'I Am has to stand alone, simply because it is the high watermark of an extraordinary group.'
Gary Mullholland, Fear of Music
Yesterday was a sunny morning. Daylight streaming through the tall windows of my flat. I put Earth Wind & Fire's I Am on first thing. Probably the first time I've listened to it for twenty years. It won't be another twenty. It's a wonderful record. I imagine the apogee of their career and I've been working towards using that word almost the entire two years that I've been writing this blog.
I don't really have any records that I could slot next to it if I chose to organise my collection in terms of genre rather than alphabetically, (yes I've thought about these things). It could probably be classified as a Disco record but it transcends that narrow definition. The musicianship is far too distinguished for such a narrow category. Get it. Play it. It will feel as if happiness has suddenly come on tap where you live.
'We critics like things obvious. If the singer sings, 'I am in existential torment,' then we can safely say he is in existential torment, and praise him for being deep, emotionally honest and authentic. If the singer sings, 'I love you and I'm happy,' we can safely say he is a bland person who is just trying to ingratiate himself with a mass audience. Your average listener, being a little smarter, is not so easily fooled by the surface of things.'
Gary Mullholland, Fear of Music
He's right. Be happy!
No comments:
Post a Comment