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War at The Royal Festival Hall, June 21st 2024: photo credit Pete Woodhead
The Daily Telegraph, in their 4 star review, claimed that the “thrilling groundbreaking 70s US funk rock troupe [got] the crowd dancing in the aisles… This is a band with real rock history: Jimi Hendrix played his last ever performance with War at Ronnie Scott’s in 1970, the night before he died. Their multi-ethnic line-up and sinuous fusion of blues, jazz, Latin and heavy rock elements rival Sly and the Family Stone for its power, potency and influence on 1970s funk, spawning hits including the steamy ‘Low Rider’ and joyous ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends?’ – the latter inspiring a smiling singalong at Meltdown… Their incredible playing, infectious enthusiasm and sinuous grooves proved irresistible”
Both ‘Low Rider’ and ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends?’ feature on the forthcoming reissue of the band’s 1976 original Greatest Hits album, which will be released on July 19th via Rhino / Warners on CD and vinyl. On the same day, their critically acclaimed album The World Is A Ghetto (which was the best-selling album in America in 1973) continues its 50th Anniversary celebrations with a 4 CD box-set Collector’s Edition, complementing the release of the critically acclaimed limited edition 5-LP version from November 2023’s Record Store Day.
The World Is A Ghetto: 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition collection was curated by WAR’s producer, Jerry Goldstein, founding member Lonnie Jordan, and Jeremy Levine. It includes the recently remastered original album, as well as six bonus tracks and unreleased “the making of” recordings that trace the evolution of each of the six original album tracks from the first note to the master take. This is the first time they will be on CD and streaming platforms.
Today, WAR’s music provides an inexhaustible source of inspiration for R&B and hip-hop artists. Samples from four of the six songs on The World Is A Ghetto have appeared on tracks by artists like A$AP Mob, Geto Boys, Janet Jackson, and a hip-hop supergroup featuring Method Man, Redman, and Cypress Hill. |
