PROVIDENCE — There may not be a lot of original members left in Earth, Wind and Fire — falsetto singer Philip Bailey, bassist Verdine White and singer-percussionist Ralph Johnson — but the elements that made them funk-pop superstars in the ’70s and early ’80s were in evidence last night at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center: A feel-good spirituality, pop hooks to spare, sweet singing and hard-hitting funk from the rhythm and horn sections.

Mostly a greatest-hits show with a few lesser-known bits thrown in (rather than the marathon explorations they were known for in their heyday), the band started strong with the disco hit “Boogie Wonderland” before moving into the bouncing “Singasong” and the fonk-ay “Shining Star,” one of their first hits, and the band’s joy shone through throughout the 90-minute show.

White was hyperactive all night, and while his bass solo at the end of “Serpentine Fire” was a spotlight moment, his melodic yet staccato lines anchored the songs all night, the high-stepping “Let’s Groove” being a particular highlight. (And thanks to the under-control sound, you could hear him.) And the whole group’s instrumental chops were also on display on the percussion-led workout in the middle of “Evil.”

Bailey took over the middle of the set, with his stratospheric embellishments on “I’ll Write a Song For You” paving the way for power interpretations of the ballads “After the Love Has Gone” and “Reasons.” He also took over some of founder Maurice White’s vocal parts, and while he’s irreplaceable, you could do a lot worse than Bailey.

There weren’t too many surprises in the set list, and it relied pretty heavily on the good old stuff. But the renditions were spot-on where they needed to be and shaggily appealing where a little improvisation was called for. The band’s moves on the large stage, particularly during “Got to Get You Into My Life” and “September,” were the perfect combination of loose and tight, and the transition between “Let’s Groove” and the funk benediction of “That’s the Way of the World” captured the EWF dichotomy in a nutshell.

Opener Michael McDonald’s new songs, from the recent Soul Speak album, lacked hooks, but were still put over by his crack band, particularly his rhythm section of bassist Lance Morrison and drummer Yvette Preyer, who connected on strong grooves all night, even giving an organic warmth to the Michael-J.-Fox-movie-ready “Sweet Freedom.” And while his versions of Motown classics “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” lacked the exuberance of the originals, his cover of Teddy Pendergrass’ “Love TKO” was suitably silky.

Some of the solos at the end of the versions of his Doobie Brothers hits seemed rote, but McDonald’s solo piano explorations before “Minute By Minute” were intriguing, and the quick segue between “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” and “What a Fool Believes” (which picked up a lot of extra funk in its live version, thanks to Morrison and Preyer) was surprising.