Earth, Wind & Fire - Greatest Hits [2LP]

Earth, Wind & Fire's Greatest Hits gathers the band's biggest songs onto two LPs, a nonstop run of horns, falsetto and grooves built for the dance floor.

First compiled in 1998, the collection follows Maurice White's vision from the mid-seventies into the early eighties, when the group fused funk, soul, jazz and Latin rhythms into something joyful and spiritually minded. Philip Bailey's soaring falsetto and the Phenix Horns gave the band a sound nobody else could match, and the hits kept coming for years.

"September" needs no introduction, still the song that fills any room the moment that guitar figure kicks in. "Shining Star" struts on tight, chicken-scratch funk, "Boogie Wonderland" brings in The Emotions for a disco-era blowout, and "After the Love Has Gone" shows the band could slow down and break hearts just as easily. Their take on a Beatles favourite and the sleek early-eighties glide of their later singles round out a sequence that barely pauses for breath.

The arrangements reward a proper listen, with layers of percussion, kalimba and brass revealing themselves on each spin.

For a band with this many classics, one well-chosen set is the easiest way in. It is equally at home kicking off a party or soundtracking a slow Sunday morning.