The World is a Ghetto

pretty good background music. listened to it all day.

Yeah, this is fine.

New album for me, and this was a happy surprise! Every song felt very funky and had a really nice groove to it. Listened to it while working and I can't remember thinking anytime that it got bad or especially boring. Songs were also different enough from each other. Just overall solid, very happy with this!

I only know War from their "hits", none of which are on this album. I enjoyed this one quite a lot. If find funk can sometimes be quite repetitive with endless jamming, however this continued to stay fresh with all tracks having their own style. "Cisco kid" with it's reggae influence was fun. I think my favourite was the final track "Beetles in the bog" which made me think of the band "Goat". This feels slightly too good for a 3 so it gets 4 starts from me.

Some legit jams on here. War deserves more recognition. Best track: The Cisco Kid

Interesting, some good small moments but overall it does not feel cohesive or maybe it's not just for me. My rating would be 2.5 stars. I didn't dislike it fully but I cannot just leave it play it in the background without being annoyed in some segments.

So good - reminds me of Cymande

Plays like the soundtrack to a 70s cop drama all car chases and slow mo walking down the tough streets of Detroit, or Philly or NYC

Overall a good album, but felt almost sparse to me. It is "chill funk". Mostly instrumental and no sweeping keyboards or a cacophony of sounds. Just really good music, but nothing expansive. I really enjoyed it but it felt like something was missing Favorite Songs: The World is a Ghetto, The Cisco Kid Least Favorites: NA

Forgettable: probably one of if not my shortest review, so incredibly 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.

Good to great album.

good

Cisco Kid - feels like you're part of the 70's urban scene. The rest of the album not my fav but it definitely has a vibe.

One of my favorite album covers. If you get a chance, read up on Howard Miller. I don't think the album works as well today as it once did - some of the songs are a bit long, and seem repetitious. The whole thing mellow - maybe too mellow.

Fon-KEY. Feels like something that I would hear on a GTA soundtrack whilst driving around one of those cars with the ridiculous suspension springs. BOING.

This was fun! A very unique sound to it that I really liked. Excellently played and written, fun album cover as well. So much to love and nothing to hate.

The sounds that a lot of my childhood were based on, very cool to engage with this.

It was a really great funk album. Perfect song as I walk around and observe city living - the good, the bad, the ugly

Groovy, énergique, lancinant, militant: j'en ai apprécié tous les paysages sonores

WAR is under appreciated and they have very solid tunes.

so smooth!

Minna meg om Far East Family Band (hvis eg huske riktig). Streit, men ikkje essensielt i mitt liv

Heaven muusikkia hypnotic.... Harmi että välillä mitäänsanomatonta ja ajallista..

East LA leadup to Los Lobos, this album marries Mexican-American vibes with a bit of Motown and funk.

Groovy and a good listen. Just not really my thing.

A promising album that never takes off: The music definitely has the right leanings when it comes to its take on R&B, but at the same time it tends to err on the boring side.

Sucesión de canciones poperas con influencias un tanto étnicas y, original de escuchar. Música para dar ambiente

This feels like what soul was meant to become.

Good vocal harmonies and excellent interplay of harmonica and saxophone in City, Country, City.

Don’t know I’d ever listened to this. Will definitely add it to favourites.

Quick hits on this give it be a 4* album. I've never listened to this before and am quite impressed so far.

Nice interesting album

Tässä oli ainakin vaihtuvuutta kun melkeen jokainen biisi oli "eri genreä". Ei varsinaisesti pahaa sanottavaa, kerta riitti ja eteenpäin.

Biisien pituudesta huolimatta kivuttomasti jaksoi kuunnella. Kivaa fiilistelyä.

Groovy and chill.

I hadn't heard of War before, and thus I wasn't sure what I was expecting going into this totally blind. "War" sounded like a metal band, "The World is a Ghetto" sounded like a gangsta rap album. I was completely wrong on all accounts and very pleasantly surprised. This is 44 minutes of just some really funky, jazzy psychedelic soul with some Caribbean flair. It's generally melancholy and usually quite chill, but it gains energy at the right moments and is just a general pleasure to listen to. I especially liked the general feel of Beetles In The Bog and City, Country, City. Thank you Generator, this was a great album to be introduced to. Favourite: Beetles In The Bog

the songs are too repetitive! if not i would’ve been 5/5 s it’s quite the shame

interesting, at times a little cheesy but had some really chill parts

For some reason I expected classic rock but was blessed with a full helping of funk

Dang that's a fun album. Drags a bit there in the mid, but some tracks slap hard.

first album about soul music.Sounds good!

Good album, but not marking 3/5

I really enjoyed this, very funky. The album cover is fun. The Cisco Kid and The World Is A Ghetto are great tracks. I also enjoyed City, Country, City,

Really enjoyed that - this is more like a 4.5. I'm more familiar with War's collaboration with Eric Burdon than their own stuff, so it was good to rectify that... Fave tracks - "The Cisco Kid" is a great opener. "City, Country, City" is wonderfully cinematic. "Four Cornered Room" is probably my fave track on the album - lovely dreamy hypnotic atmosphere - kinda reminded me of Black Sabbath's "Planet Caravan". "The World is a Ghetto" is a jam, and I liked the afrobeat sounding "Beetles in the Bog" You know what, gonna round this up to a 5 since every track apart from one caught my attention!

Great album, enjoyed the instrumentals a lot.

Meh

So good

Great album, the intro songs kicks strong. Solid instrumentals then wraps up crisp without overstaying it's welcome. War is a lot more than just low rider.

Groovy and chilly

Liked this but it didn't click for me completely. All the elements are there but I wasn't bought into it as a whole.

1972 - Funk; Soul; R&B; Psychedelic Soul

Not in the mood. The opening track, "Cisco Kid" is the only memorable hit from the record. The rest is just ok.

An album that sounds like a hot summer day in Brooklyn. Such a rich atmosphere of sounds.

Gets nicely into a groove.

Go - funk being funk. Plaat bleef precies soms hangen.

Iets trager dan ik verwachtte, beetje funky muziek.

Good album.

A funky, fun listen

Unique and funky! This was a fun listen with some good beats/vibes.

This album is a VIBE. The saxophone in The World is a Ghetto was unreal. Great heavy beat throughout. I was hesitant towards this album because it’s labeled as “Psychedelic” which is often too out there for me but this was awesome.

Delicious

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

Decent, kinda instrument soul funk

I don't like it much

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.

Excellent album. Very funky. Standouts: The Cisco Kid; The World Is a Ghetto.

niiiiiiiiiice

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 album definitely deserves to be on this list.

This was a good album. Not great, but it was a nice groove.

C’est pas un album que tout le monde va aimer, mais j’ai beaucoup apprécié l’expérimentation jazz couplé au son classique de War

i don't reckon any ghetto sounds like this outside of a james bond film.

Sipping whisky out of a discarded doll's head and listening to this record at full blast is the best way to spend a beautiful day. Unfortunately, I spent the day cleaning dog shit out of my new shoes.

War. What is it good for? Absolutely okay funk.

Eat the salted peanuts out of the can.

2/6

A couple familiar songs, but otherwise very jazzy. I’m all about this. Favorite song on the album: The World is a Ghetto

I liked the title track but struggled to gain purchase on the other tracks. I kept wanting to put Sly on.....

I just love this. It's so loose and relaxed, just a pleasure to listen to. 4 stars.

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.

The opening groove immediately won me over. Slow, smooth, funky. Even the extended jammy tracks are fun. Great album for relaxing on a lazy summer afternoon. Loved it.

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!

I can't help but always think of Low Rider and its association with George Lopez when I hear War. I don't especially care for Low Rider because outside of George Lopez it feels like listening to the Full House theme song outside of Full House. Nevertheless The World is a Ghetto is a really really solid Soul/Funk album. I'm surprised how much I enjoyed it in fact. It has all of the commonalities that I love with this type of music. It gets a little sleepy near the end of City, Country, City and into the song that follows, but I think it picks it back up nicely from there. Even the 10 minute dealies don't overstay their welcomes (until like the last minute of both, maybe). All in all I really liked this and I will be listening again for sure! 4

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

Expectations were blown by a band I only knew by a few hits. Super funky incorporating Latin, jazz, gospel, and rock. Incredibly lush with non-traditional song structures. You can tell why it's labelled "prog soul" with how they manage to maintain the melody but yet the song still branches out so unexpectedly so often. We start off with two proggy yet accessible pop pieces. "City Country City" was a fun instrumental jam fest of each of the players showing off, with a satisfying entrancing conclusion. "Four Cornered Room" was an intense western. Really cool harmonica and gong. "The World is a Ghetto" was another cool jazzy piece. The closer sounded like it had afrobeat influence but I think this came out before afrobeat was popular. Really enjoyed the whole record, and sat well in the background with its chill and lush groove.

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.

Slow, soulful funk with hints of jazz, rock and the slightest reggae flavour. This feels luxurious. Rating: 4/5 Playlist track: The Cisco Kid Date listened: 14/05/23

Had a hard time stringing these tracks together as an album. Maybe needs multiple listens but I kept checking Spotify to see if it was still the same album / artist. 2.5

Enjoyable 3+/5

I wanted to like this one, but it’s a bit hit or miss, with too many misses.

Great album. One of the songs got overly repetitive but other than that the only flaw is that the album doesn't have more tracks!

I enjoyed this album quite a bit. It's not really in a style I normally listen to, but I may seek out more like this in the future. The Cisco Kid is a banger. I also liked the longer songs. 4/5

Wow, I love this, it’s like if Marvin Gaye got P-Funk to back up What’s Going On. Will return to. B+, can easily rise

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.

Ja feelar nästan ge de en två men int helt de va ba kinda tråkigt

Good, funky album. I’m feeling a strong 3

Dehä va nice!

So good. 5 stars.

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!

Never heard of these guys before. Some great songs on there, not my normal style of music but maybe my tastes are changing!

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.

Really good, falls just short of 5 🌟 for me, largely because I don't know enough about the music to fully appreciate it. What I do know is that I really liked it, and enjoyed learning about a band I had never (knowingly) heard before.

Soul/jazz album with a funky vibe that is a good listen. Brings the listener into a 70's black neighborhood. Leadoff "The Cisco Kid" is the standout.

first listen not your average funk album

i love the musicality this album provided. i was listening to it while reading and really complimented. it was enjoyable and also different to my usual taste

Un disco disfrutable, pero demasiado caótico en los géneros que abarca. Necesito un poco más de línea de guia para poder disfritarlo al máximo. Parece que se juntaron y grabaron lo que les parecía 7/10.

Before today, the only songs by War that I knew were the hits (Low Rider, The Cisco Kid, and Why Can't We Be Friends?). These guys were a hit in the 60's - 70's, and actually, this album was named Album of the Year in '72, so I am excited to hear more of their catalog today! This album is a slow, funky masterpiece. Songs such as "City, Country, City", although being 13 minutes long, were excellent. Instead of being a long song with half a dozen solos mixed in, it was one huge groove, in which each member of the band could solo, and show their skills while the rest of the band kept time. There are some amazing artists in this band! The inclusion of a harmonica in "City, Country, City" surprised the hell out of me, in a good way. The opening song, The Cisco Kid is such a fantastic funky song! This band is a melding of soul, jazz, funk, Latin, blues, and rock into one hell of a laid back sound. They sound a lot like Sly and the Family Stone, but their musical themes are never negative. It is always "peace and love", which is refreshing to listen to. You would think, with a title like "The World is a Ghetto" you'd be in for a political, negative album, but this album is full of positive vibes. The long drawn out grooves have a way of pulling you into a trance, and making all your worries disappear. Overall, an excellent album today. Not something I would always be in the mood for, but it helped make yard work a hell of a lot more enjoyable today!! Favorite songs: The Cisco Kid, Where Was You At, The World Is A Ghetto, Four Cornered Room Least favorite songs: "City, Country, City" 4/5

Could listen to it all day on repeat - puts me in a good place.

3. It's alright, not really my style but I enjoyed having it on while reading.

A great listen

This was fun, a nice beat throughout

This album went hard.

Pretty fun album

Funky and melodic, but without a standout track.

Filmmuziek. Luistert lekker weg. Alle nummers op het album zijn goed! ****

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.