EARTH WIND & FIRE – FACES 2LP – Nr MINT A1 UK SOUL FUNK DISCO

Earth Wind & Fire – Faces
(CBS Records  1980  88498)
Matrix No’s: A1/B1/C5/D4 – UK Pressing

Gatefold Sleeve in Excellent+ condition
– some slight wear to edges/corners – back cover has some creasing near opening edge and “Steve” written near bottom
Inner Sleeves in Nr MINT- condition
– stamp in corners

Double Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality – there’s a stamp and name on Sides 1 & 3 labels)

Earth, Wind & Fire (EWF) is an American band that has spanned the musical genres of R&B, soul, funk, jazz, disco, pop, rock, Latin and African. They are one of the most successful bands of all time. Rolling Stone Magazine described them as “innovative, precise yet sensual, calculated yet galvanizing” and declared that the band “changed the sound of black pop”.

The band was founded in Chicago by Maurice White in 1971, having grown out of a previous band known as The Salty Peppers. Other members have included Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Ralph Johnson, Larry Dunn, Al McKay and Andrew Woolfolk. The band has received 20 Grammy nominations; they won six as a group and two of its members, Maurice White and Bailey, won separate individual awards. Earth, Wind & Fire have 12 American Music Awards nominations and four awards. They have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and sold over 100 million records, making them one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time. Five members of Earth, Wind & Fire were also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame: Maurice White, Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Larry Dunn and Al McKay. The music industry and fans have bestowed Lifetime Achievement honors from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (Rhythm & Soul Heritage Award – 2002), NAACP (Hall of Fame – 1994) and the BET Awards (Lifetime Achievement Award – 2002).

Earth, Wind & Fire is known for the dynamic sound of their horn section, their energetic and elaborate stage shows, and the interplay between the contrasting vocals of Philip Bailey’s falsetto and Maurice White’s tenor. The kalimba (African thumb piano) is played on all of the band’s albums. In the 1970s and early 1980s, the band had many hits, including “Shining Star”, “That’s the Way of the World”, “Devotion”, “Reasons”, “Sing a Song”, “Can’t Hide Love”, “Getaway”, “Fantasy”, “Love’s Holiday”, “September”, “Boogie Wonderland”, “After the Love Has Gone”, and “Let’s Groove”. Two Earth, Wind & Fire classic songs have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame: “That’s the Way of the World” (2004) and “Shining Star” (2007).

The band is also known as having been the first African-American act to sell out Madison Square Garden and to receive the MSG Gold Ticket Award. President Barack Obama invited Earth, Wind & Fire to perform at the White House for the first social event of the new administration.

Faces is the tenth studio album by the R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire released on October 14, 1980 on ARC/Columbia Records. The album reached number 2 on the Billboard Top LPs chart, number 10 on the Billboard Top Soul albums chart and number 10 on the UK Albums chart. Faces was certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.

Track listing