Reviews (page 10 of 11)
Unique and funky! This was a fun listen with some good beats/vibes.
This was a well produced fun album with a variety of genres, the most obvious being funk but there was also some reggae, jazz and even some psychedelia peppered in. I did really enjoy it, especially The Cisco Kid and Beetles in the Bog. I just found it never fully kicked into another gear that I was expecting it to and I suppose that’s fine, they just left me wanting more. Excellent album art. 3.5 stars
I always get the group War mixed up with Edwin Starr’s song of the same name. Then I hear the funk and I’m still a bit confused. That’s ok. I want the funk.
Pleasant on the ears and has a nice laid back but a bit pissed off attitude. Not the kind of funk that grabs me and not quite smooth enough for me to fully relax into, but no real issues to identify either. Fave track: The World is a Ghetto
Good grooves, soulful rhythms, I liked this listen. Something holding me back a little from fully launching myself into this but the title track was a certain banger. Fave track: The World is a Ghetto
The Cisco Kid, Where Was You At, The World is A Ghetto (best song), Beetles In The Bog. The jazz section of the title song is amazing. 13 minute song is too long. 7/10
the singing is cheeks, the instrumental is alfa. weak 3 beetles in the bog, four cornered room instrumental and harmonizing.
Some good instrumentals in parts but too slow and boring at parts. FS: Cisco Kid, Ghetto
14th June 2023 Listened on the way back from the office. Came home and watched Sisu. Heady, hazy, heated summery funk. I could feel the limbs going by the river.
Good, but I didn't really have anything stand out to me. Enjoyed the beat and funk though.
Lush listen
When War gets it right, they're fantastic. I love "Cisco Kid;" it's easily one of my favorite songs by the group. Unfortunately, they get a little long-winded at times—there are three(!) songs over 8:30, and two of them are over 10:00. Not super stoked about that. I suspect that their greatest hits album is probably sufficient for my needs, but even with the overlong tracks, I can't justify giving them anything lower than three stars.
This was a good album. Not great, but it was a nice groove.
War. What is it good for? Absolutely okay funk.
Eat the salted peanuts out of the can.
I liked the title track but struggled to gain purchase on the other tracks. I kept wanting to put Sly on.....
I know of these guys but never really heard them. Maybe a song or two? This isn't too bad, reggae flavour mixed with a funky kinda thing. Touches on a heap of different genres, I guess funk would be the core though? Catchy but long. 3/5.
Very tough album to rate. Loved the opening track track of Cisco Kid. Had me grooving in my seat and made me very excited for the rest of the album. Where was you at is another very good tune off the album. Then they seemed to switch it up a move toward a more jazzish style of album. Jazz has never been my thing and I can't say I hated on this album, but I prefer the style and presentation of the first 2 songs. Cisco Kid (I downloaded Cisco!) and Where was you at were definitely my favorites off this album. I also enjoyed the World is a Ghetto, despite being over 10 minutes and 4 cornered room. Overall, I found this album to be good. Shit, I liked over 1/2 the album. There were definitely a few great moments off this album and I'm happy to be introduced to War. I left this genre playing for most of the day yesterday an generally find the funkish/soulish/R&B sounding style of music to be very enjoyable and great background music during the work day. This was going to be a very high score for after the first 2 songs. And I didn't dislike the remainder, but didn't quite get there for me. But solid and a good listen! Wavering between 3-3.5. Regardless, since no 1/2's on the star board, I'm giving a 3. I can see me checking out more of these guys. Love me that funk/r&b/soul music, when done right!
3 Man, I saw War and had a whole intro planned out for my review revolving around how Low Rider haunts my dreams due countless summer nights falling asleep to George Lopez on Nick at Nite. Well, that song’s not on this album, but that all to say when I think of War, I think of Low Rider, and then I think of George Lopez… and then I think of the freedom in summer vacation we take for granted as kids. Anyway, getting too deep here - let’s talk about The World is a Ghetto. I’m not normally the biggest fan of funk music, but I gotta say there’s a lot of fun and catchy stuff here. I’m not much of a dancer (sober anyway), but it’s really hard not to feel the groove to The Cisco Kid, and despite only having about three total lyrics, it’s catchy as all hell. That being said, I wasn’t into the instrumental stuff on the album as much. While it all had a nice sound to it, it didn’t do much for me, which is unfortunate because it’s a good half of this album’s runtime. The title track was really solid though, and I wish they had decided to end there instead of with Beetles in the Bog, as I found the latter to be kind of weak. It just feels like ending on The World is a Ghetto would have rounded out the album musically and thematically a little bit better than a song about bugs, what do I know? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Anyway, didn’t love the album, but it’s definitely enjoyable.
Great grooves for the time
Great musicianship and fun listen outside of my wheelhouse. Opening and title track were the best on the album, but good listen all the way through.
Enjoyable 3+/5
I wanted to like this one, but it’s a bit hit or miss, with too many misses.
Good early 70s fusion of funk, jazz and rock and a hint of country too. Mellow moments as well as straight up funk. Good horns.
Good, funky album. I’m feeling a strong 3
Salut Chatgpt, peux-tu me créer une critique musicale qui soit à la fois valable pour The World is a Ghetto de War et The Suburbs de Arcade Fire parce que ça fait deux semaines que je dois écrire une critique des deux et je les confonds. Bien sûr, voici une critique courte qui convient aux deux albums : The World is a Ghetto de War et The Suburbs de Arcade Fire sont deux albums qui abordent la question de l'aliénation sociale de manière émouvante. Alors que The World is a Ghetto explore les tensions raciales dans les quartiers défavorisés, The Suburbs se concentre sur la solitude et l'isolement dans les banlieues. Les deux albums offrent des réflexions sur les difficultés de vivre dans un monde où la communauté est en train de se défaire, tout en proposant une musique captivante et rythmée. Si vous cherchez des albums qui parlent de la condition humaine avec une grande sincérité, The World is a Ghetto et The Suburbs sont des choix incontournables.
Pas désagréable, pas particulièrement agréable non plus, vivement la fin de cette liste qui me pourrit la vie.
Aardige mix van invloeden en stijlen wel, luistert best lekker weg, maar komt daarna ook nooit meer terug.
Dit had wel een goede vibe!
Not bad!
Pretty good, but not too memorable. Some songs dragged on forever. Good use of horns throughout. Kept thinking about George Lopez even though that song isn't even in this album.
Had no preconceptions about this album as I knew nothing about War. Pretty pleasant surprise, folky, singalong rock infused with latin rhythms and so funky congas.
3. It's alright, not really my style but I enjoyed having it on while reading.
This was fun, a nice beat throughout
Funky and melodic, but without a standout track.
This didn't massively resonate with me, despite liking brassy bluesy music a lot. I felt like it only really had one gear though that it never got out of, where I was hoping it was at some point be a bit more POW. The general sound was good but the songs didn't quite do it for me
This was pretty cool, good sounds.
I was aware that this band originally featured Eric Burdon (of the Animals) but did not realise that they had big hit records, to the extent that it won 1973 Billboard album of the year. They would, at first listening seem to be a funk rock band but there are certainly some Curtis Mayfield and Marvin what's going on influences and also the remnants of old school psychedelia in the rather drawn jams of a couple of tracks here. I just don't feel that this is the best example of the music they are playing, despite the impressive message conveyed by title, artwork and some lyrics. Clearly able in their field but not spectacular.
First band on the list who I'd not heard of before. This was nice enough to have on in the background, not something I'm likely to listen to again though.
Interesting album. Wasn’t blown away by it though.
Cisco kid sounded familiar from maybe someone sampling it, but the rest was some funk that felt like never ending background music
Overall a dated sound and not all that memorable outside of one song really, still not unlistenable though and would be content just having it be background noise. 2/5
Sympa mais deux morceaux maximum, après ça tape sur le système
As far as I knew, I hadn’t heard of the band ‘War’ before, so I was quite curious. It’s a fairly varied album, though not really quite to my taste. Two stars...
This album started out alright but just lost me in the middle.
Did not connect with this one.
Country esque. Instrumental. Gets more soulful later. Interesting vibe. Progressively got better to me
Alright not really my cup of tea
So so
Not my favorite. Super long tracks that get repetitive and while the beats are amazing, I found myself waiting for the song to be over.
Good energy. But the songs were pretty long and jammy.
Muy lento, muy instrumental y muy largas las canciones.
Beetje hippy achtig. Niet heel interessant
wasnt great
Some nice tracks among several boring tracks. Unable to hold my attention throughout.
I found this quite boring. I didn’t really focus on the lyrics which was probably more of the point.
meh. Not a big fan. "Cisco Kid" is pretty cool...
not bad not good not adding anything to the playlist
Wuite like the cover and the songs are bit funk with the e but i didnt add an with the e
its okay but nto palaylist worthy
Nice but I have trouble staying inside the thing when it's so long and so instrumental. But it's obviously nice music
Silky feeling, but not completely to my taste.
Definitely not my thing, I am not a jazz person and I tend to like stuff with more lyrics. I can see why others would like it though.
no lo escuche toodo, pero guarde una cancion, no mi tipo aun.
- not much to say about this one - some enjoyable songs
Chill and very mildly funky, fine ambience but not for me. Highlight: "Four Cornered Room"
Starts of strong but becomes quiet forgettable quickly. Not bad, just disappointed from WAR with this one.
ok
Wasn't bad, just not really my thing. It started off pretty good, then got repetitive real quick.
Didn't really do it for me.
I dont know what to make of this. It’s objectively a cool album, but I subjectively did not enjoy it too much. I know that doesnt make sense, but it do be like that sometimes.
Long songs good back ground music if you liked it.
I wanted to love this but it’s kinda same-y and slow throughout.
Kinda boring, cause 2 songs are 10+ mins long. I dont like long songs. fav song Where was you at.
Ehkä tämäkin kippaisi jonain toisena päivänä kolmosen puolelle mutta tän päivän kuuntelulla ei kyllä maistu
Vähän turhan ghetto meno oli tässä.
Kansikuva ja ensitahdit lupasivat kyllä enemmän mitä levy lopulta antoi. Aika perusmeininkiä, enkä minä tästä kyllä oikein punaista lankaa löytänyt.
The music here is groovy, jazzy, and focuses more on instrumentation than lyrics. It's not bad for background music, but this style isn't for me.
Not memorable to me.
Not my thing at all
mas mi estilo pero mucha instrumetal y poco canto
Meh
4/10
My dumbass had this on shuffle but either way I dont think I was getting much out of this album. I can think of others that could replace it. I liked the instrumental track.
sss
Meh
meeh
Its cool, one solid single and 40 more minutes of decent if unfocused meandering does not make essential listening. No one needs to hear this before they die. All credit where credit is due though... this is worlds above the vast majority of crap that has been presented thus far on this list 2.95 stars.
Musically I know it’s good but I just wasn’t grabbed by this album.
Meh. It’s an album.
yeah well
Not for me
4/10
Interesting album not necessarily for me. 4.9/10
Pretty good background music for doing something, it's definitely definitive sound for the era.
On paper this seems like an album that I would like, but the experience of listening to it left a lot to be desired. The songs felt repetitious and uninteresting with the exception of the title track which I did enjoy.
I dug the City, Country, City for the last little bit. but overall won't be listening again.
Ericka said: "this sounds like background music from a 70's action movie" and then I couldn't unhear it.
The Cisco Kid - 2.5/5 Where Was You At - 3.5/5 City, Country, City - 2/5 Four Cornered Room - 3.5/5 The World Is A Ghetto - 3/5 Beetles In The Bog - 2.5/5
2.5 stars Background music for a 70s action movie that would not stand out much. It’s not bad but it’s not something I’d go out of my way to ever listen to again.
yea no
I dug the grooves, but the songs themselves didn't really do anything for me.
They loved a long track in the 70s, drugs were high quality back then. One or two I liked. But I've had better.
My least favorite kind of funk, the aimlessly repetitive kind. This is party atmosphere music, the kind you just have on in the background and don't think about. It has it's place, but not in my album rotation.
A jam album, light on funk. Funk is all about the bass, and the bass on this is pedestrian. Nothing notable, but pleasant enough background music.
Not too engaging
The only song that hooked me was the title track. I was enjoying listening to it until I got to about the 5 minute mark and realized there was much more song to go.
Solid, very funky, but I wasn't amazed by it.
This album just isn't for me. I didn't care for it when it first came out, and my tastes clearly haven't shifted much, still not a fan. The only thing keeping it above one star is "The Cisco Kid."
It's alright. But too slow and meandering for me. 2/5
131/1001 First listen. Nothing I want to hear again. 4/10
Fine. Mix of funky stuff, reggae and jazzy stuff. Won't come back to it.
Album #65 War: The World is a Ghetto Pretty solid 70s soul album, though to be honest, there are many better albums from that era I would rather return to. Though I am hardly the authority since I don’t care all that much for What’s Goin On by Marvin Gaye, so clearly my taste when it comes to soul is skewed. I found moments of this album to be enjoyable, but for the most part, it was fairly uninteresting. Best Songs: The World Is a Ghetto, Where Was You At, The Cisco Kid Worst Song: City, Country, City Score out of 10: 5.5
This smells suspiciously like jam band.
The instrumentation is excellent on this album and its the instrumental on this very short record which is the standout. Voice is too whiny to deliver the message. It has the the effect of a sledgehammer knocking in a nail.
This felt like a chore sadly
Not as upbeat as I'd hoped. Surprised that this was as successful as it has been. Not funky or soulful enough.
I mean, it's alright. A good enough listen. Pretty unremarkable though, sadly. Wish I had more to say on it as the album probably deserves more but it was in one ear and out the other which is a shame. fav tracks: City, Country, City, Four Cornered Room
Damn, I was so ready for this one to be great. "The Cisco Kid" is a fun one but the rest of the album degrades. Middle is stacked with too long songs that drag on. The funk-soul-jazz fusion style WAR got is cool in doses. Be a good live, jam band (still touring!). Based on this listen though, I decided they are probably just a greatest hits go to. If we get another record WAR from the list I won't be mad, willing to give them another chance. For the Ghetto I rate it at 1.75 stars.
I expected a little more out of this album. It starts off with Cisco Kid which I've always enjoyed. From there it devolves into long form progressive soul songs. It's not the worst, but it also does little to hook me or make me want to revisit this in any way. I guess its good that this genre got a little exposure on this list, but the overall product doesn't move me much. All in all its OK but mostly skippable. 1.92 stars
Boring.
Não gostei muito.
Está bien. Hay talento, pero me aburrí a mitad de cada canción... Son largas y no varía lo suficiente.
I thought I had only ever heard Low Rider from them, but I actually had listened to The Cisco Kid before somewhere. I like the album enough, with its slow funk, but not sure I see the appeal of it being in the list.
Cool album cover, but I have no idea what this could be. "War" is a vaguely familiar name, but that could be me conflating this with the U2 album. I have two predictions. This is either a blues album or an artsy rock album. I was close with my blues prediction, right? Anyways, this isn't my thing. You have to be pretty daring to reach for a 10+ minute track on your album, and you have to be outright insane to do it twice. I could appreciate the more delicate parts of the instrumentation, but overall this was pretty tepid. What can I say? I just don't care for jazz/soul music Book time. Where the band came into their own. Best-selling album of 73. Wikipedia says that this album was well-received by critics, but nothing more than that. I mean, this album is pretty unremarkable in both sound and impact. The music isn't particularly daring or unique, either. I'm thinkin this album gets a good snubbin'. In place of this album, I humbly submit Cutie Cinema Replay by Capsule for inclusion on the list
This started out ok, but fizzled quickly.
Jazz soul. Simply lovely. Not my genre at all current. Remindes me about Breakfast in America by Supertramp, the same feelings however more complicated. Intimidated songs duration, psychedelic soul though
Liked some songs on it, but it wasn't really my style
Interesting but not really my thing. I’m surprised that this seems to have been a super popular album when it came out. Notables tracks include Cisco Kid.
not the vibe
Meh
I like peace
Liked the vibe of this album. I didn’t personally connect to the lyrics, but I did like the title track.
Sounds like the background music to a 70s movie, especially the a bit too long jam sessions.
yep, it's War alright. I appreciate the funky grooves they've got goin' on, but I would never choose to listen to this myself.
Kinda just okay. There's talent here, but I ended up bored halfway through each song... repetition needs a more exciting groove to keep things moving imo
Just okay. Not super memorable or anything, and I am not much of a soul fan.
Laid back, funky and interesting in places. Title track is ok, but nothing really engaged me past a first listen.
This didn't do much for me, not my thing.
Not bad but kinda boring
Overlong and kinda boring funk and soul album. I don’t think this one has aged particularly well.
ja jo detta är säkert ett galet bra album, bara inte för mig. allt lät lite samma (förlåt) och hm nej inte min grej. men också - påriktigt SÅSSÅÅÅSÅ kul att lyssna på ny musik, riktiggggttt bra intiativ av mig själv alltså
not my stuff love the beats though
Too much soul for me
Starts alright but theat 14 minute instrumental song kills any momentum or enjoyment.
Okay but not my thing.
Not my vibe.
This album was fine. Definitely good music, but just not my style and a little boring. I'm not a big fan of War, really.
Conflicted. I really enjoyed the instrumentals. But I found the vocals actively annoying. They often sing a single phrase over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. Preferred when the vocals went away. 2.5/5
Standouts: - City, Country, City (nvm this has stopped standing out when is it going to end??) (it's still got 2 minutes I didn't know a burn down could be this long) - The World is a Ghetto I'm excited to see what long jazz songs are like -----The Cisco Kid---- -----Where was you at---- It's been 2 songs and I feel like they were meant to start at some point but they ended instead ----City, Country, City---- This has a ton of texture so far How long is this outro? ----Four Cornered Room---- This song is following the pattern of not starting ----The world is a Ghetto---- Title track is the first song to actually use it's length to good effect ----Beetles in the Bog---- One of my main complaints about the whole album is I can't remember a time when more than one instrument was playing at the same time. This is probably great music to have on in the background but sitting in a coffee shop listening to this I found myself waiting for it to end. 2
Just ok.
You know, this album was cool but way too long and maybe not the best? I liked the rhythms, but each song was really repetitive instrumentals.
Not my style and I didn’t enjoy this album
pomimo tego że bardzo lubię funk, to w tym przypadku niestety nie przypadło mi to do gustu, możliwe ze względu na elementy jazzu i pomimo, że znam jedną piosenkę tego zespołu
I liked the Cuban-adjacent groove, but for the most part, this was funk torture for me.
i enjoyed this
No, I'm not getting this at all. Well played, certainly, but it is failing to connect. 2/5 (thinking it 'must be me').
A promising album that never really takes off. It's just a little bit boring. It's slightly jazzy prog rock, and it does work well together, but they're also the two most overindulgent, wankfest genres going, so to combine the two, you can imagine the result. Really really long instrumental sections that meander all over the place and don't seem to end. 'The Cisco Kid' sounds exactly the same as 'Low Rider' which coincidentally is another War song. 'Where Was You At' was a pretty catchy foot tapper. But the rest is pretty forgettable. All the songs seem to merge into the background with me not having heard anything notable or anything to make me enjoy or hate it.
I did not expect the music to sound the way it did based on the title.
A few decent grooves stretched to eternity, mostly leaving you wondering when anything will actually happen. Smooth enough to nod along, but somehow it never really goes anywhere. Perfect if you enjoy music that feels like it’s taking a nap.
eigentlich mag ich funk, aber auf die ebene hab ich nicht gefunden
70's ghetto bluesy rock. not my thing
Nicht meines.
Music was great! Lyrics were repetitive and not great. I enjoyed it
Fine
This may be War, but what is it good for?
War... what is it good for? A good album cover, I suppose. Also, Wiki tells me they "transcended racial and cultural barriers with a multi-ethnic lineup", so I feel a little bit guilty for not liking this. But it's definitely more focused on (guitar-heavy) music than lyrics, which isn't my preference. Although "zoom zoom zoom (x5) / as I sit in my four-cornered room" should have been a pandemic anthem for academics everywhere!
89/1001 :: War - The World is a Ghetto Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ❌ Rating: 5 Listen before you die: No This is a cool funk album with some great instrumentation. That said it’s also missing the highs and lows I’m usually looking for in an album. It’s also just in general not my thing. I’m moving on.
OK. Cowboy music vibes - I think it's all the harmonica. There's a lot of harmonica - I'd like a little less. Lots of long tracks too - neither good nor bad.
I did not enjoy this one, however I recognize the talent of the musicians and how they created their different songs with a mix of genres.
Some solid songs but overall not my jam
Funky! I liked "The Cisco Kid". With how many musicians reference the show, I should probably go watch it someday. The rest of the album, while great musically, didn't move the needle much.
Very nice and chill, perfect to throw on in the background. Still wasn't for me though.
3/5
pass
alright, not amazing
I've been a fringe fan since I was a kid based on the tunes they had on the classic rock stations I grew up listening to. Fun 70's album cover art that made you want to review it from corner to corner, that's just not something you see anymore. That must be the band standing in the alley watching their limo get towed? With only 6 songs it seems like a short album but one song is 13 mins, another is 8.5 mins and another is over 10 mins long. Decent listen counts for a 50+ yr old album but not impressive. "Cisco Kid" is one of those underappreciated classics you enjoy hearing, great percussion, vocals and groove. I couldn't get into the wandering "City, Country, City" and feel that's 13 mins of my life I won't get back. "Four Cornered Room" starts off as a dark stoner dirge then morphs into a spoke word thing before reverting back to a slow burn. It was ok, but not impressive. That rolls into the 10+ min "The World Is A Ghetto" which I got very little enjoyment from. Repetitive and depressing, maybe that's why it's on the T1001 list, they're talking truths from the 1970's but how about some positivity and how to change things?! His screaming vocal the last 2 mins was completely unnecessary. Wrapping up with "Beetles In The Bog"was another group chant sung in a in intelligible way, if you weren't depressed already, you are now. Outside of the uplifting "Cisco Kid" this one's a real stinker. 2 Stars since the musicianship is good, the vocals suck most of the time (they miss Eric Burdon!) and the variance from song to song is minimal after the opening track. Wouldn't listen to it twice.
Has great ideas but takes too long to get to them. Their ten minute instrumental track is so good, but it just keeps going. It's great artistry, but couldn't help but feel it didn't earn all ten of its minutes. Some songs were forgettable, others were good but weren't great. An album close to greatness but just so sorely... Lacking. Some of the bass likes makes me thing it should be 3 stars, but I can't ever see myself coming back to this album. Maybe I'll return to the title track, but not much else.
The songs that are over 10 minutes long here lack justification for their length; they could have made a shorter record and spent the extra time on something more productive. Although I'm sure this is better than a real life war
Groupe inconnu. J'ai apprécié les morceaux plus longs comme 'City, Country, City' et 'The World Is a Ghetto' majoritairement instrumentaux avec des chorus très réussis (+1). Les autres morceaux ne sont pas vraiment intéressants à mon gout ('Four Cornered Room' trop lent et long). Pas sur d'y revenir une seconde fois. =>2/5
I loved city, country, city. The rest was fine, though. The lyrics calling out the nation and it's ghetto acts was a nice listen, but i didn't stick with me to much.
I can appreciate how seemlessly the musicians here managed to blend together funk, rock, jazz, and the blues. However, this is very much not my cup of tea, like, at all. There's just too much jam band-type bullshit on here for me to like this. 2/5.
Slow - good background music - not too demanding
J - 2/5 Best Track - "Where Was You At"
Ehhh not great.
2/5 no es para mi esto
This one just didn’t grab me. Maybe I need to listen more. But I feel like a great album should get me the first time around more than this
Interesting bit of funk to hear, I am a little familiar with War’s big hits but nothing here. Wasn’t terribly engaged with this album, a little boring and fell into the background very quickly. 2.25/5 today but may have been higher on a different day
Kind of boring after Cisco
This probably needs more listens, as there are a lot of layers to unpack here. The songs are long and complex, but melodically they don't really stand out too much. Very cool mix of genres, though.
the first couple of songs are pretty good, but after that this album falls off a cliff.
Never liked this shit. Now, I dislike it even more. Why is this here?
When my wife came home last week and announced "I'm going to be a dungeon master!" a chill ran down my spine. "Perhaps I should have seen this coming," I thought. She had recently been talking about "alternate revenue streams" and I (it seemed naively in that moment) had assumed she meant something like couples crafting or selling items on eBay. I could never have imagined that she was thinking of dipping not only her toe, but her whole self into the murky world of BDSM. "Well, I suppose we could convert one of the rooms in the house..." I said. "But, of course we don't have a basement, so it won't be a real dungeon." She looked at me blankly. "What are you talking about?" she said. "A place for the apparatuses!" "What apparatuses?" "The ones for your clients! You think they'll just want to be spanked here on the couch in front of the cats? A dominatrix dungeon mistress will need a dungeon, for Christs sake! It'll be an investment, but I imagine the returns will offset the expense within the first quarter of operation..." She turned and left. Turns out she was talking about running a game of the collective-imagination RPG "Dungeons and Dragons." I'd have preferred the dominatrix angle. What does this have to do with "The World is a Ghetto" by War? More than you could ever imagine, as it happens. Her group are coming over tomorrow and this might be the perfect distraction music. They'll be about to kill a goblin and then suddenly ask "Wow, is it just me or has this song gone on for fucking ever?!" "It has!" I'll reply, "and so has your game!" Ideally they'll leave. I'll return and report the results. As for the album itself, it's maybe the funkiest thing I've ever listened to in one whole sitting. It does go slightly longer than necessary (especially "City, Country, City", "Four Cornered Room" and "The World is a Ghetto"). This does detract significantly from the funk.
Hmm, this is different
The record 100% Summer in 1970's Brooklyn vibes. And that's not a bad thing. My 2 star rating is purely based on relistenabilty. The album is solid, front to back, but its just not my thing, but damn, this has such a strong feeling to it.
Wow this is way more meandering than I expected from the "Low Rider" band! Really wild pacing to go from two tight 3-min songs to a 13-minute jam, an 8-minute jam, and a 10-minute jam, especially when none of them have anything technically dazzling or proggy or exploratory going on. The band itself is tight but overall it's not doing much for me. I'll take "Cisco the Kid" for its Pineapple Express vibes and leave the rest.
Kinda a vibe but most of it is not my jam
I found this fairly monotonous and jammy. Sorta reggae. Sorta funk. Not bad but not something I'll likely return to.
Not for me in the slightest this one. It's not offensively terrible or anything, but it just did nothing for me whatsoever.
Das Album The World Is a Ghetto wurde 1972 von der US-amerikanischen Band War veröffentlicht und in den Crystal Industries Studios in Los Angeles aufgenommen. Die Gruppe, die sich durch eine multinationale Besetzung auszeichnete, verband in ihrer Musik Funk, Soul, Rock und Latin-Elemente. Dieses Album reflektiert diesen hybriden Stil besonders deutlich. Zu den bekanntesten Titeln gehören „The Cisco Kid“, ein funkbetonter Song mit eingängigen Bläserlinien, und der titelgebende Track „The World Is a Ghetto“, der mit seinem langen, atmosphärischen Aufbau auffällt und sozialkritische Untertöne trägt. Auch „City, Country, City“, ein instrumentales Stück, zeigt die improvisatorische Bandbreite der Band und war prägend für den Crossover-Sound jener Zeit. Musikalisch bewegt sich das Album zwischen rhythmischer Dichte und zurückgenommenen Passagen, wobei die Instrumentierung Raum für längere Jam-Segmente lässt. Die Arrangements wirken durchdacht, ohne aufwendig zu wirken, und spiegeln ein hohes Maß an musikalischer Eigenständigkeit wider. Insgesamt bietet das Album eine ausgewogene Mischung aus politischen Themen, tanzbaren Rhythmen und musikalischer Experimentierfreude. Es ist ein sorgfältig produziertes Werk, das den Zeitgeist der frühen 1970er Jahre ebenso abbildet wie die stilistische Offenheit der Band.
Just felt kinda long. I like other War tracks from other albums more than this one.
A but too jazzy and not my style, but I still liked a few songs, especially the first one and the world is a ghetto. Who knows, maybe as time passes my taste will change and I will someday regret this rating.
Kind of meh
meh
City country city is v great This is what the eagles would sound like if they we’re war protesting hippies instead of the cocaine kind Loved the jamming and the screeching sax
Not for me.
Not really for me
Not bad, just kind of boring
The funk overstays its welcome on a lot of these tracks. The music is competent and kind of fun, but nothing really resonated with me outside of the album’s closing number, Beetles in the Bog. I can’t see myself revisiting this particular album by the War again. Though learning these guys did Low Rider and Why Can’t We Be Friends came as a bit of shock. A shame they didn’t come up on this record! ⭐️⭐️
This was actually nice to work with. I don’t think I would ever choose it by itself, but while being busy it was calming but kept me awake. cool.
Very forgettable
This might have caught me on the wrong day, but so much of it felt annoying that I can’t say I enjoyed it. Nearly every song on the album started okay, then ran way too long and overstayed its welcome and eventually got annoying. Not a good album to listen to when extremely tired.
I was expecting something groovier and more latin influenced from the band that brought us Low Rider. Heartbroken to say that this fell flat for me.
I couldn't work out why some of these slow jams are long and some are short. How do they decide when to end? There are no builds, no climaxes. Listening to the single version of the title track doesn't help. It is makes no difference if it is four minutes or ten, unless you're using it to time an egg. 1.5 This is boring, no? So much rehearsal room time spent fashioning fancy grooves and, as is often the case with groove-making, no one noticed that there wasn’t much worth grooving about. The base melodies here are dull, however 6 or 7 good musicians (too often playing all at once) may dress them up and drag them out. 1.5/5
A decent album. There was a lot of repetition lyrically. It would be good to have on in the background.
I wasn’t a huge fan of this. Seemed very all over the place and I disengaged often
Not horrendous but not for me either. Instantly forgettable
Oh the conflict: it turns out I like funky soul/jazz way more than I get would have expected based on the albums that have come up. Parts of this really remind me of Gorillaz which was a surprise. But... A 13 minute 18 second long instrumental?! No. A 2 seems harsh, but a 3 absolutely too much... As no half marks, a 2 it is: 2/5
I don't mind this, but i dont rate it much either. It seemed to lack any agency or motif that held attention.
War is a band I’ve wanted to know more about so I looked forward to The World is a Ghetto. I knew The Cisco Kid as well as the title track but I’d never checked out the whole album. And, unfortunately, The World is a Ghetto came up short. Outside of the two songs I knew, the only other one that resonated with me was Where Was You At. The over thirteen minute instrumental City, Country, City couldn’t end fast enough and there wasn’t much to Four Cornered Room to get me interested. The final song was really forgettable. I could maybe play this as background music but that’s about it. I have to go with a 2 rating here. 2/5
Crap
funky and fine. sounds like the era it was made in. my mind took a walk through 70's Harlem while listening to this album.
Pet fav song: Four Cornered Room I find the fact this was the best selling album of 1973 fascinating. It made me wonder why I didn't know about it. Honestly I wanted to like this album more, but I'm underwhelmed. This makes me think of a middle-aged man in his wood-paneled den drinking a Schlitz, and him thinking he's with it because he's listening to this album.
..
Can’t really remember how it was but I don’t remember anything good so it must be shit
I have to say that when I looked up the track list and saw six songs, I thought it was going to be a quick and easy listen. Wow there are some long songs on this thing! It’s not something I would normally seek out but I did enjoy it. It sounds like it could have been very influential to a lot of future artists. It has a great groove to it and an interesting sound. Album stand outs for me would be Where Was You At and the title track The World is a Ghetto.
nothing inspiring or interesting, blah
I don't know what to make of this. 2 stars.
Not my brew
nap
70s soul. Funk, jazzy elements. Well done, just not my thing.
Meh gave up on it sorry there was one cool song
Weird
Ok
I honestly expected something heavier and rougher from the band name and album title.
Couldn't get into it, was quite bored a lot of the time or my thoughts drifted off.
no
This album cannot possibly belong on this list.
The whole world? Are we a corner of the universe aliens are instructed not to go to? Maybe that’s why there hasn’t been contact yet. Either way, due to the fact that I have no further comments regarding the planet earth being a ghetto and of course the rigorous time constraints imposed upon me by big music review, let us proceed. Mount your bayonets, men. The Cisco Kid? What, does he wield a six shooter packed with lard? Greasing the wheels of justice. Oh wait. That’s Crisco. Is he trying to sell me the CiscoPone with Ed Bagley Jr.? Oh that’s Cinco. Well. St least thinking about these things helped pass the time. Musically pretty cool, dampened heavily by the constant repetition of a nonsense lyric. The Cisco kid is not a friend of mine. Oh no. The swamp critters opening. Oh wait it’s actually pretty cool. The vocals are far better than before and this was pretty funky. The ol’ thumbs in the middle treatment. Fog settles over a small church in the Spanish countryside. This desert-tinged epic is atmospheric to the point of bringing to mind landscapes across the world. A cowboy out of place and time. Not a lame cosplay cowboy way either. An outlaw pulled right from the 1800’s and dropped into 1970’s NYC. That oughta do it. Enjoy the pre-tourism Times Square and try not to get/spread syphilis you little rascal. A long track, a good track. Another long one folks. The 45 minute run time is divided amongst six songs, so if you’re not already buckled up, your mangled carcass is already smeared across the road. I do talk about runtime a whole bunch hey? OnCinema was onto something about hack reviewers. How niche can I make my references? Not to call plagiarism, but this sounds so similar to Planet Caravan. Right down to the vocal melody. Pretty sweet song to imitate but it doesn’t quite have the focus of its predecessor. Not a bad track but this one is not jumping out the windshield at me. The titular track begins with a warning. A warning that this may be grinding to a halt. Oh here we go. We need a little bit of energy after some extended downtime. At least the previous downtime felt cool. This is death. The gavel comes down resonating through the court of music nerds. Surprise being exhaled through allergy laden nostrils resonates through the wooden courtroom. The crime? Heavily criticizing PJ Harvey and Britpop. The sentence? Death. No last meals in this savage realm. Simply a final song. The world is a ghetto. 9 minutes I await my demise. 9 minutes stretches into the infinity that is my final rest. Woe is the reviewer who besmirches the quirked up indie girls. Fie upon the house of Yorke I scream as the final Starsky & Hutch lick ushers me into eternal sleep. Just kidding. I’m alive. I am jolted awake by funny words like “Beetles” and “Bog.” Luckily it’s not spelled “Beatles” or it takes on the grim veneer of a search party looking for the remains of Ringo in a wetland marsh. This was another dud. War. What is it good for? A few decent tracks, I reckon. This thing had some good moments despite my review, which seemed to frequently return to the concept of mortality; whether mine or that of the venerable Ringo Starr esquire. The netherworld seemed to be lurking beneath each grammatically laboured sentence this album drew out of me. Look. Tracks two and three were fun, and the rest fell off a cliff. Somebody call a search party, or maybe a chief of armistice, as this war is all but over. 2-2.5 HIGHLIGHTS: Where Was You At, City, Country, City
I know a couple of songs by War ("Low Rider" and "Why Can't We Be Friends"), but this will be my first time listening to an album of theirs. I've been looking forward to this album, because based on its cover, I assume it's got some pretty great social commentary. Hopefully this album can satisfy my expectations! Unfortunately, I thought The World Is A Ghetto was a bit of a dud. Musically, this album had some promise, but it never really fully took off for me. It didn’t help that this album started off with “The Cisco Kid,” a song that I actually know, but unfortunately, it’s also a song I hate. The Latin elements that are woven into the instrumentals are pretty good, but I hate the vocals and lyrics, which just so happen to be really repetitive in a way that I find incredibly grating. “Where Was You At” was okay, but I wasn’t really into the organ melody, and the lyrics were pretty repetitive here too. “City, Country, City” wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t very interesting either, and it felt like it just plodded along for its entire 13-minute run time. The second side of the album didn’t fare much better with me; the instrumentals were fine, but the first two songs were pretty long, and just like the first side of the album, these songs didn’t really go anywhere interesting for me. I don’t think this album was bad, but it just didn’t really bring much to the table. I expected this to pack a bit more of a punch, but unfortunately, it just fell flat.
Not much to say. Not my cup of tea but didn’t hate it.
I couldn’t finish it.
too slow and too long. nothing breathtaking about this record. "City , Country, City" sounds like a bad jam that where musiciens don't listen to each other. boring. the title track "The World is a Ghetto" is the only track i saved. nice chord progression, nice chorus. that's it
It was Ok, but couldn't really make me want to listen to it again.
It was okay but I’ve woken up today and don’t remember any of it.
boring
It's a vibe for sure! Not my cup of tea, but was interesting to listen to.
Not very memorable to me
..
Decent jazzy album. Nothing amazing. Quite short… but fun little listen.
Starts promising, but the songwriting is not up to scratch. The last half of the album is really dull, not danceable at all, and I don’t feel the soul. Too much sax in the monitor
Cisco Kid is a well known track. Nice beat, probably a good dance choice. The rest are unmemorable. 2.5/5
Again, pretty tired writing this but this album was okay. These are the longest tracks I've seen on an album and my attention was dwindling. Just don't think I have the patience for this one today. Might update it later, 2/5 for now.
I've never listened to a funk album all the way through, so this was a cool experience. I was also intrigued to see how short the album was but that it had a 13-minute and a 10-minute song. It was even more shocking to me to see that "City, Country, City" was a 13-minute long instrumental song?? Overall the album was fun. I don't think I'd reach to listen to it again, but I liked how unique it was
70s classic R&B. Not necessarily distinctive. Bass track and vocals
This was a fun funk/jam album. It was great music to play while I worked. Not too much about the album stood out to me but it was fun. Great vibes. Some songs went on for WAYYYY too long, but I know that is the style. Actually a 2.5. Liked Songs: "The Cisco Kid" and "Where Was You At"
The Cisco Kid is about the only bright spot for me, I doubt I would revisit this anytime Best Song: The Cisco Kid Rating: 3.5/10 2 Stars
I had this one way back in the day when I was doing this project solo. I rated it a 2 then, but didn't leave a review.
Ein paar gute Hooks dabei, hätte Potenzial, aber der 13 Minuten Instrumentaltrack hat sich ziemlich gezogen und manchmal plätscherte es einfach nur vor sich hin.
Cisco Kid I enjoy. The rest is a bit of a slog.
Nice groove, nice sound but ultimately just a bit boring.
Boring schnooring
Eclectic album. A mix of funk, jazz, Latin, soul, and r n b. Started strong but then took a dip it didn’t recover from it. I like the Sly feel of the first two songs - wish it stuck with that formula.
Für mich zu soulig, wenig innovativ. 2/5
Not for me; barely made an impression at all.
Why were some of these songs so long?
I was interested to here this but this is some really songs where they are trying to create more a vibe than a song. If you are big into funk you might get something out of this, but honestly I wasn't keen 2.5*
The World is a Ghetto by War showcases the undeniable talent of the band’s musicians, but despite this, I found the album tedious. War has a reputation for their unique blend of funk, jazz, and Latin influences, and while the musicianship is clearly there, the result, in this case, fell flat for me. Though I’m no stranger to lengthy songs, the two extended tracks on this album felt unnecessarily drawn out. Instead of using the length to build something immersive or dynamic, the tracks just seemed to prolong a sense of repetitiveness, making it feel like dullness stretched to its limits. For me, any momentum the band could have built is lost in this excessive runtime. Standout Track: Pass Score: 2/5
it's interesting with lyrics and tempos, but not anything that I would seek out to listen to again. another ok background music album. 2.5 stars
Not my thing
Música ambiental para trabajar pensando que la Guerra es en verdad una movida
No es mi estilo
No more jam bands please
1. cizco kid - 1.5 2. uuhere - 1 3. city - 1.5 4. room - 1.5 5. ghetto - 1.5 6. beetlez - 1
Minna meg om Far East Family Band (hvis eg huske riktig). Streit, men ikkje essensielt i mitt liv
There are much better albums out there for this kind of music. There was too much of everything, just overloaded. Then those long tracks, just jammin' on and on. And the lyrics: always repeating to the point of annoyance. Some shorter tracks were okay, but that's it.
Nice fusion of soul, jazz, and funk with a laid-back vibe. Clearly very talented group. There are a couple of good grooves. Still, some of these songs are way too long. I don’t mind a long jam as long as it holds my attention. I will not revisit this. I was actually very surprised to learn that this was Billboard magazine's Album of the Year and best-selling album of 1973. Never would have guessed that. I’ve never even heard of this album before
13 minute instrumental is too much
Somtething different and although good its not life changing music. Good musicians and instrumental songs are very good. I just cluldnt get into it, maybe its just not my type of music.
there's some great music on this album but too much fucking around for this to be truly good. i swear city, country, city just sat on the same 2 chord vamp for 8 minutes straight, which is usually my sort of shit, but they didn't do anything with it to make it my sort of shit. it felt like listening to the sort of band practice you have in your teens where you start playing your repertoire but get bored halfway through the first song and end up jamming on it for the rest of the hour. from the gospel of francisco vincent zappa: "we was playing the same old song / in the afternoon, and sometimes we would / play it all night long / it was all we knew, and easy too / so we wouldn't get it wrong"
War, what is it good for? Apparently just one great song, which isn’t on this album. “Cisco Kid” and “Where Was You At” are fine, but the extremely extended instrumental of “City, Country, City” was a slog to get through. There is an interesting blend of soul, funk, and prog rock here that is pretty unique, but it only really clicks on the second half of “Four Cornered Room.” War’s biggest and most lasting hit is, of course, “Low Rider,” and it’s a bit of a surprise to find that it was on the same album as “Why Can’t We Be Friends.” Perhaps that is a better album to represent the band?
155/1001
Cisco Kid is a great tune. The rest of it was not notable but not terrible
Fan of the greatest hits for years, on repeat early in my college years. This full album has its moments but the longer songs get monotonous for me.
Beetles In The Bog
Super repetitive. Loved the sax solos though.
Liked Song The Cisco Kid
Fuck me but this album is so repetitive. Everything would be so much more enjoyable if it lasted for at most half of the time it does. Still, I can't understand how Fleetwood Mac didn't get the shit sued out of them for ripping off Beetles in the Bog for Tusk
5/10. I'll not place a detailed rating here as this isn't really something I vibe with very much. Some snippets of tracks here and there catch my attention, but this certainly isn't my thing.
Interesting mix. Not my style
Ik hoor soul, jazz, funk, reggae, blues op dit album. Je zou het geweldig kunnen vinden, maar ik vind het wat teveel en daardoor klikt het album totaal niet bij me. Daarbij helpt het niet dat er (met name op side A) een aantal geluiden aanwezig zijn die wat gedateerd klinken. Het is kwalitatief zeker geen slecht album, maar het is gewoon niet mijn album. Als ik hier een 3 voor zou geven zou ik mezelf voor de gek houden.
Hmm, not really for me
Funky, but not get a high score funky.
Overall very forgettable music.
Mig langaði mikið til að fíla þetta en lagasmíðin er bara ekki nógu áhugaverð.
If Why Can't We Be Friends was a five (which it is) then this is no where near it. Doesn't need to be here and detracts from their better work
A little too much of this, and a little too less of that... and a 13 minute song I did not like.
Fine. Not my jam. I don’t need eight and 10 minute experimental songs.
Good
Uninspiring and lackluster r&b, funk and soul. War seems to act as parliament funkadelic in some of the movements on this album and its good music but it lacks something in either genre or category its operating in to make it a mainstay for me. Still, good music.