Customer Reviews

War: Greatest Hits - Live [Blu-ray]

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

 

 

I WAS WORRIED THAT THIS WOULD BE BAD. Usually "Greatest Hits" live albums contain bad, short versions of the hits. The studio versions are typically better. But, the songs are all stretched out and played in new and interesting ways.

I WAS WORRIED THAT THE BAND WOULD BE LAME. The only original member of the band was Lonnie Jordan. Only one other member of the group, Sal Rodriguez, had been with the band more than 10 years. I thought that this would either be like a tribute band, or that the musicians would not really be into the songs. In groups like this, with only one orginal member, the backup guys don't really sound like belong in the band and just throw in solos here and there. But, in this case, the band sounds very cohesive.

It is a concert video, so it includes all of the chit chat. That isn't good for a CD, but I think it is appropriate for DVD where you want to get a feel for the concert. It is kind of embarrassing to see the audience, and then have the less than attractive women come up on stage and dance. But, this is a 40 year old band with 60 year old fans.

The filming and editing of the concert was very well done. It was not like many of the videos today where the camera is always zooming in and out, with all the quick cuts.

The audio quality is also very good. The one thing I don't like is that when you play the concert in 5.1 sound the audience is too loud. Also, if you do track selection, you can not choose select the audio setup (stereo or 5.1).

There aren't any bonus features.

I COULD NOT STOP SINGING AND GROOVING TO THESE OLDIES... YOU COULD NOT ASK FOR A BETTER SELECTION OF WARS SONGS. I AM SO GLAD I BROUGHT THIS!!

A very, very difficult video to watch, especially if you are a purist as I am. I dig an original sound by original cats. Before I continue, I'll say the video quality is very nice, however I feel too far away from the action to really feel as if I was there, so in that aspect, it's quite generic.

I understand people move on as time goes by, and original band members fight, but if that's the case, why not play new material and call it Lonnie Jordan & friends. Or at least perform the Lonnie Jordan type tunes like "Don't Let No One Get You Down" or "Deliver The Word". It's hard for me to hear "The World Is A Ghetto" without B.B. Dickerson singing it. He had a great voice.

Somebody bought me this for a birthday gift, and I did not know what to expect, but to see "War" performing Gypsy Queen, Iron Man, Shotgun, etc....WHAT A JOKE!

And where is the music? All I got was this nut talking the whole way through the show, regardless if it is within the context of the DVD as one reviewer states. If that is the case, the reviewer is wrong, the DVD should be called Lonnie Jordan Speaks and not War Greatest Hits?! Since when is Sunshine Of Your Love a War greatest hit?

You know, whatever is going on inside that War camp is between them I guess, but it is 2009, and we're all getting older, get the reunion going in memory of Charles Miller and Papa Dee, and get over it already, and let's go out with a bang! Because right now the War name is going out with a gong!

This DVD is fantastic! My only complaint would be that it's not a 2-DVD set. I loved it that much. I had a smile on my face the whole concert. They're currently on tour so my hopes are high for additional DVD's. If you're a WAR fan ..... get this DVD. You won't be disappointed.

Songs include:

The World is a Ghetto
Get Down
City Country City
Slippin' Into Darkness
Spill The Wine
Galaxy
All Day Music
Ballero
So
Gypsy Man
The Cisco Kid
Me and Baby Brother
Why Can't We Be Friends
Lowrider (Medley)
Lowrider
Shotgun
Sunshine Of Your Love
Iron Man
Gypsy Queen
Doing It To Death
I Want To Take You Higher

AFTER READING THE OTHER REVIEWS I WAS NOT SURE ABOUT BUYING THIS DVD.I BOUGHT IT ANYWAY AND WHATS THE BIG DEAL?.THE MUSIC IS WELL PLAYED AND IN FACT THIS GROUP PLAYS AND SOUNDS BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL BAND.IN THE CONTEXT OF THE WHOLE CONCERT,THERE WASN'T THAT MUCH EXTRA TALKING.AS FOR THE WOMEN THAT CAME ON STAGE, IT WAS A PARTY....PEOPLE HAVING FUN AND ENJOYING THE MOMENT. PEOPLE COME IN ALL DIFFERENT SIZES AND SHAPES. THATS LIFE.I THINK IT'S A GOOD THING TO HAVE THIS MUSIC BACK IN OUR LIVES AGAIN.

War is one of the most wonderful and influential groups this country has ever produced. I have been a fan for many years and lucky enough to see them in concert 4 times, each one a celebration unlike any other. So I bought this concert and expecting a joyous experience l plugged it into my Blu-ray player and sat in shock as Lonnie Jordan spoiled most of the concert with his self-centered inane banter. Is this what happens when a performer (Lonnie Jordan) begins to think he's more important than the music? What a wasted opportunity, this concert could have been a defining moment in (Blu-ray) posterity for a legendary band. That being said War's music stands the test of time better than most and their music is still great but I still feel disappointed.

Even though I read all the reviews about Lonny's endless rambling before I bought the DVD, I figured "how bad can it be"? Needless to say it is a huge distraction from what I love about WAR. Every great song that I love contains some kind of useless dialogue from Lonny and I found myself saying "just play the damn song"! Fortunately I got all their albums from the 70's to listen to. This DVD will go in the closet.

I agree with the other reviews regarding Lonnie Jordon's comments. However, the man is a genius in my book and has allot of knowledge to share not to mention his song writing talents. The dialog would have been much better served with added trailers to the DVD covering interviews with Lonnie and friends.

I bought this DVD after seeing WAR perform at Blues Alley in DC. The concert left me wanting so I ordered this Live DVD so I could see them perform as much as I wanted. Aside form Lonnie Jordan's constant rambling, the show is fabulous. War is still an excellent band. The new members (almost all of the band)are as good if not better than many of the original members. You can here all of the songs that made War the band that can still fill a concert hall with old school funk concert goers like myself. Just because you remember the 70's doesn't mean you can't still party like its the 80's!

This is a good concert and is wasted by ramblings getting in way of music. The band are competant and held together by only original member Lonnie. THe other 4 living members play in a band called Lowriderband , as others arent allowed to go by name war. So check them out on you tube Lee Oskar , Howard Scott , B B Dickerson and Harold Brown. So Lonnie isnt truly the real war. but still worth buying