Columbia
/
Legacy
's double-disc set
The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire
lives up to its title by offering 34 tracks of the groundbreaking
funk
band at its peak. All of the hits, whether they're
R&B
or tunes that crossed over to the
pop
charts, are here, along with important album tracks that capture the range and depth of
EWF
. Since this focuses on their peak of the '70s and early '80s, there's very little here that doesn't qualify as "essential," which makes it a better bet than their box set. The single-disc
Greatest Hits
remains the choice for the casual and the curious listener due to its concise concentration of classics, but anybody who wants a thorough retrospective should choose this. [A 35-track double disc set was released in 2014.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine