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The Ultimate Collection (Earth, Wind & Fire album)

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The Ultimate Collection
Compilation album by
ReleasedJuly 1999
GenreR&B, disco
LabelColumbia Records
ProducerMaurice White, Charles Stepney
Earth, Wind & Fire chronology
Greatest Hits
(1998)
The Ultimate Collection
(1999)
That's the Way of the World: Alive in 75
(2002)
Singles from The Ultimate Collection
  1. "September 99"
    Released: 1999

The Ultimate Collection is a compilation album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire released in July 1999 on Columbia Records.[1] The album reached No. 34 upon the UK Albums Chart.[2]

Singles

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The album cut "September '99" reached No. 1 on the RPM Canadian Dance Songs chart, No. 4 on the UK Dance Singles chart and No. 25 on the UK Pop Singles chart.[3][4][5][2]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
The Guardian[7]
Uncut[8]
Mixmag[9]

With a 5 out of 5 stars rating Kit Aiken of Uncut called the album "near perfect" and "invaluable".[8] Andy Kellman of AllMusic gave a 3.5 out of 5 stars rating and noted "A truly "ultimate" Earth, Wind & Fire compilation would offer a larger assortment of highlights from the band's catalog, but this is a decent one-disc/20-track overview."[6] With a 4 out of 5 stars rating, Toby Manning of Mixmag wrote "Earthy, Fiery? No just elemental."[9] Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian also gave a 5 out of 5 stars rating and declared "in fact, apart from ballads like 'That's the Way of the World', its hard to find a track on The Ultimate Collection that doesn't sparkle on the dance floor."[7]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."Boogie Wonderland"4:49
2."Shining Star"2:50
3."That's the Way of the World"5:43
4."After the Love Has Gone"4:25
5."Can't Hide Love"4:08
6."September"3:35
7."Got to Get You into My Life"4:10
8."Sing a Song"3:22
9."Gratitude"3:27
10."Serpentine Fire"3:50
11."Fantasy"4:37
12."In the Stone"4:26
13."Reasons"4:59
14."Saturday Nite"4:02
15."Let's Groove"5:36
16."Getaway"3:57
17."September '99 (Phats & Small Remix)"3:43
18."Let's Groove (Merchant of Menace remix)"3:45
19."Boogie Wonderland (Stretch/Vern remix)"3:43

Charts

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Chart (1999) Peak
position
UK Pop Albums[2] 34

References

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  1. ^ Earth, Wind & Fire: The Ultimate Collection. Columbia Records. July 1999.
  2. ^ a b c "Earth, Wind & Fire". officialcharts.com.
  3. ^ "RPM Top Dance". bac-lac.gc.ca. Vol. 70, no. 7. RPM. 6 December 1999.
  4. ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40: 25 July 1999 - 31 July 1999". officialcharts.com. Official Charts.
  5. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100: 25 July 1999 - 31 July 1999". officialcharts.com. Official Charts.
  6. ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "Earth Wind & Fire: The Ultimate Collection". allmusic.com.
  7. ^ a b Sullivan, Caroline (23 July 1999). "Earth, Wind & Fire: The Ultimate Collection". newspapers.com. The Guardian. p. 62.
  8. ^ a b Aiken, Kit (September 1999). "Albums: Elemental journey". Uncut. No. 28. p. 86. ProQuest 1674210132.
  9. ^ a b Manning, Toby (August 1999). "EARTH, WIND AND FIRE 'THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION' (SONY)". Mix Mag. Vol. 2, no. 99. p. 166. ProQuest 1777044460.