Style elements

C EARTH, WIND & FIRE Heritage (CBS 466242) MAURICE WHITE'S little sleeve note suggests that, like Quincy Jones's recent Back On The Block, this is an attempt to ex? emplify tbe whole of black musical culture on one record. The differ? ence being, of course, that Quin? cy's been there and done that as regards virtually all of black music (bar prison worksongs), whilst EWF have always just been EWF. In their case, the grand variety of black music is apparently ade? quately summarised by a series of inter-track snippets they call "In? terludes", with titles like "Soweto" (African tinkling), "Birds" (saxohone tootling) and "Faith" (keyboard noodling), while their guests ? Jackson 5 clones The Boys, generic rapper M C Hammer, and the admittedly majestic growl of Sly Stone ? are hardly a case of shopping at Harrods when compared to Quin? cy's star-studded affair. In those terms, then, it's a bit limp; on the other hand, it's much more unified, more of a piece than Quincy's record, and may be accounted a reasonable success if considered simply an attempt to introduce some different ele? ments into the EWF sound. After all, no "black urban contempo? rary" 'LP is complete without a splash or two of rapping these days, and if M C Hammer is dull enough to begin...