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That's the Way of the World

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That's the Way of the World
Studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire
Released March 15, 1975
Recorded September 16, 1974 - October 2, 1974, Caribou Ranch, Nederland, Colorado
Genre Soul, funk, rock
Length 38:23
Label Columbia
Producer Maurice White, Charles Stepney
Earth, Wind & Fire chronology
Another Time
(1974)		 That's the Way of the World
(1975)		 Gratitude
(1975)
Singles from That's the Way of the World
  1. "Shining Star"
    Released: February 13, 1975
  2. "That's the Way of the World"
    Released: June 18, 1975

That's the Way of the World is a 1975 album by Earth, Wind & Fire released on Columbia Records. It was also the soundtrack for a 1975 motion picture of the same name which featured several of the band members in cameo roles. Included on the album was the single "Shining Star", which was a #1 U.S. pop and R&B hit. Another popular single was the title track, which reached #12 on the pop chart. The album spent three weeks atop the Billboard Pop Albums Charts, five nonconsecutive weeks atop the Soul Albums chart.[1][2]

That's the Way of the World was also the third best-selling pop album and the number one best-selling R&B album of 1975 respectively and has been certified triple platinum in the U.S by the RIAA.[3][4]

In 2003, the album was ranked number 493 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2012, on a revised list by the magazine, the album listed at #486.

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4.5/5 stars
Billboard (favorable)[5]
Robert Christgau B+[6]
Q 4/5 stars[7]
Rolling Stone (favorable)[8]
Vibe (favorable)[9]
Virgin Encyclopedia 4/5 stars[10]
Yahoo Music (favorable)[11]
Zagat Survey 5/5 stars[5]
BBC (favourable)[12]

The album received generally positive reviews from critics. Billboard described the album as "a very tightly produced and performed package" and added in their review that "EW&F has some of the finest musicians in any band and the compositions are all top-notch".[13] Music critic Robert Christgau noted that on the album "this unit can do so many things it qualifies as the one-man band of black music even though it has nine members"[14] and That's the Way of the World has also been described by Alex Henderson of Allmusic as "the band's best album" and "one of the strongest albums of the 1970s and EWF's crowning achievement".[15]

That's the Way of the World was nominated in 1975 and 1976 for an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and also won a Rock Music Award in the category of Best Soul Album.[16][17]

Track listing

Original release

Side one
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Shining Star"   Philip Bailey, Larry Dunn, Maurice White 2:50
2. "That's the Way of the World"   Charles Stepney, Maurice White, Verdine White 5:45
3. "Happy Feelin'"   Verdine White, Philip Bailey, Larry Dunn, Maurice White, Al McKay 3:35
4. "All About Love"   Larry Dunn, Maurice White 6:35
Side two
No. Title Writer(s) Length
5. "Yearnin' Learnin'"   Philip Bailey, Charles Stepney, Maurice White 3:39
6. "Reasons"   Philip Bailey, Charles Stepney, Maurice White 4:59
7. "Africano"   Larry Dunn, Maurice White 5:09
8. "See the Light"   Louise Anglin, Philip Bailey, Larry Dunn 6:18