from SPIRIT OF A NEW WORLD/TOUCH (single)
written by Maurice White, David Foster, Brian Fairweather & Martin Page
Earth, Wind & Fire released “Electric Universe” in 1983. In their attempt to modernize their sound, they drastically changed it. The R&B super-group got rid of their trademark strings and horns with classic funk/soul grooves in favour of heavily programmed music dominated by synthesizers and programmed drums. Probably Maurice White heard the influence of the growing wave in black music: people like Prince, Cameo and Herbie Hancock who were storming the charts with their kind of techno/funk sound. From a productive point of view, the final result isn’t too far from the Al Jarreau album “High Crime” that presented the same programmed atmospheres.