It was a great jam that entered the vault and never quite made it out. “Writing On The Wall” was a track that Earth, Wind & Fire recorded in 1987 with legendary songwriter and producer Preston Glass. And, as good as it was, it has generally remained unavailable to fans for four decades.
Preston tells us about how the song came to be, as he worked with EWF on the Touch The World sessions:
Rumor has it that CBS was growing a little restless and fatigued by not really finding a hit single to jump off on, and not really finding an “inspiring” collaboration. Word came to Maurice White, that I was a young and aspiring producer/songwriter/musician with a lot of commercial ideas. Maurice and Philip called me, and said they’d like to meet with me, and maybe do some writing.
After that first call, I prepared a few ideas for them – to play at our first meeting at our studio in Sausalito, CA. After they came into our studio and we exchanged pleasantries, I pressed play on my drum machine and sequencer. They looked at each other and said, “yes – this will be fun”. The first song track idea they heard was “Writing On The Wall” and we wrote that within the first hour. Then we went on to write 2 more (one entitled “Insensitive,” which ended up on their Constellations collection; and another entitled “Can’t Sit Down,” which they didn’t record, but guitarist Stanley Jordan ended up recording it on his Flying Home album.
Once we finished our great writing session, then I made a deal to produce two songs for EWF (me as the sole producer). After we recorded “Writing On The Wall” and “Insensitive,” CBS loved what they heard and made a deal for me to do two more songs. (Maurice wanted to co-produce the next two). That’s what opened up the door for us to find “System Of Survival,” and a song CBS found entitled “Nothing Is Too Good For You.”
“Writing On The Wall” definitely boasted a late 80s electronic sheen that characterized the group’s transitional period. The cut was strong enough to serve as the B-side to the album’s first single, “System of Survival,” but somehow ended up on the cutting room floor when the LP was released.
For our money, this was a song that deserved a much better fate. It is a true SoulTracks Lost Gem, and we’re glad to present it to the millions of EWF fans who likely didn’t hear it the first time around.
By Chris Rizik
