The Best of War and More

War

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 19, 1991)
• Original Release Date: November 19, 1991
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Avenue Records
• ASIN: B0000032AG
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,079 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
War peppers their music with Latin rhythms and instrumentations, mixing in elements of funk with oldies rock & roll to create a nonstop summer-block-party sound. Hits like "The Cisco Kid" and "Why Can't We Be Friends?" are characterized by the band's lower-register vocals and beg for a singalong. "Spill the Wine, " a hit during Eric Burden's tenure with War, lacks the freer, good-time feel of the later material, but "Low Rider, " a bottom-heavy salsa driven by a raunchy harmonica, remains one of the band's most popular songs. The Best of War ... and More goes beyond retro appeal, displaying a timeless quality. --Steve Gdula

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Declaring "War" on Cheap Anthologies, February 10, 2003

By	Brian D. Rubendall (Oakton, VA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I first owned "The Best of War...And More" on LP some twenty years ago, and unfortunately the CD version is not an improvement. Middleweight contestants in the arena of 1970s funk rock bands, War was far better at producing singles that albums, and as such needs to be represented by a decent anthology album. Instead, you get short edits of several songs, including "Spill the Wine" their debut compilation single with former Animal Eric Burdon. There's also a pointless remix of the single "Low Rider," that is redunant and unnecessary. The CD package contains no booklet, only a single sheet with very little information about the band. And at only 13 tracks total, it is a very skimpy collection.

Overall, a shoddy anthology from a decent band that deserves better treatment.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Music -- Disappointing Selections, August 2, 2004

By	Westley (Stuck in my head) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

The music of War sounds invariably recalls a sticky summer day in LA for me. Their sound was fairly progressive for the 1970's: combining latin sounds, jazz, funk, and rock. They racked up an array of great hits in the 1970's, first as the backup band for Animal's lead singer Eric Burdon and then on their own. The majority of their hits are here, including the Top 10 songs "Spill the Wine" (#3 in 1970), "The Cisco Kid" (#2 in 1973), ""Why Can't We Be Friends?" (#6 in 1975), "Low Rider" (#7 in 1975), and "Summer" (#7 in 1976). These songs are venerable enough to be "oldies," but they sound astonishingly current. Unsurprisingly, these songs have been sampled by numerous acts and used in numerous movies, perhaps most recently "21 Grams."

Unfortunately, this collection omits two of their biggest and best songs: "The World is a Ghetto" (#7 in 1973) and "Gypsy Man" (#8 in 1973). If a band has seven Top 10 singles, all of those songs should be on their greatest hits collection! The CD also culminates on a low-note - a 1987 remix by Arthur Baker of "Low Rider." You might not recognize that name, but you'll recognize Baker's sound; he scored such 80's movie as "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," and he injects the remix with an unhealthy dose of 80's cheese.

Ultimately, this anthology is arguably the best single-disk compilation of War's music although with some serious flaws. Casual fans will probably be satisfied, but others should seek out one of their double-disk collections.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Edited versions and a major omission bring this one down, March 10, 2002

By	rockland6674 (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews

Any War compilation that doesn't include "The World Is A Ghetto" really shouldn't be called a "best-of". I just don't understand why Rhino/Avenue chose to omit this song, yet included two versions (the original and a remix) of "Low Rider". I realize that "The World Is A Ghetto" appears on "The Best Of War And More, Volume 2," but we shouldn't HAVE to buy Volume 2 to get this song. Then again, maybe this is why it was omitted from Volume 1.

Also, "Spill The Wine," "The Cisco Kid," "All Day Music" and "Slippin' Into Darkness" are edited versions that were supplied to radio stations, not the longer versions that appeared on the regular 45s (The edited version of "Spill The Wine" keeps turning up on War compilations. You need to pick up "Eric Burdon Declares 'War'" to get the unedited version.)