"Let Me Talk" by Earth, Wind & Fire

Song#:  0341
Date:  09/20/1980
Debut:  75
Peak:  44
Weeks:  9
Genre:  R&B



Pop Bits:  EWF were tremendously successful in the 70s with eight platinum (or multi-platinum) albums and six Top 10 pop hits, including 1975's #1 "Shining Star." Their first album of the 80s, "Faces," managed to hit #10 and go gold, but it wouldn't come close to their mega-selling previous albums. Signs of decline were apparent when this first single couldn't get inside the Top 40. Although the group was R&B, they were kind of in the same boat as Chicago at the time - a successful 70s band whose sound was getting dated when the 80s rolled in. EWF would make changes, but it would only result in a slight resurgence as their last Top 40 hit would come in 1983.

ReduxReview:  The song kind of starts out like a Quincy Jones/Michael Jackson-type jam that really doesn't go anywhere. Then there is a shift that goes into a kind of smooth-jazz section. I also had to listen to this three times before actually finding a melody line and some type of chorus.  For me, this song is a mess.

ReduxRating:  3/10

Trivia:  Group founder Maurice White originally called his Chicago-based band Salty Peppers when they got their first contract with Capital Records in 1969. After a move to the West Coast and a new contract with Warner, White changed the band name to Earth, Wind & Fire. The name comes from the four classical elements (earth, air, fire, water). White's astrological sign is Sagittarius, which is devoid of the water element. Therefore, White turned the other three elements into the group's name.

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