In Brief

** Earth, Wind & Fire, “Millennium,” Reprise. Group founder Maurice White has called this album a return to the “classic” sound of EWF. A lofty aspiration, but nothing here will dissuade you from believing that the group peaked back in the mid-’70s. Philip Bailey’s stratospheric high notes provide some fuel, but nothing else catches fire. New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).