Just at the moment when R&B's innovators seem to be running out of steam, or at best treading water, out of the blue comes this delicious record that succeeds in part because it has so little interest in being contemporary.

The Promise is Earth, Wind and Fire's best record for years: 17 tracks of immaculately smooth, meticulously detailed mid-tempo pop-soul, and thoroughly intoxicating in its lushness. Still led by Maurice White, who wrote and produced much of The Promise (but no longer tours since the onset of Parkinson's disease), the band are unlikely to experience a renaissance to match their heyday.

But this lavishly appointed new music proves they don't deserve the opprobrium of snobs who would consign them to the chicken-in-a-basket circuit. Songs like All in the Way are effortlessly feelgood, while Philip Bailey's elastic falsetto gives a real urgency to Where Do We Go From Here? (originally recorded during the sessions for their classic 1978 album, I Am). Shockingly, despite its length, there's no dip in quality on The Promise. As All in the Way notes: how sweet it is.