Review Summary: Don't you know, that it's true, that for me and for you the world is a ghetto
Brainchild of The Animals leader Eric Burdon, War were a multi-ethnic musical project known for their fusion of world music styles ranging from jazz, to soul, to reggae, to latin music.
Even though Burdon was its creator and probably the biggest name to ever be on their line-up, it wasn't until his departure that the band reached its peak, both in quality and popularity, being 1972's The World is a Ghetto their biggest achievement and a staple for funk and soul music in the years to come.
The album overflows with identity and that's its greatest feature. The instrumental technique and vocal harmonies are rich and excel in quality yet at the same time feel "unpolished" as you can see in songs like the opener and the closer. That, however, is not a bad thing at all as it reflects the humble idea behind the album and the band as a whole.
War is a group with the concept of humility on its back, meaning that while skilled as hell you won't see pomposity in the atmosphere created. Moments like the sax solo in the title track (which might as well be one of the best sax solos ever) or the whole instrumentalization in
City, Country, City and
Four Cornered Room are extremly well executed but manage to keep any feeling of weariness or pretentiousness away from the listener.
Lyrics bear this trait too. They are extremly simple but there's honesty on them. If you want to express empathy for one's fellow and the need for union among people, you don't need to spill some philosophical nonsense, you just need to sing it from the heart in a language that can be easily understood by the most simple of men.
The LP has its downsides though.
Where Was you At feels like nothing truly special and even though
City, Country, City is an amazing song it may feel too long sometimes, specially on its later "jam like" section and particularly when you compare it to the other two epics which are the peaks of quality on the record: The title track with its vocals and instrumentation and
Four Cornered Room with its atmospheric and eclectic vibe.
The World is a Ghetto was War's biggest success, being 1973's best-selling album, it catapulted them to stardom pretty quickly, proving that there was way more to be seen than just Burdon's talent. Perhaps it was his walkout that let the band develop their real talent.
This release was enough for them to earn their status as one of funk/soul's most influential bands, even if they never managed to reach its quality ever again, with their other releases like
Why Can't we be Friends? being excellent yet lacking that "je ne sais quoi" that made of The World is a Ghetto something truly special.
In 1972 War were:
Howard Scott - Guitar, percussion, vocals
B.B. Dickerson - Bass, percussion, vocals
Lonnie Jordan - Organ, piano, timbales, percussion, vocals
Harold Brown - Drums, percussion, vocals
Papa Dee Allen - Conga, bongos, percussion, vocals
Charles Miller - Clarinet, alto, tenor and baritone saxes, percussion, vocals
Lee Oskar - Harmonica, percussion, vocals
