THE STORY OF EARTH AND FIRE

Mainly a singles collection, so that should not come as any surprise that the album, for the most part put emphasis on the short cuts, cuts that were hits (at least in Europe, as EARTH & FIRE never made it in America). Here you get songs like "Seasons", "Ruby is the One", "Wild and Exciting", "Memories", "Invitation", right up to what was then their latest single, the disco-influenced "What Difference Does it Make" (1976). Many of these songs never made it to LP ("Invitation", "Thanks For the Love", "What Difference Does It Make"), so that makes it easier to get these songs. But the the biggest problem is the B-sides aren't represented so you won't get songs like "Vivid Shady Land", "Hazy Paradise", "Mechanical Lover", "From the End to the Beginning", etc. But there are songs that appeared on their proper LPs too, like "Storm and Thunder" (although edited, so you won't get the organ intro and Mellotron outro), "Maybe Tomorrow, Maybe Tonight", "Love of Life" (especially because it was released as a single a year before it appeared on "To the World of the Future"), and "Only Time Will Tell".

Side two at least features two of their prog epics, "Song of the Marching Children" and "Atlantis", but in edited form (so it could all fit on one side). The album ends with "Excerpts from 'To the World of the Future'", which sounds to me like a Dutch television ad (the announcer is speaking Dutch), while you hear excerpts from that album. While the material is well-selected, I wished for a little more (like B-sides as well), but you can't ask for everything. Still a decent album, but do get their studio albums (especially "Song of the Marching Children" and "Atlantis") if you want to hear the band better represented. (3 1/2 stars)