Super band Earth Wind & Fire is back as we once knew them. Well, sorta.
The bottom line is that founder Maurice White is still not performing with EW&F, but ex-member Larry Dunn is back … sort of. Read on for the details.
In an interview with the Associate Press, lead singer Philip Bailey revealed that guys wanted to release something the 2012 presidential election, but the band realized it wasn’t satisfied with the songs it created.
That was then. This is now. “We have a lot more bells and whistles in place now and the record is better,” said Bailey.
And that’s where Larry Dunn comes in. According to Bailey, the band called Dunn, a co-founder of the band and others to help produce its latest project.
“I said, ‘Let’s go back to the drawing board,’” he recalled. “It’s a great representation of who Earth, Wind and Fire is now, but not departing from the classic sound.”
The result is “Now, Then & Forever,” the group’s first album in eight years; it will be released Sept. 10.
“It doesn’t sound like we’re trying to be anyone other than Earth, Wind and Fire,” added bassist Verdine White.
Earth Wind & Fire — which includes founder Maurice White and Ralph Johnson — has worked on the album for two years. “My Promise,” the new single, was released today, Monday, and was co-written by Academy Award nominee and Grammy winner Siedah Garrett. Fans who pre-order the album will have their names put in the album packaging.
EW&F – Philip Bailey, Ralph Johnson and Verdine White – are currently on tour.
Check out the new single, “My Promise”:
