Millennium is the sixteenth studio album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire released in September 1993 on Warner Bros. Records. The album reached No. 8 on the US Billboard Top R&B Albums chart, No. 39 on the US Billboard 200, No. 18 on the Japanese Pop Albums chart and No. 29 on the Dutch Album Top 100. Millennium has also been certified Gold in Japan by the RIAJ.

Overview Millennium marked the band's return after 21 years to Warner Bros. Records. The album was also produced by EWF's founder and leader Maurice White.

Artists such as Prince and Ronnie Laws appeared on the LP.

Critical reception

Within 4/5 stars review the Buffalo News commented "EW&F, one of the few groups that kept black popular music alive when disco ruled, has poured new life into a proven musical formula. Its latest project contains a plethora of kalimbas, blaring horns, and converging Afro-Cuban and Latin rhythms. Add the stratospheric voices of EW&F founder Maurice White, and star-lead vocalist Philip Bailey, and behold: a revamped re-creation of the message-laden, massaging tunes the band was known for in its heyday." Steven Wine of the Associated Press claimed "Millennium is EWF's best record since their artsistic peak in the 1970s, when such albums as Gratitude and That's the Way of the World deftly mixed R&B, funk and jazz." Tom Sinclair of Vibe found EWF "demonstrate they still have the knack for constructing mellifluous R&B on the visonary/romantic tip".

Paul Willistein of The Morning Call wrote "There are more than half a dozen standouts among the disc's 16 tracks, making this a must have for longtime fans." Renee Graham of The Boston Globe noted that Millennium "returns the band to its funk/r&b roots". With a three out of four star rating James T. Jones IV of USA Today found that the band "returned to their trademark sound: snappy horns, kalimba (thumb piano), falsetto harmonies, Afro-Cuban influences, instrumental interludes and philosophical lyrics." Derek Ali of the Dayton Daily News in a 3.5/5 stars review said, "With its Millennium album, Earth, Wind & Fire proves its one of those rare groups that can maintain a musical style for several decades while keeping pace with today's sounds". Gary Graff of the Detroit Free Press wrote "EWF returns to the joyous R&B that made it famous, landing smooth if not exactly landmark results." Andy Gill of The Independent stated "if it's an old-style R&B sensibility you're after, the new Earth, Wind & Fire album may be just the ticket."

The Buffalo News placed the album on its list of the best R&B/Hip-Hop albums of 1993. Millennium was also nominated for a Soul Train Music Award within the category of Best R&B/Soul Album - Group, Band or Duo.

Singles The track "Sunday Morning", earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. Released as a single, it peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart, No. 20 on the Hot R&B Singles chart and No. 35 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

The album cut "Spend the Night" reached Nos. 36 and 42 on the Billboard Adult R&B Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts, respectively.

Covers The Prince-penned track, "Super Hero", was covered by the New Power Generation featuring the Steeles for the soundtrack to the film Blankman.

Track listing

Personnel

Earth, Wind & Fire Philip Bailey – backing vocals (1–3, 5–7, 9–15), lead vocals (3, 6, 7, 11, 13, 14), vocals (8, 12) Maurice White – kalimba, percussion, lead vocals (1–3, 5–7, 9–15), backing vocals (1–3, 5–7, 9–15), drum programming (2), vocals (8, 12) Sheldon Reynolds – keyboards, guitars, backing vocals (1–3, 5–7, 9–15), synth bass (1, 2), rhythm programming (1, 3, 5, 9, 13, 15), keyboard programming (2), synthesizer programming (2), drum programming (2, 10), additional programming (12), synthesizers (15) Verdine White – bass guitar Ralph Johnson – percussion Andrew Woolfolk – saxophones Gary Bias – saxophones Reggie C. Young – trombone Ray Brown – trumpet

Additional musicians Nicky Brown – keyboards (1, 10), synthesizers (3, 15) Michael McKnight – synthesizer programming (1–3, 5–7, 9–15), rhythm programming (1, 3, 9, 15), keyboard programming (2), keyboards (7), synth bass (7, 14), drum programming (7, 14), synthesizers (15) Bill Meyers – keyboards (4, 16), acoustic piano (5), synthesizers (5, 11, 12, 15), rhythm programming (5), acoustic piano solo (13), synth bass (15) Freddie Ravel – synthesizers (5, 8), breath synthesizer solo (5, 8), drums (8), percussion sound design (8) Don Wyatt – keyboards (6, 11, 14), synth bass (11) Darnell Spencer – synthesizer programming (6), synth bass (6), drum programming (6) Rex Salas – keyboards (7), synthesizer programming (7), synth bass (7), drum programming (7) Burt Bacharach – additional keyboards (7) Claude Gaudette – additional keyboards (7) David Lawrence – keyboards (9), rhythm programming (9) Prince – keyboards (12), drum programming (12), backing vocals (12) Frankie Blue – synthesizers (13), synthesizer programming (13), rhythm programming (13) Brad Cole – synthesizers (13) Thom Bell – keyboards (14) Michael Thompson – guitars (1, 2, 5, 12, 14) Jorge Strunz – acoustic guitar (8) Dimitric Collins – drum programming (11, 14) James "Timbali" Cornwell – percussion (1, 9) Paulinho da Costa – percussion (2, 3, 5, 10, 13, 15), additional percussion (8) Dan Higgins – saxophones (1, 9, 12) Gerald Albright – saxophones (5, 7) Larry Williams – saxophones (12) Ronnie Laws – sax solo (15) Bill Reichenbach Jr. – trombone (1, 9, 12) Gary Grant – trumpet (1, 9, 12) Jerry Hey – trumpet (1, 9, 12) Michael "Patches" Stewart – trumpet (2, 3, 5, 10, 13, 15)

Music arrangements Jerry Hey – horn arrangements (1, 9) Tom "Tom Tom 84" Washington – horn arrangements (2, 13), string arrangements (3) Bill Meyers – string arrangements (5), horn arrangements (5, 10, 12, 15), synth horn and synth string arrangements (11) Freddie Ravel – synthesizer arrangements (5), arrangements (8) Darnell Spencer – rhythm arrangements (6) Maurice White – synth horn arrangements (6, 7), arrangements (8, 14), horn arrangements (12) Michael McKnight – synth horn arrangements (7), arrangements (14) Rex Salas – rhythm arrangements (7) Nicky Brown – rhythm arrangements (10) Prince – rhythm arrangements (12)

Strings (tracks 3 & 5) Bruce Dukov – concertmaster Larry Corbett, Steve Erdody and Suzie Katayama – cello Bob Becker, Roland Kato and Herschel Wise – viola Ron Clark, Bruce Dukov, Henry Ferber, Armen Garabedian, Berj Garabedian, Endre Granat, Clayton Haslop, Peter Kent, Dimitrie Leivici, Sid Page, Barbra Porter and Haim Shtrum – violin

Production Maurice White – producer (1–14, 16) Freddie Ravel – producer (8) Frankie Blue – producer (13) Bill Meyers – producer (15) Paul Klingberg – recording Guy DeFazio – additional engineer Ray Blair – assistant engineer Mark Fergesen – assistant engineer Judy Kirschner – assistant engineer Keith Kresge – assistant engineer Terry Reiff – assistant engineer Lee Watters – assistant engineer Mick Guzauski – mixing (1–3, 5, 7, 9–11, 13–15) Vachik Aghanisntz – mixing (4, 8, 16) Keith Cohen – mixing (6, 12) Jeff Graham – mix assistant (1–3, 5, 7, 9–11, 13–15) Anas Allaf – mix assistant (4, 8, 16) Tommy Daugherty – mix assistant (6, 12) Steve Hall – mastering at Future Disc (Hollywood, California) Art Macnow – project supervisor Richard Salvato – album coordinator Reiko Yoshida – artwork coordinator Kim Champagne – art direction Tadanori Yokoo – illustration Terushia Tajima – computer supervisor Bob Cavallo – management

Charts + Album Year Chart Position 1993 U.S. Billboard 200 39 U.S. Billboard Top R&B Albums 8 Japanese Pop Albums (Oricon)18 Dutch Albums (Dutch Album Top 100)29 Sweden Albums (Sverigetopplistan)50

+ Singles Year Single Chart Position 1993 "Spend the Night" Japanese Pop Singles (Oricon)33 U.S. Billboard Adult R&B Airplay 36 U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles 42 "Sunday Morning" U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles 20 U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 31 U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs 35 U.S. Billboard Adult R&B Songs 10 Canada RPM Top Singles33 Dutch Singles (Dutch Single Top 100)26 Japanese Pop Singles (Oricon)2 U.S. Billboard Mainstream Top 40 34 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 53"Blood Brothers"Japanese Pop Singles (Oricon)53 "Two Hearts" U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles88

Certifications

References