Maurice White had a problem in 1980. His band, Earth, Wind & Fire, was the biggest group on the planet, fresh off the massive success of I Am and the disco-fueled highs of "September" and "Boogie Wonderland." But Maurice didn't want to just make people dance anymore. He wanted to make them think, feel, and travel through a sonic landscape that defied the three-minute radio edit. That ambition birthed the Earth Wind & Fire Faces album, a sprawling, double-disc project that remains one of the most polarizing and misunderstood entries in their legendary discography.
It was a massive risk.
While the industry was leaning into the slick, stripped-back sounds of early 80s synth-pop and post-disco, White took his army of musicians—including the incomparable Philip Bailey and the Phenix Horns—into a deep dive of jazz-fusion, complex R&B, and global spiritualism. Honestly, it was a lot. Maybe too much for a public that just wanted "September Part 2."
The Double-Album Gamble
Double albums are usually ego trips. For Earth, Wind & Fire, Faces was a statement of musical freedom. Released in October 1980, it consists of 15 tracks that range from high-energy funk to introspective, almost orchestral ballads. You've got to remember that at this time, the "Disco Sucks" movement had already peaked, and R&B was in a weird transitional phase. Maurice White sensed this shift. He pushed the band toward a sound that felt more "organic" and complex, even if it meant sacrificing the easy-listening hooks that made All 'n All such a global powerhouse.
The Earth Wind & Fire Faces album wasn't just another record; it was an attempt to prove that "Earth, Wind & Fire" was a genre unto itself.
Many critics at the time were baffled. They called it "overproduced" or "bloated." But if you listen to a track like "Let Me Talk," you hear a band that is tighter than ever. The rhythm section, led by Verdine White’s aggressive, melodic bass lines, provides a foundation that allows the horns to punch through with mathematical precision. It’s not just a funk song; it’s a social commentary on communication in a crumbling world. It’s gritty. It’s real.
Breaking Down the Sonic Palette
The opener, "Let Me Talk," sets a frantic pace. It’s an invitation. Then you hit "Pride," which feels like a carryover from the I Am sessions but with a sharper edge. However, the real meat of the album lies in the deeper cuts like "You" and the title track, "Faces."
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"Faces" is a masterpiece of arrangement. It doesn't follow a standard pop structure. Instead, it weaves through movements. You can hear the influence of jazz greats like Ramsey Lewis and the spiritual jazz movement of the 70s bleeding into every bar. It's the kind of song that requires headphones and a quiet room. You can't just play this at a backyard BBQ and expect people to get it on the first listen.
Then there’s "Sparkle." It’s classic EW&F—lush, ethereal, and shimmering. Philip Bailey’s falsetto here is a weapon of mass seduction. But even in the ballads, there’s an underlying complexity in the chord progressions that separates this album from their earlier work. It’s more "grown-up" music.
Why the Fans Weren't Ready
Commercial success is a fickle beast. Faces went Gold, which sounds great, but for a band coming off back-to-back multi-platinum hits, it was seen as a commercial slump. It reached Number 10 on the Billboard 200, yet it didn't produce the kind of "monster hit" that "Shining Star" or "After the Love Has Gone" provided.
Why?
Basically, the Earth Wind & Fire Faces album asked too much of the casual listener. In 1980, the world was moving toward the "MTV era." People wanted short, punchy visuals and infectious choruses. Faces was a journey. It was long. It was expensive to produce. And it was deeply personal to Maurice White.
There's a story that the label, Columbia Records, wasn't exactly thrilled with a double album. They knew the price point would be higher for consumers during a recession. They wanted a single disc of hits. White stood his ground. He believed in the "totality" of the work. In hindsight, his artistic integrity was admirable, even if it cost the band their untouchable status at the top of the charts.
The Technical Brilliance of the 1980 Sessions
If you're a gearhead or a musician, this album is a goldmine. The production value is staggering. Recorded mostly at George Massenburg’s Complex Studios, the engineering on the Earth Wind & Fire Faces album is often cited by audiophiles as some of the best of the era.
The separation of instruments is crystal clear. You can hear every flick of Al McKay's guitar and every nuance of Fred White's drumming.
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- The Horn Arrangements: Jerry Hey and the Phenix Horns reached a peak here. The charts are incredibly dense, utilizing "extended chords" that you rarely hear in pop music.
- The Vocals: The interplay between Maurice's gritty baritone and Philip's soaring falsetto reached a symbiotic level. They weren't just singing; they were harmonizing in ways that felt like a single instrument.
- The Synthesizers: While EW&F was known for "real" instruments, Faces saw a tasteful integration of the Prophet-5 and other early polyphonic synths, adding a futuristic sheen to the spiritual jazz foundation.
It was a bridge between the analog 70s and the digital 80s.
Misconceptions and Re-evaluations
People often say this album marked the "beginning of the end" for the band's classic lineup. That’s a bit of an exaggeration. While Al McKay left shortly after, the band continued to churn out hits like "Let's Groove" on the subsequent Raise! album.
The real "misconception" is that Faces is a failure.
If you look at modern reviews from sites like AllMusic or Pitchfork, the retrospective view is much kinder. It’s now seen as a "musician’s album." It’s the record where they stopped trying to please the radio and started trying to please themselves. Honestly, that’s where the best art usually happens.
Think about the track "And Love Goes On." It’s a sophisticated piece of pop-funk that has aged significantly better than most of the synth-heavy tracks from 1981 and 1982. It has a timeless quality because it isn't trying to chase a specific trend. It is the trend.
The Spiritual Core
Maurice White was always deep into Egyptology, spirituality, and the idea of universal consciousness. On the Earth Wind & Fire Faces album, these themes aren't just subtext—they are the text. The cover art itself, featuring various ethnic "faces" blended together, reflects White’s belief in a global village.
"Sailaway" and "In Time" are prime examples of this. They aren't just love songs; they are songs about the human condition, the passage of time, and the search for peace. It’s heavy stuff for a group often pigeonholed as a "disco band."
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How to Listen to Faces Today
If you’re coming to this album for the first time, don't shuffle it. Don't pick out the singles. Sit down with it. It’s a 70-minute experience.
You'll notice the sequencing is intentional. The way "Song in My Heart" transitions into other moods is part of the narrative. It’s a "vibe" in the truest sense of the word. You can hear the influence this record had on modern neo-soul artists like Maxwell or Erykah Badu. They took that "Earth, Wind & Fire DNA"—the layers, the spiritual lyrics, the jazz chords—and ran with it.
It’s also worth noting the "Japanese influence" on the album. During their tours in Japan, the band was treated like royalty, and the precision and discipline of Japanese culture supposedly influenced White’s production style during the Faces era. Everything had to be perfect. Every note had to have a purpose.
The Legacy of a "Flop"
In the business world, Faces might have been a "disappointment" compared to I Am. But in the world of music history, it's a monument. It proved that R&B could be as complex as prog-rock and as sophisticated as bebop.
The Earth Wind & Fire Faces album remains a testament to what happens when an artist is given a blank check and chooses to spend it on something meaningful rather than something safe. It was the last time we saw the "classic" EW&F sound in its most expansive, unadulterated form before they had to tighten things up for the 80s pop machine.
Actionable Insights for the Modern Listener
To truly appreciate the depth of this project, consider these steps:
- Seek out the 2010s Remasters: The original vinyl is great, but the modern digital remasters bring out the low-end frequencies that were sometimes lost in early pressings.
- Focus on the Bass: Spend an entire listen just following Verdine White. His work on "Let Me Talk" is a masterclass in syncopation.
- Read the Lyrics: Many people hum along to EW&F without realizing the social and spiritual depth of the writing. Look at the lyrics for "Pride" and "Share Your Love."
- Compare it to 'Raise!': Listen to Faces and then listen to the album that followed it, Raise!. You’ll see exactly how the band "pivoted" back to commercialism and what was lost in that transition.
The Earth Wind & Fire Faces album isn't just a record in a bin. It’s a document of a band at their absolute technical peak, refusing to play it safe. It’s messy, it’s long, and it’s beautiful. If you haven't given it a real chance in a few years, it’s time to go back. You’ll probably find something new in those "faces" that you missed the first time around.