Customer Reviews

Very Best of War

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After all these years, revisiting the best of War (pretty much disc one of 'The Very Best of War') was an expected pleasure. Hearing what War had done in the years after their mid-seventies commercial peak (pretty much disc two) was an unexpected one.

Heavyweights in the days before hyper-demographic radio, War co-existed with the likes of the Rolling Stones, the Doobie Brothers and Elton John on FM playlists across the country. Their brand of latin-tinged r&b, coupled with a talent for jamming, struck a chord with listeners of the day, as War was something of a cross between the Allman Brothers Band and Graham Central Station. They were a rhythm and blues band whose frequently-joyful music crossed all racial boundaries.

And this collection gets it all down. Not only are the hits here ("Slipping Into Darkness", "Low Rider", "The World Is A Ghetto", "Why Can't We Be Friends" and "Gypsy Man"), but so are significant album tracks ("Four Cornered Room", "Don't Let No One Get You Down") and overlooked nuggets as well ("I'm The One Who Understands", "River Niger" and "East L.A."--which sports an amazing guest vocal from Jose Feliciano).

And the remastered sound, courtesy of Bill Inglot and Dan Hersch, just sparkles. The sonic detail is amazing, and with a multi-instrumental, polyrhythmic band like War, hearing it revealed is a truly awesome experience.

But 'The Very Best of War' isn't without its flaws: I'm not sure "Ballero" is the best representative of 'War Live!', "Galaxy" and "You Got The Power" are two very mediocre attempts at disco, and several other album tracks are depressingly pedestrian.

But in the end, this is a well done collection that provides a comprehensive look at War for less than an earlier War anthology costs. In short, this is one time I will urge people to go to War.

This is the best 2 disc compilation of War you will find. All of the hits are here and then some. The sound is great and you won't be disappointed. I would recommend this to any 70's soul, funk and rock fan, War has all of those elements. A pleasure to listen to.

True Funkophiles!!! Strike back for the future! Ground your kids on a Saturday afternoon this summer, buy them a funky shirt and some cool shades and make them sit on the patio and drink some lemonade with you while you play this album of "Daddy's Old Music" for them. If they haven't come around by the end of "Me and Baby Brother", just tell yourself you did your best, give 'em back the TV remote or send them off to listen to Britney and Christina. You should stay there, freshen up the sun screen, and wait a couple of hours for when they come back and say, "What did you say the name of that band was?" Funk on!

If you want every single one of WAR's biggest hits, this is the one and ONLY collection to buy. You'll find everything you'll looking for. "Slippin' In the Darkness", "The World Is A Ghetto", "Why Can't We Be Friends?" "Low Rider", "Don't Let No One Get You Down", "City, Country, City", and the list goes on. I grew up listening to these guys, and I could honestly say that I have never heard a more positive group, not to mention one that's unique in it's sound. A must have for all fans of R&B/Soul out there.

My favorite songs from War are "Smile Happy" ,"City, Country, City", and "Four Cornered Room."
I listened to the first two and realized that they have been cut considerably. I bought this CD to hear those 3 songs but since they are much, much shorter than the originals. I want my money back. I never would have purchased a CD where the songs are just samples of the originals. What's the point?

These two CD's are a very good introduction to WAR. The only problem that I've found with this CD is that, in order to fit in as many songs as possible, they edited and abridged many of the songs (Ballero, Deliver the Word, The World is a Ghetto all fall into this category). And as mentioned before some of the songs on the second CD do not do justice WAR, mainly their attempts at disco fall short. This also lacks many of the groups songs that they did with Eric Burdon (Spill the Wine and Tobacco Road are the only ones to make the cut) and it would have been nice to see more those songs on the album instead of some of their later work. This is a great introduction to band but do yourself a favor and check out more of them so you can get a full sense of WAR.

6/7 reviews show alot how this group fail to become well known even with a long list of hits. War is by far my favorite group. They are really incredible and their songs have so much depth, postivity and quality to them. Each individual song has it's own personilty and that is something you cannot find in too many collection of hits. War wanted to be different and for that people didnt fully understand but I did and that's why I truly love their sound and music. I can let this whole entire CD ride from beginning to end. Everything sounds so fresh despite the time period like most music. It's a crime War never really became a house hold name but their music will defiently live on through all the fans who supported their work and appreciate their music like I do.

I enjoyed War in the 70's and this is a great double album of the Greatest Hits. Their calm style is refreshing for an old fart like me. If you like good music, and you grew up in the 60's and 70's this is a great "blast from the past."

This outstanding compilation serves up a comprehensive sampling of the many flavors of WAR, starting with the Eric Burdon days and runnning all the way through to the admittedly less satisfying pseudo-disco phase of the band's career. Listeners will be delighted to hear many of their beloved radio hits as well as a well rounded foray into some of the slightly more obscure items in the WAR repertoire.

Please note that, as has been noted by other reviewers, some tracks are abridged in order to make room for as many songs as possible, and while this does in fact detract from the overall experience for seasoned fans of WAR who have listened to these tunes for decades and are familiar with them, the extra disc space does provide an excellent opportunity for new listeners to feast on the widest possible sampling of this versatile band's fare.

It's almost a five star offering, but I did subtract one star for the abridged tunes, as I happen to be one of those listeners who has enjoyed the music of WAR for decades, and I missed being able to listen to the complete recordings of the abridged tracks. Even so, it was well worth the purchase price, and I recommend it to both new and seasoned listeners alike.

WAR-THE VERY BEST OF WAR: War was one of the leading jam band ensembles of the 70s, a grouping of diverse talents who mixed RNB, jazz, rock, and funk seamlessly, scoring huge radio hits in the process. Their Eric Burdon helmed debut smash SPILL THE WINE is a master-slice of laid back island soul, CISCO KID fairly percolates with Latino festiveness, and the reflective party anthem WHY CAN'T WE BE FRIENDS finds all seven members of the band trading off on good timey lead vocals. Not convinced yet? How 'bout the social relevance of THE WORLD IS A GHETTO, the brooding splendor of GYPSY MAN, and that all time groove-humper/booty-bumper LOW RIDER? This very necessary double disc collects these War-horses and too many other classics to name, in blessed chronological order...the better for you to soak up their intrinsic vibe and gasp at regular intervals, "Wow, they did THAT one TOO?"

RATING: FIVE FIESTAS