WAR — The World Is a Ghetto (review)

WAR — The World Is a Ghetto album cover Album · 1972 · Latin Rock/Soul Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
dreadpirateroberts
Laid back without being sleepy, War's third release is confident funk with jazzy moments complete with pretty flawless R&B and soul-styled vocals. A number one album in 1972, it included two top ten singles and is just about a track for track knock out.

Their third album after Eric Burden left mid-tour in 1971, 'The World is a Ghetto' was triumphant release, building on their previous album 'All Day Music' and surpassing it in both scope and performance. Opening with the humorous 'Cisco Kid' with its quirky organ, sax and clarinet (not to mention the lyrics) it was a hit single that Duncan Renaldo (The Cisco Kid) apparently liked and found 'funny' when he met Scott.

'Where Was You At' follows with its funky guitar and one of the surprises for those new to War's brand of funk, Oskar's harmonica - which features prominently in the album's highlight 'City, Country, City.' Named exceedingly well, it's cruisy, evoking dusty trails and open fields courtesy of acoustic guitar and harmonica, but also spliced with sudden morphs into more urban-sounding territory as the tempo picks up and Miller is given room to perform several saxophone solos before he gives way to Jordan's organ. The piece incorporates a percussion break and a quiet guitar solo from Scott before fading into 'Four Cornered Room' with its Wild West feel, another longer piece that shows the band's flair for thematics - and plays out over a gradual build that allows the vocalists to improvise around the title.

The album's second single, the title track, is a masteful a song, starting out in a deceptively gentle manner before the horns burst into the song's melody. Again, Oskar's harmonica plays an important role, as do the wonderful harmony vocals - not to mention the lead performances. Almost a lament for LA, it's theme is pretty universal if you've spent any time in, well, any city. Blessed with big bass sound and Brown's relaxed groove, the song picks up a little for the choruses but manages to occupy a state in between the tone of verse and chorus for the solos (where Miller gets a little frantic for just a moment), courtesy of a subtle shift in the bassline and beat.

Wrapping things up is 'Beetles in the Bog' which has a similar quirky feel to the opener, but the endless 'chorus' sound to vocal doesn't really work for me and the song kind of fades from memory pretty quickly. Still, an album that deserves its place on all the 'Greatest Album' lists floating around out there, as few bands seem to be as good as War at keeping their funk relaxed without becoming dull.
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