In the Name of Love (Earth, Wind & Fire album)

In the Name of Love is the seventeenth studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire, released in July 1997 on Rhino Records. The album reached No. 19 on the UK R&B Albums chart and No. 25 on the Japanese Oricon Albums Chart.

Overview
In the Name of Love was produced by EWF's leader Maurice White for Kalimba Productions. Originally, the album was released in Japan during 1996 as Avatar.

During October 2006, In the Name of Love was reissued on Maurice White's own label Kalimba Music. With the LP's reissue came three bonus tracks from Avatar being "Change Your Mind", "Take You to Heaven" and "Bahia".

Covers
EWF covered the tune "Love Is Life" on the album. "Love Is Life" first appeared on the band 's 1971 self-titled debut LP. 

Appearances in other media
EWF went on to contribute the song "Cruisin'" to the soundtrack to the 1996 feature film Get On the Bus.

Critical reception
With a four out of five star rating, Dan Glaister of The Guardian called In The Name Of Love "a scorching album". Omoronke Idowu of Vibe wrote "In the Name of Love is like revisiting a fresh yet familiar face, one that soothes, satisfies, and makes you smile from the inside out. With a 6 out of 10 rating, Al Rasheed Dauda of Vox exclaimed "this album proves they're as potent as ever". Steve Jones of USA Today noted that EWF "shows it still has an edge to its funk".

David Stubbs of Uncut gave a three out of five star rating and affirmed "In the Name of Love is never less than good, always less than vital". Alex Henderson of Allmusic gave a 3.5 out of 5 star rating and proclaimed "this excellent CD is unapologetically retro." Phyl Garland of Stereo Review gave a four out of five star rating and wrote "with this set of skillfully shaped songs, White has positioned Earth, Wind & Fire to move into the next century".

Singles
"Change Your Mind" rose to No. 26 on the US Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart. "When Love Goes Wrong" also reached No. 33 on the US Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart. The title track also reached No. 9 on the Japanese Oricon Singles Chart.

Credits
Earth, Wind & Fire
 * Philip Bailey – lead vocals (1-4, 6, 8, 9), backing vocals
 * Maurice White – backing vocals, lead vocals (2, 5, 10)
 * Morris Pleasure – keyboards
 * Sheldon Reynolds – guitars, backing vocals, lead vocals (2, 6-8)
 * Verdine White – bass
 * Sonny Emory – drums, backing vocals
 * Ralph Johnson – percussion, backing vocals

EWF horns
 * Scott Mayo – saxophones (1-3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11)
 * Reggie Young – trombone (2, 3, 7, 10)
 * Ray Brown –trumpet (2, 3, 7, 10)

Additional musicians
 * Jimmy Randolph – programming (2, 6, 9, 10)
 * Andrew Klippel – keyboards (4)
 * Damian Johnson – keyboards (5)
 * Paul Minor – keyboards (5, 6, 8)
 * Marcel East – keyboards (11)
 * Lenny Castro – percussion (1, 2, 8, 9)
 * Paulinho da Costa – percussion (6, 11)
 * David Romero – percussion (9)
 * Bill Reichenbach Jr. – trombone (1, 5, 8)
 * Gary Grant – trumpet (1, 5, 8), flugelhorn (1, 5, 8)
 * Jerry Hey – trumpet (1, 5, 8), flugelhorn (1, 5, 8), horn arrangements (1, 5, 8)
 * Michael "Patches" Stewart – trumpet (2, 3, 7, 10)
 * Bill Meyers – horn arrangements (2, 3, 7, 10), synth string arrangements (6), string arrangements (10)
 * Sir James Bailey – backing vocals (1, 3)
 * Carl Carwell – backing vocals (1-3, 5-10)
 * Doni McCrary – backing vocals (4)
 * Howard McCrary – backing vocals (4), BGV arrangements (4)
 * James McCrary – backing vocals (4)
 * Leon McCrary – backing vocals (4)
 * Kevin Guillaume – backing vocals (5), vocal arrangements (5)
 * Ralph Hawkins, Jr. – backing vocals (5), vocal arrangements (5)
 * Ralph Tresvant – vocal arrangements (5)

Production

 * Maurice White – producer, executive producer (4)
 * Philip Bailey – producer (3, 4)
 * Alan Glass – producer (4)
 * Andrew Klippel – producer (4)
 * Don Murry – recording, mixing (1-3, 5-10)
 * Doug Bohem – assistant engineer
 * Tim Boland – assistant engineer
 * Tony Gonzales – assistant engineer
 * Brian Soucy – assistant engineer
 * Jerry Jordan – additional engineer, mixing (11)
 * Paul Klingberg – additional engineer
 * Carmen Rizzo – mixing (4)
 * Wally Traugott – mastering at Capitol Studios (Hollywood, California)
 * Robert Vosgien – additional mastering and digital editing at CMS Digital (Pasadena, California)
 * Richard Salvato – project coordinator
 * Ralph Johnson – production assistant
 * Hugh Syme – art direction, design, digital Illustrations
 * Art Macnow – management

Charts
Album

Singles