Earth, Wind and Fire (1974) Feelin Blue

From their breakthrough 1974 effort, Open Your Eyes, audiences certainly opened their ears to EWF's killer grooves a key band that transitioned from the smoky horns of Philly Soul's vocal groups to the dance based, big band funkier outfits of the late 70s Disco groups. While there are some great percussive talent on display in Caribou and the aptly titled Drum song, Feelin Blue to me is the best representation of the band's eclectic mix of samba, funk and soul full of glistening vocals, particularly Phil Bailey's irreplaceable falsetto but also the slow jam and quiet storm sound they would pioneer for the 80s. Taking the repressed funk and lush instrumentation of Philly and making it even more eclectic and vibrant to create soft ballads which could fill arenas, EWF were truly the most important RnB group of the 1970s over the talents of Parliament Funkadelic, The Commodores and Kool and the Gang. Devotion and Mighty, Mighty are also great examples of their vocal drenched funk ballad sound worth a listen, while Kalimba Story mixes their ballad and hardcore funk sides well with the titular instrument.