The chinese wall...

Philip Bailey is an American singer-songwriter whose particularity, apart from the fact that he is one of the main leaders of the legendary group Earth Wind And Fire, is to also be endowed with a vocal capacity spanning 4 octaves , just that !

He started his artistic career in a small group called Friends & Love before joining the Earth Wind And Fire group at the age of 21 in 1972. A group in which he literally exploded and collected an incredible number of world-class success during the 1970s and 1980s.

It was in 1983 that he embarked on a solo career with the production of a first album called "Continuation". And for a first try, it was quite successful since the album was a significant success, notably thanks to the single "I know".

The year 1984 will see the release not of an album but of 2 ! Starting with "The wonders of his love", an album composed mainly of gospel songs and which will experience a nice course in the Charts specialized in this kind of album.

But it is above all the second album called "The Chinese Wall" which will shatter everything in its path to the world and which remains to this day the artist’s biggest record success on the solo album side. Flagship album which will also produce his biggest hit single with the title "Easy lover", which he performs in duet with Phil Collins, and which will become one of the most notable titles of the decade.

Two new albums were released in 1986 on the same principle as in 1984, namely a gospel album and an album of Dance tracks. The first named "Triumph" and the second named "Inside out". New notorious success for the gospel album but the generalist album knows a much lower level of success than its equivalent released two years earlier.

New gospel album "Family affair" three years later in 1989, album which will be the singer's last significant success. Other albums will be released later but without meeting any real enthusiasm from the public.

To discover or rediscover...

Discography (among others ...) :

80s Decade :

I’m waiting for your love 1983
I know 1983
It's our time 1983
I want to know you 1984
Easy lover 1984
Woman 1984
Trapped 1984
Photogenic memory 1984
Walking on the Chinese wall 1985
Echo my heart 1986
Thank you 1986
Lonely broken hearted people 1989
Where can I go 1989

90s Decade :

Mid-Summer blossoms 1991
Merry go round 1991
People and places 1993
Here with me 1994
A diamond just like you 1994
Shower me with your love 1997
When love goes wrong 1997
How can I rely on you 1997
Waiting for the rain 1999
Dream like I do 1999
Sail away 1999

2000s Decade :

Nature boy 2002
Mercy, mercy, mercy 2002
Keep your head to the sky 2002

2010s Decade :

Billy Jack 2019
We're a winner 2019
Once in a lifetime 2019

Adventure Earth Wind & Fire :

https://www.bestmusic80.com/post/the-triforce

Tracks :

1983 ... given the boy's potential, we suspect that his solo career will be as brilliant as the one he had with Earth Wind & Fire. And it's going pretty well ...

1983 ... he confirms with this title all the good that one could think of him in solo. There is talent to spare in this singer, it's obvious !

1983 ... a first shocking but above all charming duo which prefigures many others. All on a track full of finesse that asks only to be listened to ...

1984 ... the BIG year ! A year 1984 which will see him transform everything he touches into gold. This title is only an appetizer as they say ...

1984 ... then THIS title comes ! It must be said that when you bring together 2 artists of such a level, it is obvious that the result can only be exceptional. And it has to be. Here they are simply signing one of the biggest dance hits of the decade and the end of the twentieth century quite simply. A-MA-ZING !

1984 ... a bloated year in terms of titles and above all a melodic quality which does not weaken from one title to another. There are exceptional years like this !

1984 ... moreover, he manages to alternate all styles with an obvious mastery. Here he has arrived in Intimist mode and even in this area, his talent works wonders !

1984 ... an obvious predisposition for the Dance register which once again produced a title of more than certain quality. But with him, we are now used to it !

1985 ... here he signs a new extraordinary title, allowing him to combine an exceptional title in the Dance register and an exceptional title in the Intimist field. Full box as they say !

1986 ... after having reached the top of the mountains, it is clear that he can now only go down. A descent that will fortunately be very smooth ...

1986 ... but it is clear that the best years are now behind. Anyway, what he continues to offer largely holds up and that is the main thing !

1989...an end of the decade which saw him frankly struggling with a new opus with the most limited success and which would be incapable of producing the slightest high-class hit...

1989...and yet he puts good will into it but the level of inspiration weakens opus after opus and this seriously begins to penalize him...

1989...without a frank and clear recovery in the years that follow, the rest of the adventure risks being quite complicated...

1991...he will still attempt the transition to the 90s by telling himself that everything remains possible, all on a hybrid title that is half Intimist, half Dance. And why not...

1991 ... it is clear that the time of the mega hits is far behind but what he offers in this new decade is far from being ridiculous. Once again the proof !

1993 ... new duo of shock and once again of charm. The duets are doing quite well for him and it was clear that there was no reason why this one should not work !

1994 ... he tries to stick to the latest trends of the moment but the competition is already far ahead. Difficult in these conditions to reverse the course of time ...

1994 ... another nice title that literally floats in the air. A style versatility that is only found with the greatest of course ...

1997 ... and what about this one ! Quite simply, a past master in the art of delivering sounds that are good. Nothing fancy but a good job, once again !

1997 ... return the time of a title with its former partners. And what worked before still works because there is talent in all these individuals ...

1997 ... it's been a long time since he lost contact with the best, but he continues his adventure for whatever reason. And frankly, we want more !

1999 ... an adventure which unfortunately draws to an end. But what a career ! Between the Earth Wind & Fire adventure and his solo career, the artist can always boast of having been one of the big names of the end of the 20th century and this without question !

1999...certainly the adventure ends at the high level but that will not prevent him from continuing thereafter. It's not the core fans who are going to complain...

1999...it is clear that he still has things to offer and especially to sing. Whatever happens next, we'll be content with what comes next...

2002...we are far, very far away at the start of the 2000s from the Earth Wind & Fire era. An era unfortunately past which was nevertheless its most successful in all points of view...

2002...certainly the second parts of a career often have nothing to do with the first but that's really the big gap...

2002...hence the fact that we no longer talk much about him, which explains that. Because it is not with this musical style that he is likely to attract the younger generations...

2019...we will lose sight of him for almost 17 years but here he is again regardless. An unexpected return to say the least which can only delight the core fans to the highest extent...

2019...a return that will go unnoticed, to say the least, except in spheres linked to jazz. A musical field that is, to say the least, restricted in terms of potential audience, inevitably...