A remastered and well-presented five LP box set of War鈥檚 best-selling album 鈥淭he World Is a Ghetto鈥� recaptures that slice of time when multicultural rock reached its first peak.
War dependably delivered a fusion of rock and Latin rhythms in the early '70s, coming out of the age of musical psychedelia. The Southern California band 鈥� originally called Eric Burdon and War 鈥� gave us music for the working class, with lyrics bemoaning political infighting and frequently urging social harmony.
The band, initially formed to back Burdon as he plotted his next musical endeavor after the Animals, took on a life of its own and was spurred into success by a fan base that crossed cultural boundaries.
鈥淭he Cisco Kid鈥� sounds clean and defined as rendered on the 50th anniversary remaster on gorgeous gold colored vinyl. The instrumentals are nicely separated for this side one song on Billboard鈥檚 best-selling album of 1973.
The stabs of keyboard work from founding member Lonnie Jordan are a mainstay of War鈥檚 music, and shine on tracks like 鈥淐ity, Country, City,鈥� a long-winded jam session. Bonus tracks on separate vinyl in the set include 鈥淟ee鈥檚 Latin Jam鈥� with its upbeat, heavy horn work.
The highlight is hearing the band work through the making of 鈥淭he Cisco Kid,鈥� with an entire 25 minute track occupying an entire LP side as the group hashes out different percussion approaches for the beginning, and searching for the right tone on vocals. The liner notes explain the song was the band鈥檚 nod to the heroic Mexican caballero of comic book and television fame, because he was 鈥渢he only non-Anglo superhero on television.鈥�
War鈥檚 music maintained through decades, earning the band more than 20 gold, platinum and multi-platinum records. They were Santana with a little less guitar and a few more horns, and quickly became a Southern California car culture favorite.
Best of all, War endured.
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AP music reviews:
Ron Harris, The Associated Press
