Reviews (page 9 of 11)
Got into it the longer it went on - and it was certainly long. Four Cornered Room was the standout, I liked how it bopped along. Mildly enthused.
Never heard of these I don't think. Nice to have something a bit different and I enjoyed it. Pretty funky, if not a bit long and winding in parts.
Pretty good vibes. Sort of a Latin jazz. Good, but I probably won't come back to it.
OK album. This is solid funk/soul, but it's not something I was really digging or would listen to again and again. ***
Cisco Kid is such a great song. Liked the funkiness of this, but some songs were just too long. 3/5
jazz, progressive soul. Se escucha bien. Pero no me llama la atención.
Well this was a pretty fine listen. The highs are really high, if you know what I mean, man.
overlong and not for me but perfectly pleasant
Enjoyed that.
Funky album, great instrumentals. Grooved through this whole thing, even though the subject matter is a little heavy.
It’s ok
the first song was easily the worst and put me off a bit, but the rest was very pleasant. nothing super standout but i can see myself returning for the relaxed vibe. great for a train ride.
This was pretty good. I would totally listen to this again.
big meh
It was pretty good
+: Where Was You At, City, Country, City, Four Cornered Room, The World Is a Ghetto +-: The Cisco Kid, Beetles in the Bog 6,9/10
Standard funk fare, I remain to still be fully convinced of the true depths of funk.
City, Country, City // Four Cornered Room // The World Is A Ghetto // 3.5/5
Lovely
I liked this. The musicianship was wonderful. Favourite track: City, Country, City.
Good, slow, good 4 vinyl purchase album cover fire
Day178 - makes me wonder how many war albums are in this list cause this one is just ok
Stranded with a flat tire in a Ghetto in 1972. According to a contemporary reviewer from the Rolling Stone it pushes soul and jazz further to afro-roots music.
Better than I was expecting, but not really my thing
Starts off pretty nice but those long songs really lose me. Overall not a bad listen though.
Not exactly my jam but I love the harmonica-play on this album. 3,5
Great 70's funk. 3.5*
Four Cornered Room, The World is a Ghetto, and, to a lesser degree, Beetles in the Bog, are great. The Cisco Kid is a decent banger, though repetitious and lacking in the narrative department of the usual Western/Cowboy songs. But "City, Country, City" lacks much emphasis and just aimlessly goes on and on and is therefore rather longwinded at 13 minutes; and Where Was You At is bland and forgettable.
War? What is it good for? The funk apparently...
It was pretty relaxing background music as I worked.
A solid funk album from a solid funk band. I really respect the musicianship displayed on this album and enjoyed the listen but I found myself getting easily distracted with this one.
I have always been anti-war, but this seems like a just-war I can support. Just some groovy tunes here. Funk, groove, jazz, psychedelic, a bit of Latin, it's a nice soup of music. The titular track is my favorite.
Funky soul jams with some Latin spice. I can dig it! Faves: "City, Country, City" and "Beetles In The Bog."
I liked this one, but with the song lengths, I didn't feel like I could really sit and listen and think it over like some of the others. A lot of really cool instrumentation and layering throughout with a lot of cool funk feel. Seems like the type of album you sit in your room and veg out to.
Nothing spectacular, but solid.
Had never heard the album. The only song I'd heard was The Cisco Kid. Really enjoyed the album. Great production. Strong 3. "Eat the salted peanuts out the can"
Only heard Cisco Kid before but enjoyed the rest of the album too. I'm surprised/impressed it was Billboard's top album of the year! Seems like it wouldn't have broad enough appeal for that, but it's cool that it sold so well.
Super funky album! It's out there and all over the place but a very cool sound on this one. It didn't blow me away but it's solid.
WAR significan Funk-Latin-Rock-Soul-lo que sea pero de exquisita calidad. La última actuación de Jimi Hendriz fue con ellos apenas antes de fallecer. Fue la banda que fundó Eric Burdon tras The Animals y que tuvo que abandonar por un ataque de asma. A pesar de ello la banda no solo sobrevivió sino que creció y tuvo un éxito aún mayor. En cierto modo, recogen el legado de Santana (que por aquel entonces andaba metido en discos menos latinos y más orientados al Jazz-fusión) junto con Malo (la banda del hermano de Carlos Santana) que ese mismo año publican su debut y otro disco más, ambos muy recomendables. Este The world is a ghetto es su álbum más conocido y de paso el mejor. También es muy recomendable el siguiente, Deliver the Word. Abreo con Cisco Soul, que es una fiesta. Es uno de sus temas más famosos y exitosos. Where was you at introduce toques de jazz. City, Country, City lo hace con una armónica que fusiona country-folk con free jazz y soft-rock y psicodelia sin abandonar la pulsión latina. Una delicia de casi 15 minutos para cerrar la primera cara del disco. Four Cornered Room, son casi 9 minutos de odisea piscodélica, The World Is a Ghetto es el otro gran éxito del disco (en su versión comprimida de 4 minutos, obviamente). Un tema con mucho desarrollo instrumental pero que es plenamente disfrutable. Beetles in the Bog cierra el álbum con otro instrumental. Otros discos de 1972 fueron: Debuts de Steely Dan, Roxy Music, Paul Simon, Big Star, Neu¡, ¿Fela Kuti? y Lou Reed (además de su espléndido Transformer ) Discos expecionales como los de David Bowie – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, Todd Rundgren - Something/ Anything?, Stevie Wonder – Talking Book y Music of my mind, Elton John-Honky Château, Nick Drake – Pink Moon, Yes – Close to the Edge, Miles Davis – On the Corner, Neil Young – Harvest, The Rolling Stones – Exile on Main St, Curtis Mayfield – Super Fly, Raspberries- Fresh, Genesis – Foxtrot, Van Morrison - Saint Dominic's Preview, Deep Purple- Machine Head y Made in Japan, Joni MIttchell- For the roses, Tangerine Dream - Zeit, T Rex- The slider, Kevin Ayers- Whatevershebringswesing, la banda sonora The harder they come... una cosecha excelente.
What a rich album, unfortunately not connectable at 1st listen for me at least…
background music but good
This album contains everything. Soul, Funk and Blues. It was good fun at the start. I really enjoyed the Cisco kid, But after a while the album got repetitive with long instrumentals kicking in from city country city. Favourite song: the cisco kid Least favourite: City, country city was far too jazzy for me Album artwork: Brilliant
cool album to funk out to. really good car ride music.
Musically, this album is really great. I know Zeal and Ardor came out way after War... But there are some similarities in composition that I noticed... And Zeal and Ardor is awesome. Lyrically, this album is meh... Not much is being said. Or I'm missing the point. Regardless, the repetition in each song are similar throughout the album, and it's mainly due to the vocal parts. Not necessarily a bad thing... But a lot of the songs sound like each other. I'm happy this album wasn't too long or that would have really bothered me.
2nd recommended album - Not a fan of the first 2 songs. However, the 2nd half picks it up for me. An okay overall but still not my cup of tea.
01) The Cisco Kid - 8,0 02) Where Was You At - 8,0 03) City, Country, City - 7,0 04) Four Cornered Room - 7,0 05) The World Is a Ghetto - 7,5 06) Beetles in the Bog - 7,0 TOTAL: 7,42 (74/100) Current ranking: 114/204 Pleasant enough but nothing more.
cool
I did not expect that type of sound from 1973. Billboards Album of the Year as well.
Enjoyable and well-layered. I'd never heard of this album before but am glad to know it.
Just okay, probably more suited to being played at an outdoor bar versus general listening
Good not great
Significantly more laid back than we were anticipating from the name of the artist.
Laidback, spacious grooves, with plenty of improvisation. Good album, but maybe not in my pantheon of funk and soul.
Slow, funky, soul jams with some hints of psychedelia and some long tracks (some overstay their welcome a bit). Casual, infectious grooves. Solid bass, nothing too flashy. Rad organ. Just a playing it cool vibe going on here. Solid listen but doesn’t stand out as next level. I mostly can’t decide whether it’s worthy of repeated close listen or just really excellent background music. I don’t love the pacing - the 3 long tracks in the middle start to drag a bit.
Typically I really enjoy funk bands but this one never took me to the next level. Good, but not anything amazing.
The World is a Ghetto I only know the well known War Songs; Low Rider and Why Can’t We Be Friends. And the only thing I know about the band themselves was that Eric Burdon was in them for a bit. The Cisco Kid is a great, great soul/funk/latin groove with just enough jazziness to be interesting without being distracting or taking it too close to easy listening lounge jazz. Where Was You At carries on the strong start, dialling up the funk and soul a bit more, very nice track. City, Country, City, as well as being silly long, does slide way too far into that MOR lounge sound, with the added bonus of 70s sitcom theme tune sounding influences. The last minute or so is ok, but this isn’t a great song, the blandness is a bit all encompassing. Four Cornered Room brings it back though, a kind of bluesy soul groove. I love the ominous feeling of the intro building to that psychedelic rock guitar ahead of the vocals. The big cymbal crash comes a bit out of nowhere though. Unlike City, Country, City this doesn’t feel long, despite being 8 and a 1/2 minutes long. Great track, probably the stand out. The World is a Ghetto is very good, although it occasionally leans a little bit close to that lounge jazz sound, but the bass and guitar keep things on track for the most part. It also does feel its length, but still a good song. Beetles in the Bog is a fun funk/soul/jazz tune with some added steel drums, I like the phasing and panning in the intro and the keyboards. I guess the title is a reference to the Beatles with the British vernacular of bog? Overall I liked this, reminded me of Donny Hathaway, and not just the use of the word ghetto. This type of album can fall into that bland easy listening lounge sound, but apart from City, Country, City and some bits of the title track it manages to keep on the more interesting soul/funk/rock/psychedelic/blues side of things and is a rewarding listen. It also sounds very good, a really rich and full sound without being cloying. Tricky to rate. At the moment it sits right between 3 and 4, but I think it will benefit from more listens and will go on my rotation. I’d be happy giving it 3 or 4 but as it’s a grey rainy day I’ll stick with 3. ⭐⭐⭐
06/11/24 S Tier—————————5 A Tier—————————4 Where Was You At B Tier—————————3 City Country City Four Cornered Room The World is a Ghetto C Tier—————————2 Cisco Kid Beetles in The Bog D Tier—————————1
Super cool, incredibly layered, surprising. A better listen than I was anticipating.
Ok to listen to but I will probably not come back to it and do it again. But let’s see.
I knew Cisco Kid and that is the only song I had previously heard on this album. I do not know if I would go back and listen to this often, but it deserves a place in this book. The two long jams on this album go by quickly and never seem to drag. Fun album and if I ever make a War playlist then I would put several songs from here on that album.
I love Cisco Kid and War's overall sound and vibe but most of the songs here are pretty forgettable. Like, I'm pretty sure I own a copy of this on vinyl but don't care enough to confirm.
I enjoyed listening to this album, but (a) never having listened to a War album before, and (b) with a pretty meager Wikipedia entry as a guide, I'm not really sure if this is among their best, and (c) it appears that this is the only War album in this collection, so I'm left feeling like I would have liked an even better War album than this one (maybe "Why Can't We Be Friends?"). "City, Country, City" was both intriguing and maddening, as it has a lot of great segments, but seems way too long and meandering for what I think they were trying to accomplish. I think I enjoyed "The Cisco Kid" the most, and a close second the radio-version title track (and foolishly heard "The Four-Cornered Room" as "the porcelain room," which gave a decidedly different take on the song...).
I like the music more than I liked the songs themselves--their way of singing didn't resonate with me.
Gave it a few goes and thought it was fine. Some good moments but nothing to really grab my attention. The jazz/soul variations of rock are always interesting to discover, drawing from a slightly different palate of instrumentation to what I'm used to in the rock genre. Overall it felt nice for the background but not one I feel the need to add to my collection.
This list really is seven degrees of Remember the Titans. I feel like there have been so many connections. Apparently these guys sing that one song Spill the Wine in that one scene. Sunshine pulls up looking obviously out of place with long blonde hair. Bertier: “hey guys, look at that fruitcake” Yost: “Gary keep your mouth shut” Sunshine’s dad: “hey we just moved here from Virginia, my boy plays quarterback” Yost: well we’re pretty set at the qb position but y’all should try up at north high school” Sunshine’s dad: “we tried up there but they don’t let blacks play with whites. The way I see it, if you can fight a war together you can play football together” Sunshine picks up a football and throws it a quarter mile and hits bertier in the back. Julius laughing hysterically: “oh fruitcake huh?” Great song. Great scene. Oh the album? It was aight
I liked it. Not too long and thematically consistent. Good sounds and good vibes.
We're almost a tenth of the way through this list and one thing I've learned is that the extra long track was a very popular move during the 60s and 70s. Unfortunately for my millennial mind, a 12 minute song causes me to eventually lose interest if I'm not listening to it live. The album is funky, it has socially conscious lyrics, and it jams, but it also makes me tune it out eventually. Not bad at all, and would make good background music.
Started strong; went down hill fast
Vibed witj this album immensely, though Four Cornered Room dragged on for far, far too long for what it is. Favorite Track: City, Country, City
Stellar album. Definitely historic and important. I will maybe pull it up again, but even if I don't I feel enriched from the experience
I don't know, it's War. They do good work. I didn't love it but it's War.
2,5
3.3
Good album, never heard it before
Non l'ho mica capito, ma non è malvagio
It’s my birthday today so I was expecting a really good album but instead got this. I went about my day doing birthday things and watching Leeds United lose and consigning themselves to the playoffs. Best thing was that I got a new Eversolo music streamer for my birthday. So I eventually listened to this on my new gadget. You might think that I hated this, and you might be right, but as I am typing this pissed in my bed, I am feeling generous and full of birthday goodwill. So I’m giving it a drunken three out of five. Not because it deserves this rating but I really need to get my average above 2.5 otherwise I am bound to hate half the albums on this list which I don’t. It actually wasn’t all that bad and a lot better than a lot I’m subjected from this genre. Please disregard the average score thing as I am trying to be fair across the board but on my birthday surely I can be a bit more generous? It really is a 2.7 so closer to 3 than 2. This is a one off for my birthday and hope that next year on my birthday the 1001 Gods give me a better album. Happy birthday to me and hope that all your ideas are great and there’s a big one around the corner. 3/5 4/5/24
A couple of good funky tunes but most kinda blah.
Won’t listen again but not bad. Just not my thing.
Easy listening. Rating: 3.3
Me gustó. Tiene unos arreglos hermosos en una mezcla de géneros tranqui. Pasa por funk, soul y algo progresivo.
It’s a shame ‘Low Rider’ got popular, because this is a better album than that song. Maybe in another life
Something that would probably be a 6/5 live but don’t know when I would listen to in my apartment
3.4 - Boring background funk. I feel like I’m watching a crappy cop drama from the 70s with endless montages of the afroed undercover cop protagonist as he drives through a lurid city center in his muscle car.
I've owned this record for years. I love War's sound. But I think it really finds its special purpose on Cisco Kid, when they come up with amazing songs to wrap it around. On this album, they sound like a bunch of stoners who've found a great sound, want to say something, but find it much easier to just jam out.
A bit different than the George Lopez song. More rambling jam stuff that never really kicked into the next gear
It's good, but serious music. I mean... Walkin' down the street, smoggy-eyed Looking at the sky, starry-eyed Searchin' for the place, weary-eyed Crying in the night, teary-eyed Don't you know that it's true That for me and for you The world is a ghetto really?
It's funky and well recorded, but not something in a genre that I enjoy.
- sounds like it could be a movie soundtrack - good to have in the background - smooth - 2.5
- as I sitttttttttttt in my four cornered rooooom - I don’t mind the long form songs as much as I usually do - love how funky it is
Pretty funky and cool, but wouldn't be something I'd listen to again
it was a long time since i listened to this, and i just feel like i don’t want to listen to it all again for a reason - it was ok but i didn’t love it, though it did have some interesting bits….
Pretty cool combination of soul, prog jazz and Latin influences. Given the title, I wish it had a bit more of an edge to it but it's pretty upbeat throughout. This may not be something typically in my wheelhouse that I'll listen to often, but it's a nice different style.
I dug this - maybe I didn’t pay close enough attention to the lyrics but not overly political. Great vocal harmonies, long jamming songs. I found myself focusing in the bass playing - fun listen.
Música negra bien desarrollada con un tono interesante.
Different jazzy
Nice!
Decent, but the early 70s is packed with incredible soul like Marvin Gaye, Sly and the Family Stone, or Stevie Wonder. I don’t think this quite stacks up against that
I don't have the patience for 10min+ songs so I skipped the longer tracks once I got about 6min in on them. That said, this was fine. I don't mind this era of soul, even though this was more like prog soul (which does exist as a genre, apparently). Not something I'd willingly return to but it was fine. Maybe more like a 2.5 but I'm feeling generous.
While The World Is A Ghetto and Beetles In The Bog are great, the album itself doesn't warrant a higher rating.
Love the Cisco Kid. The instrumental pieces are interesting, no doubt. I can't really sit and listen to it that long.
Really enjoyed! 3.8 to be exact. Got bored during City, Country, City but loved the other ones.
It's often tricky to rate an album by a super tight band, who have some super moments. I find myself having to listen again and again to see what grows and that was the case with this album, which didn't grow on me much at all.
What it feels like to live in a shoebox in NYC.
The album started with two fun, rockin’ tracks. The rest of the album did not match this tone, at it was followed it up with an extra long instrumental and two other longer songs. Not sure if I’d go back at this album, even if it is a high quality sound. 3
Audição satisfatória, sequência garante um clima agradável.
A good album and made for a relaxing listen. Part of it did invoke images of a noir detective show as I was listening which was amusing.
A very mellow, laid back funk album. Some long songs, a nice listen though, just not that memorable. Best track: Maybe the title track?
Influence
While I can see the greatness of this album, and I enjoyed the songs, there weren't any particularly memorable. Some felt like they dragged on as they repeated the same verse over and over. Great album cover though!
For some reason I thought this would have the song "War," but I'm confused, that's Edwin Starr, right? In that case, I'm not at all familiar with this group, but some of these songs sound familiar. Some long, odyssey-type soul tracks, I dig it. The melody on "Four Cornered Room" sounds sooo much like Black Sabbath's "Planet Caravan" to me, and I love that song (released two years before this album), so I'm cool with it. Nothing too crazy, but it's well done and I enjoyed the ride. Favorite tracks: The Cisco Kid, City Country City, Four Cornered Room. Album art: Very cool, very detailed drawing of a city street, of the titular ghetto world, and I love that this is animated on Apple Music, looks really cool with the driving back and forth. I NEED to eat at Joe Burgers, I just know it's gas. 3.5/5
That was pretty good. Lots of good funky stuff. Some of the songs were a bit long, but they didn't get boring. Pretty sure Fleetwood Mac ripped off Beetles in the Bog when they wrote Tusk.
Haven’t heard of this. R&B/Soul from 1972. Nice vibes right away. Not anything special though so a 3.
5/10 I listened to it. It was nice. 3-11-2024
Never heard of this band before, wasn't my usual thing but still enjoyable. Opening track was especially good but I was starting to be a bit sick of it towards the end.
Funky, jazzy, 70s
Its got a Stevie Wonder cover with a Stevie Wonder title in a Stevie Wonder era and its starts like a Steve Wonder mid-seventies kind of song. And it does sound like Innervisions with a harder edge, which isn't a bad thing. Throw in a bit of hendrix and a bit of Santana influence then you get a thoroughly satisfactory record which I won't have issue listening to again. Its jut a pity that cover doesn't remind me so much of Wonder's 'Living in the City'. I wonder which came first?
Interesting album, a bit of a mix of genres, or at least I can't pin it down. Quite funky, with sort of a mantra of repetition. Enjoyable.
Well worth a listen
More like a high 2 The world is in fact a ghetto
These were not the War songs that I was familiar. It was an a-okay listen.
It's a great funk album, strong opener and closer but slightly unmemorable in the middle.
Before this listen, my only exposure to War was, Why Don't We Be Friends, Low Rider and their association with Eric Burden. Glad I listened to an actual album, because those songs, though a good gateway to War, doesn't reveal the full sound of the band, as they were a legit good fusion funk, soul, jazz, blues band, that didn't need radio hits to showcase how good they sounded. Their sound and musicianship is solid and though things blurred together too much for me towards the end, it was a satisfying listen. Who needs Eric Burden anyways?
Not my favorite genre. I had to skip a bit bc the songs went on too long for me. 3/5
I dug this music and would like to hear more from War!
It was a very interesting album. Did you know that 9 * 4 is 36? Well, 36 is the number of albums I have now rated. Thank you for your three.
Good stuff.
I appreciate the importance of this fusion of musical styles but it felt a little tedious to me - like one long 44-minute song.
Some good songs but too much filler
Songs were pretty long but had great groove. Easy listening, would definitely return to it
Pretty funky, laid-back, enjoyable music. One of my very first records was War’s greatest hits, got it for free from some older folks giving away some old records. Actually the same place where I re-met Taylor the summer of 2013. Back to the music though, I recognize a few songs here from that album but most enjoyed the instrumentals. Good music, well done! 3 stars.
This was decent. Nothing exciting but passable funk. Pretty good to listen to in the background but no songs stood out to me. 3 stars
I liked the shorter songs, but the long songs I would tend to tune in and out. I liked that the album was short, but the long songs made it the same length as a normal album time wise
Pretty funky album. Knew the first song; the rest were good too. 6/10.
Some fairly funky easy listening. Might need to focus more on the lyrics next time around.
It’s very cool to hear music so vibrant and exciting while simultaneously knowing that it influenced a list of artists so awful that it should be framed and put on public display in The Hague.
Yeah
It’s funky and soulful, a snapshot of the struggle in the streets. It’s crazy an album like this went to #1. It’s not exactly the poppiest or the most accessible with its themes of social inequity, poverty and day to day strife. And multiple lengthy jams. But hey I guess this is what the people were feeling in 1973. An interesting moment in pop history for sure. In terms of its merits, while it is well crafted, even methodical at points, it lacks a certain memorable punch. I’m torn between a 3 and 4, but don't think I can get to the high end.
Interesting but not really enjoyable.
Half of War had more style than most entire bands, and I was very happy to see one of their albums pop up. I don't listen to them frequently or anything, but I love their electric funk. When you read that most of their songs they just recorded a ton of jamming and then picked a section to clip really is clear. Several went on a bit long, but it didn't drag the album down. Highlight Tracks - The Cisco Kid, Where Was You At, Four Cornered Room, The World is a Ghetto.
This was easy to listen to and just had a nice funk and vibe to it. It had an extremely specific 70s sound to it that a lot of more modern artists try to emulate in 'nostalgia' music. Some tracks were extremely long, but that is the style of both the time and the genre, so no points deducted there. At times just felt like an unbridled jam session.
Blissfully short
An album that doesn't quite commit to jazz, but nor does it come anywhere near the pop/rock that was typically popular at the time of release. I'm very surprised this sold as well as it did, because the individual tracks aren't particularly memorable. Some really solid guitar, bass, percussion, and overall instrumentation, though. "Four Cornered Room", with its dreamy hypnotic atmosphere, is probably the best track on the album, and the only lengthy track that justifies its runtime.
OK. Better when there were no vocals.
Good
This album was number one on Billboard. Funky and bluesey. Might listen to it again. Did not move to my playlist.
Tandon Scale Rating: 3.25 Standouts: The Cisco Kid, Where Was You At Foot Notes: 1 this is real funky Would I Listen Again: Album Cover Rating: (1-5) 4.5 Album Name Rating: (1-5) 4
Der her forstår jeg ikke.. Det var et behageligt lyt, men ikke nogen større oplevelse. Artworket er ret fedt.
Den får på alle tangenter af afro-amerikansk musikhistoriske referencer: Afro-beat trommer, blues guitar, gospel og soul vokal, endda batist church messende resitation. Desværre lyder de 3 tracks fra nr. 3 til 5 som var Fela Cuti, BB King og Aretha Franklin synkront blev ramt af depression og indspillede et album sammen i en tom, grå lagerhal. Og de tre numre er så 3/4 af hele albummet.
Vähän reggae henkistä psykedeelistä skate musiikkia :D Parhaat: The Cisco Kid, City Country City
very different from what i was expecting e.g. cisco kid and low rider. overall a very funky ride and some calmer bits, almost bluesy?
listened 2x - 2.8
This is a very 1972 record. Beyond the obvious standout opener “The Cisco Kid,” the record is a meditation on urban themes with an eye for social criticism and an ear for Latin-tinged, Soul-based Funk Rock. The groove is up front and personal, but there are three tunes over 8 minutes, so War isn’t afraid to stretch out and take their time. That album cover tells a dozen stories, as the cartoon-theme belies the stronger message of what it means to be a working class, inner city person of color. As the title track suggest, it isn’t just your neighborhood that’s struggling, this music is a global outreach.
Funky but kind of boring
Has some excellent moments, but overall is long and meandering. Several times while listening to this album, I forgot I was listening to music
6.5/10
Soul psicodélico progresivo. Ni fu ni fa.
I liked it.
I knew the radio hits by War but had never listened to a full album. I’m not sure I would have pegged them as a band that might have a 12+ minute track on one of their albums. But I s’pose that was the way of the time. I enjoyed the listen - a really cool fusion of styles on this album. 3.5/5
Funky! Nice! I quite liked it. The Cisco Kid and The World Is A Ghetto were highlights. I quite liked Beetles In The Bog too. The other couple of track seemed a bit meandering. This is one I would return to and listen to some more. Though, again, it doesn't have the groups famous tunes on it and I am a bit confused why this is on the list and can only assume the one with "Low Rider" is on it too?
No strong feelings either way
I kind of like Where Was You At and City Country City
Bit too much of a jam album. Got bored at times. Overall good but would only go back for a few tracks
Funky, but definitely more chill than other funk I've heard.
Enjoyed hearing a bit more from War beyond the usual singles. Title track was a highlight but other than that, songs kind of blended together.
Very talent musicians. Personally I wasn't really into this one as much as others.
Very funky, not my jam but not bad either.
Pretty decent
Lightly listened too. Jam chill music
This album sounds like sample heaven. I bet they have been used in tons of hip hop, including obviously “Slow Ride”. I like the album cover too.
The Cisco Kid is probably a top 50 song for me. The rest of the album goes a little sideways. Seems very South American drum beat heavy, which I don't mind, but their sound just didn't hold my interest. Album art is on point. Solid 3.5⭐
Was good, great backroom music for passive listening. Not something I would actively jam to
This started brightly and was something counter to expectations. However as it moved on it got stuck in a groove and failed to shift out of it.
Good jazzy and funky jams. Very lively album.
Pretty funky album, but a little too zany to really resonate with me.
I actually remembered the first song on this album; it reached #2 in April May 1973.
Pretty decent all around. I think I prefer Sly & the Family Stone for this genre, but overall a good listen
Pretty nice and groovy without being toooo jazzy
Very funky
Interesting album. I grew up in Southern California so I am familiar with some of their songs, The Cisco Kid, was played in the radio. The music reminded me of 1970’s radio, especially the songs that were over 10 minutes. Not a bad album.
A sound and style I have not heard before. More fascinating than purely enjoyable for me, but in no way bad. 3.5/5
I feel like they have better albums.
The first track came on and I though yes, let’s go but sadly a lot of it was a bit dull and self indulgent. Disappointing
Funky amb alguna peça progessiva i instrumental xula
Not my style at all
3 stars
Pretty funky.
Du prog jazz qui n’avait pas tant de punch 6/10
what is it good for?
Funky and jazzy and a good listen
3 Maybe 4
Meget groovy og meget cool! Kan godt li sådan noget mørk funk her. Nogen af numrene trak måske lidt for meget ud.
Spøjst nok koncept. De har en fin fusions ting kørende.
Felt like entering a time machine to 1970s hard streets of New York. Not a place I want to be. Points for atmosphere.
I'd only really known them for Lowrider. This was perfectly passable funk/soul. I liked City, Country, City
A good album, cohesive and unafraid to sprawl out with the songs. I don't know their discography well, but with (surprisingly) only one album on the list I thought it would have been the one with "Low Rider" on it.
It's sleek and funky... But never quite enough that I fell truly in love with it. I think I'd rather have had the variety of 12 four minute songs than six eight minute songs which probably would have made me love this more.
I was surprised by how little singing there was. The album was alright. It didn't have any of their big hits. However, I have an inside joke about the Cisco Kid so that brought back.some laughs.
Funky and soulful.
Pretty good album, and strong start, but kinda forgettable overall
Great grooves. Great messages that still ring true today in America, unfortunately. Funky as hell. Great sax. It gets very repetitive at times which is the main reason this isn’t likely to become a new favorite. 3/5
Til tider fett! Men likte ikke de lange soloene. Sterk 3'er
Not bad, but a bit generic at times
it’s hard to dislike early 70s funk rock
Another album that is just okay. Very nice and groovy instrumental parts, especially in son City, Country, City, but other parts are rather average and kind of boring. Nothing special.
I enjoy the sound, but the jam vibe wasn’t to my liking. 3/5, but probably won’t listen again
Another one I really enjoyed but I think it would benefit from a little bit of a harder edge
Cool, I liked the groove and the message
I didn't get it
en vibe, aber meh als hintergrund musig als aktives lose
Each song has its own identity, but they are all just repeat the same riff the entire time. Would work better in a funky soul playlist than as a straight album listen.
Good stuff, but started to get a little samey after a while
Funk, with lots of different influences (clanky Caribbean-sounding drums) being most prominent. Definitely rambly, but pretty fun
Instrumentals are interesting at some places, but it's mostly boring, which is a big thing for a funk album.
Pretty good stuff. I liked them more with Eric Burdon.
Soul. Jazz
This was good. I started out listening with the thought that this is different and somewhat unique and that I liked the style. Later on, though, it became somewhat repetitive and slow. Overall, though, I'm glad I listened.
- der Track "The World is a Ghetto" ist ein absoluter Banger - einige Einflüsse von unterschiedlichen Genres dabei - groovige Beats dabei, aber ansonsten auch entspannte Parts - 3/5
I own this on vinyl and enjoy it everytime I play it
Never heard this album before!
Makes me want to listen to Lee Oskar solo records!
I enjoyed this overall. I can see others complaints about feeling easy listening-esque, and agree some songs are overlong. But the overall vibe I like, and Lee Oskar's sound reminds me of my youth.
Funky.
Jam rock. Solid but not entirely my cup of tea.
I get it, it it’s not for me.
allez on y croit
not my style but groovy
Funky.
Jazzy, funky and patient. Definitely lets the sound breathe. The titular track is a standout here.
Disappointing. The first track (Cisco kid') was good and sounded promising, but it went slowly downhill from there and never got near the level of 'Me and baby brother' or 'Low rider' again. It's all there: great vibe. wonderful percussion, lots of funk but the material just isn't strong enough.
No real standouts but fun to listen to
Starts off alright and gets better with every song. Favorite song: Beetles in the Bog.
paar bangers!
Zoom Zoom Zoom
Pleasant all the way through but I wish it would go harder from time to time.
It's fine. Obviously love Sisco kid and rest was a vibe. Nothing insane. Solid 3
The funky tunes were quite good but I couldn’t get into the mellow stuff
War has had some great singles, Low Rider being my favourite, but Cisco Kid here is quite good also. I would describe them as a funky version of Santana, some great jamming and they’re not afraid to do some extended noodling, eg City, Country City, which really has a nice groove.
The Cisco Kid 7.1 Where Was You At 6.7 City Country City 6.5 Four Cornered Room 6.9 The World is a Ghetto 7.5 Beetles in the Bog 7 I liked it but thought it would be better with more vocals. 3.5 stars.
Very smooth funk with elements of jazz and rock. I've heard another album by this band which I liked more I think. This album was good but not that memorable.
It was ok not great
title track was great
Врубил и тупа расслабился на диване под снюсом 7/10
I was surprised to read how big this album was in 1973, as this was the first time I heard about War. Solid album anyhow.
Like the funk and and feel. Good late listening. Solid but neither great nor terrible
Ok
L'album commence énergiquement, puis perds peu à peu son énergie. Ce sont quand même de bonnes chansons mais manque de cohérence, sentiment de trahison on me promet de l'énergie au début et on essaie de m'endormir avant la fin de l'album.
This was kind of chill, a mix between psychedelic and funk. Some songs were better than others, like four cornered room. Not incredible, but okay for a single listen.
Niet boeiend, ook niet slecht
A good listen, poor timing given the world events though.
Animals EP did everything better
Funk, soup, blues, jazz...... really eclectic. Enjoyed.
3.5 album.
Very cool very funky and big respect because clearly highly influential to a lot of other artists but just not quite my cup of tea.
A lot of fun. I really enjoyed the sax solos. Just kind of there, though. Missing something for me, though, so it falls into a "this was fine." for me.
3.8
Backer, ca 3.5
I knew two of these tracks but had never listened to the whole thing. This is some great funk. It went on a little too long but I liked all the tracks.
3.5
Quite liked this.
3,75
Theyve just got their own sound. Chilled. Nice. Nothing special. 3/5
A fun listen. The artwork perfectly encapsulates what this LP is all about, part-topical exploration of African-American psyche, part-innocent and childlike groovefest--not exactly firing up on all cylinders, but rather taking its sweet time to evoke the melancholy of urban landscapes through lush instrumentation and generally well-crafted jazzy dirges. As a result, this LP is a treasure trove for any old school hip hop producer looking for samples. Was this album heavily sampled? I don't know, but it should be. I can picture acts such as the Beastie Boys, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul or DJ Shadow having a blast using all those choice cuts... Two highlights in this record: "The Cisco Kid" and the title-track. The first is built on a enticing vocal hook, complemented by short sequences of four notes that punctuate the whole thing like a contraption stamping bus tickets or metrocards. And the title track is a moving plea sung by clear vocals and enhanced by wonderful harmonies--an indolent description of ghetto life not only conveyed through the lyrics, but through the music as well. Short funky cut "Where Was You At" and slow, bluesy "Four Cornered Room" are also worthy of note--the latter's ambience sounding even fantastical to an extent, as if you were watching the city from a rooftop at night and a UFO suddenly appeared out of nowhere... Unfortunately, both sides of this LP end with lackluster tracks. For side one, very long instrumental "City, Country, City" doesn't do anything that the title-track won't do ten times better later on--compare the saxophone solos in both songs, for instance: the one on "The World Is A Ghetto" sounds haunted thanks to its film noir overtones, whereas that sax in "City, Country, City" just seems to go through the motions, borrowing a few free-jazz tropes instead, but without using any of the harmonically daring outbursts of that genre. As for closer "Beetles In The Bog", it is an attempt to end proceedings with a rousing chorus, but... to be honest, those "la la la" shenanigans sound a little half-baked compared to similar endeavors by, say, Sly And The Family Stone. Using Sly Stone as a reference point for this other soul-funk-rock act that War was might be a little unfair to the latter, I'll grant you that. It's like comparing a second-tier sixties rock band with The Beatles: there's no way you can win that round. But *The World Is A Ghetto* is only six tracks long, and when two of them are clear misses (including one that takes up half of one album's side), it takes a heavy toll on the whole thing. You won't see that happening with masterworks performed by The Family Stone. There lies the huge difference. 3/5 for the purposes of this list, translating to a 8/10 grade for more general purposes (5+3). Number of albums left to review: 431 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 264 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 138 (including this one) Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 170
some of the instrumental tracks are decent, but couldn't really get too into it
Full funk, occasionally using the space to expand into structures metallic and still rich with harmony. "Cozy" is obviously inappropriate, but the music is expertly placed, a churn instead of a train.
Yes lots of great tunes, i remember a lot of this weirdly so must of been some kinda popular.
Classy, solid album. Tailed off a bit after the strong opening tracks.
Good fun.
Good, chilled out. Spotify had auto-play enabled, so I didn't realise that the album had finished until 10 minutes later. 😆
It's quite a nice time. It's pretty funky in places, pretty atmospheric in others, and well made in general. It's not really something that kept my attention though, and the reality is a lot of it just sat in the background. But it was pretty nice background music.
Also someone who only knew ‘Low Rider’ and was pleasantly surprised by the range here. Could use a bit more depth melodically, but even if things were a bit similar throughout the grooves were good enough to overcome the deficit.
Nice message but not my style
The world is a ghetto (the song) was good
gostosinho
Inoffensive album, but is a 13 min long instrumental worth it?
Pretty good, I listened to it on a walk and it made for good background music. Not the biggest fan of ~10 minute songs individually but it works to listen to as an album. Favourite song Four Cornered Room.
Yes.
These songs are too damn long. These are pretty alright I guess. There are a lot of slow songs though so it isn't really my speed. They are a good mix of soul and jazz though. This is a strong to decent 3/5
This started out as a clear four, but even though I liked the sound overall, I got pretty bored with it by side two.
I really liked this album. It was so funky and got me moving. It goes from motivating to psychedelic. I love the Hispanic sounds in 'Cisco kid'. The message of the world being a ghetto was pretty powerful because it's true. Were all here stuck with each other. There's a lot of shit that out weighs the good. There was a pretty sweet instrumental song in the middle which acted as the bridge between funky and psychedelic/ stoner. Overall, good album.
This was a nice jazz and funk album by War. Overall I’d listen to it again. A little different from some of their more popular hits as this one felt a little darker and more personal. The album only had a handful of songs but they were all pretty decent. 6.6/10
Good first song, kinda dropped off after
Tot el que envolta el disc convida a l'escolta: la seva creació el 1972 per part d'una banda cool en sintonia amb la seva época; les sonoritats que barregen soul, r&b, jazz, rock en sis llargs temes que els permeten explaiar-se; una portada icònica... Malauradament, el contingut no està a l'alçada. No és dolent, és força lisèrgic i interessant... però res novedós ni especialment excitant
Yeah, this is fine.
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
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.
Heaven muusikkia hypnotic.... Harmi että välillä mitäänsanomatonta ja ajallista..
Groovy and a good listen. Just not really my thing.
Sucesión de canciones poperas con influencias un tanto étnicas y, original de escuchar. Música para dar ambiente
Good vocal harmonies and excellent interplay of harmonica and saxophone in City, Country, City.
Nice interesting album
Biisien pituudesta huolimatta kivuttomasti jaksoi kuunnella. Kivaa fiilistelyä.
interesting, at times a little cheesy but had some really chill parts
Good album, but not marking 3/5
Meh
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.
Gets nicely into a groove.
Iets trager dan ik verwachtte, beetje funky muziek.
Good album.
A funky, fun listen