All 'n All is the eighth studio album by the American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released in November 1977 by Columbia Records. The album peaked at No. 1 on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart.

All 'n All has also been certified Triple Platinum in the US by the RIAA, Gold in Canada by Music Canada and Silver in the UK by the BPI.

Background

All 'n All was produced by Maurice White for Kalimba Productions. A month-long trip to Argentina and Brazil served as his main source of inspiration. All 'n All was also recorded at the Hollywood Sound Recorders and The Burbank Studios, both located in Los Angeles, California. A 1999 reissue of the album features two demos of "Love's Holiday" and "Runnin" respectively, as well as a live rendition of "Brazilian Rhyme".

Singles "Serpentine Fire" reached number one on the Billboard Hot Soul Songs chart and number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Another single, "Fantasy", peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot Soul Songs chart and number 14 on the UK Pop Singles chart. "Fantasy" also earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Song.

Critical reception

Joe McEwen of Rolling Stone opined, "As on past Earth, Wind and Fire records, All 'n All is filled with leaded brotherhood platitudes, Star Trek sci-fi and stiffly poetic love songs. This sounds overwrought and depressing (and maybe it is). But there's a catch: I like the record, for like much current black music, All 'n All elicits a schizophrenic response. If the album represents some of the worst in black music, it also has more than its share of the best." The Los Angeles Times said that "All n All includes only two ballads and for a change both are as nifty as the R&B rockers. Possibly EW&F's finest collection."

Robert Christgau of The Village Voice, in a B+ review, remarked, "Focusing soulful horns, high-tension harmonies, and rhythms and textures from many lands onto a first side that cooks throughout. Only one element is lacking. Still, unsympathetic as I am to lyrics about conquering the universe on wings of thought, they make me shake my fundament anyway." Within a 4/5 stars review, Barry Cain of Record Mirror hailed the album, saying, "the spirit of Maurice White reigns supreme... the singer, writer, and producer casts his giant bird like shadow across every note, every peerless piece of slickery, every eye - blinking device. If anyone can claim to be the Fellini of funk, it's Maurice White" ... "It's an EW&F album and I like it. Unashamedly."

Phyl Garland of Stereo Review noted that "the music is delightfully earthy in its appeal, an aural collage of rich vocal and instrumental textures underscored by highly danceable rhythms that never surrender to triteness. Though the very name of this group partakes of astrological symbolism, and though the lyrics of their songs often hint of galactic mysteries, the nine men who compose Earth, Wind & Fire play a kind of music that might be called neo-progressive soul, for it is a full light-year beyond what most groups are doing these days, soaring to celestial heights while sending out waves of mundane thrills." John Rockwell of The New York Times said, "All 'n All shows Maurice White and his cohorts pushing their music ever more in a febrile jazz-rock direction. There are parallels, here, to white rock groups like Queen and Yes, but the very sophistication and single-mindedness of Earth, Wind and Fire's vision sets it apart from the bulk of rock-and-roll." Monroe Anderson of the Chicago Tribune wrote that "the soul group's latest album release, All 'N All (Columbia), is a rare blend of poetry, passion, and artistic progression...All 'N All is a nice indication that EW&F is trying to expose its fans to other forms of American music and take them across international and cultural borders."

A retrospective review by The Guardian lauded the album, saying, "Maurice White began his career as a drummer, and his band can sound like one enormous kit, where every crash and beat has its funky place... the whole shebang is punctuated beautifully by Milton Nascimento's 'Brazilian Rhyme'." Alex Henderson of AllMusic commented, "Earth, Wind & Fire's artistic and commercial winning streak continued with its ninth album, All 'n All... (the diverse jewel) was a highly rewarding addition to EWF's catalog."

All 'n All won a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus. The track "Runnin" won a Grammy for Best R&B Instrumental. All 'n All was also nominated for an American Music Award in the category of Favorite Soul/R&B Album.

Accolades Publication Country Accolade Year Rank Dave Marsh and Kevin SteinU.S. The 40 Best of Album Chartmakers by Year 198113 Tom MoonU.S. 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die 2008* The GuardianU.K. 1,000 Albums to Hear Before You Die 2007*

(*) designates lists that are unordered.

Track listing Original release

1999 reissue

Personnel Adapted from the liner notes.

Dorothy Ashby – harp Phil Ayling – flute Philip Bailey – vocals, percussion, congas Blanche Belnick – violin Roger Bobo – tuba George Bohanon – trombone Oscar Brashear – trumpet Garnett Brown – trombone Ronald Clark – violin Ronald Cooper – cello Paulinho Da Costa – percussion Eduardo del Barrio – piano Eumir Deodato – horn arrangement, string arrangement (7, 10) Warren Dewey – additional recording engineer David Duke – French horn Larry Dunn – assistant producer, piano, Moog synthesizer, Oberheim synthesizer Chuck Findley – trumpet Norman Forrest – viola Harris Goldman – violin Jack Gootkin – violin Janice Gower – violin, concertmaster Johnny Graham – guitar solo (5), additional guitars Terry Harrington – flute Michael Harris – trumpet solo (9), additional trumpets Ruth Henry – violin Fred Jackson Jr. – flute Ralph Johnson – drums Jan Kelly – cello Richard Klein – French horn Paul Klingberg – audio mixing (12–14) Renita Koven – viola Betty LaMagna – violin Carl LaMagna – violin Mary D. Lindquist – violin Linda Lipsett – viola Art Macnow – direction Steve Madaio – trumpet Cameron Marcarelli – mixing assistant (12–14) George Massenburg – recording engineer James M. McGee – French horn Al McKay – guitar solo (9), additional guitars Abe Most – flute Don Myrick – saxophone solo (9), alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone Susan Ranney – acoustic bass Alan Robinson – French horn Gale Robinson – French horn Marilyn Robinson – French horn Jack Rouben – assistant recording engineer Meyer Rubin – acoustic bass Leo Sacks – audio mixing (12–14), reissue producer Richard Salvato – direction Sheldon Sanov – violin Louis Satterfield – trombone Skip Scarborough – piano Haim Shtrum – violin Daniel Smith – cello Barry Socher – violin Lya Stern – violin David Stockhammer – violin Barbara Thomason – viola Tom Tom 84 – horn arrangement, string arrangement Marcia Van Dyke – violin Fred White – drums Maurice White – audio mixing (12–14), original recording producer, vocals, drums, kalimba Verdine White – assistant producer, vocals, electric bass Mark Wilder – mastering Andrew Woolfolk – tenor saxophone

Charts Weekly charts

+ Year Chart Peakposition1977 US Top LPs & Tape (Billboard) 3 US Top Soul LPs (Billboard) 1 Canada Top Albums (RPM) 3 Dutch Albums (Dutch Charts)4 New Zealand Pop Albums 12 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 11 UK Pop Albums 13 Japanese Albums (Oricon)14

Year-end charts Year Chart Peakposition1978 US Billboard 200 12 US Top Soul Albums (Billboard) 1 Dutch Albums (Dutch Charts)12 Japanese Albums (Oricon)31

Singles Year Single Peak positions US Hot 100 US R&B US Dance UK Pop Singles1977"Serpentine Fire"131––1978"Fantasy"3212–14"Jupiter"–––41"Magic Mind"–––54

Certifications

See also List of Billboard number-one R&B albums of 1977 List of Billboard number-one R&B albums of 1978

References