copies and gold in the UK and Canada by the British Phonographic Industry and Music Canada respectively.
Raise! was the bestselling R&B album of 1982. The album featured the #1 R&B and # 3 Pop hit "Let's Groove". The single "Wanna Be With You" won EWF a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group. Raise also marked the return to the band of rhythm guitarist Roland Bautista, last heard from on 1972's Last Days and Time.
Raise! would be the final EWF album to be released on ARC. The label would be discontinued by Columbia Records the following year.
The album art was designed by Roger Carpenter and Raise! was illustrated by Shusei Nagaoka. The front cover of Raise! features a presumed Egyptian female figure. The name of the band is present on the front cover, but the title is not.
On the back cover there is an illustration of a female figure in a sarcophagus, which is also divided into a purple left side and a blue right side. The sarcophagus appears to be hyper-modern. The title of the LP is presented in the top left corner of the back cover.
Ken Tucker of Rolling Stone describes Raise! as a reflection of "street-gritty black pop" and that on "Let's Groove" and the fast, cutting "Lady Sun", the horn section screams like a car running a red light". Music critic Robert Christgau says that on the album, he felt "a show of strength was due".
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