Touch the World

Touch the World was produced by Earth, Wind & Fire leader Maurice White. Artists such as George Duke, Marc Russo and Ricky Lawson of Yellowjackets, Jeff Porcaro of Toto and Edwin Hawkins, Walter Hawkins, and Lynette Hawkins Stephens with the Hawkins Family appeared on the album. ==Singles==

"System of Survival" was written by a black songwriter known as Skylark that gave a demo tape containing the song to White while sitting in his Cadillac in the Studio D parking lot. Coming off the album as a single, the tune reached number one on both the Billboard Hot R&B Songs and Dance Club Songs charts. System of Survival was also nominated for a Soul Train Award for Best R&B/Soul Single – Group, Band or Duo. Another single, "Thinking of You" reached number one on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart. ==Reception==

David Emerson of The Boston Globe called Touch the World "one of their toughest and most convincing records ever". With a 3 out of 4 stars rating Connie Johnson of the Los Angeles Times declared "Touch the World, while not great, is still good enough to further secure EWF's niche in pop/funk history". People described the LP as "a class operation and an attractive return" that "can stand on its own merits." With a 3 out of 4 stars rating Ken Tucker of The Philadelphia Inquirer called Touch the World "the best album this vocal group has released since 'That's the Way of the World". David Quantick of New Musical Express stated "the toughness of the title track pervades much of the..LP and to the good". He also pointed out that "you the hipster can buy this record and liven up your evenings no end." Robert K. Oermann of USA Today ranked the album at No. 6 on his list of 1987's top 50 R&B albums. Touch the World was nominated for a Soul Train Award in the category of Best R&B/Soul Album – Group, Band or Duo. ==Track listing==

Personnel Earth, Wind & Fire • Philip Bailey – lead vocals (1, 2, 4, 8, 9), backing vocals (1–4, 6, 7, 9, 10), synthesizer arrangements (9) • Maurice White – lead vocals (1–3, 6–8, 10), backing vocals (1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10), vocoder (1), arrangements (3, 10) • Sheldon Reynolds – guitars (2, 8, 9), lead guitar (6, 10) • Andrew Woolfolk – saxophone solo (5) Additional musicians • Skylark – synthesizers (1), drum programming (1), backing vocals (1) • Preston Glass – synthesizers (1), electric guitars (1), additional drum programming (1) • Rhett Lawrence – Fairlight programming (2, 4, 7–9), drum programming (2, 3), sequencing (2), Fairlight synthesizer (3), synthesizer programming (3, 7–9), Moog bass (3), additional drums (8) • Wayne Vaughn – sequencing (3) • Bill Meyers – acoustic piano (4, 7), arrangements (4, 5, 7), keyboards (5), synthesizer programming (5), drums (5) • Larry Williams – additional keyboard programming (4), additional programming (7) • Dan De Souza – keyboards (5), synthesizer programming (5), drums (5) • Steve Lindsey – keyboards (6) • Danny Sembello – synthesizer programming (6), drum programming (6) • George Duke – acoustic piano (8, 9), rhythm arrangements (9) • Ian Prince – synthesizer programming (10), drums (10), arrangements (10) • Attala Zane Giles – additional guitars (2), synth bass (2), percussion programming (2), additional backing vocals (2), arrangements (2) • Ray Fuller – guitars (3) • Paul Jackson Jr. – guitars (4, 7) • Nathan East – bass (4, 7–9) • Jeff Porcaro – drums (4, 7) • Ricky Lawson – drum overdubs (6), drums (8, 9) • Marc Russo – horns (1) • Wayne Wallace – horns (1) • Gary Grant – horns (1, 6, 10) • Jerry Hey – horns (1, 6, 10), horn arrangements (1, 6, 10) • Dan Higgins – horns (6, 10) • Bill Reichenbach Jr. – horns (6, 10) • Rev. Oliver Wells – arrangements (8), synthesizer arrangements (9) • Wanda Vaughn – backing vocals (3) • Jeanette Williams – backing vocals (3) • The Hawkins Family – backing vocals (8) • Walter Hawkins, Edwin Hawkins and Lynette Hawkins Stephens – additional lead vocals (8) ==Charts and certifications==

Charts Albums Singles Certifications ==References==