WAR — War (review)

WAR — War album cover Album · 1971 · Latin Rock/Soul Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
Sean Trane
This third self-titled album was first supposed to be an offshoot project as the War musicians wanted to live their own existence, and with Eric Burdon’s consent, they went into the studio and recorded this album with their lead singer, but with the Dane Lee Oskar. The album relies a lot on older tracks from their Creators and Nightshift days, when they toured LA’s club scene. They also added another couple newer tracks to complete the album. With another impressive “hand” artwork, the album did use the name WAR, not even knowing that this would be no more a problem, since Eric Burdon left a few weeks after its release. Soo War is really a transitional album, growing from a psychedelic blues band into a jazzy-latin funk combo with plenty to say in future albums.

Opening on the delightful Sun Oh Son, a slow-starting organ-driven funk, written for the occasion by guitarist Scott with now-singer Dickerson dishing out the Vietnam-minded lyrics. A strong start, but unfortunately almost cancelled by an up-tempo piano-driven Lonely Feelings blues that goes back to their Nightshift days (pre-69). Nothing wrong with that particular track per se, but it’s just another blues. Closing the first side, War Drums is another pre-Burdon track, but this one hits the right button with its up-tempo percussions and inspired sax… generally War is over-extending their tracks, but here they probably should’ve expanded a bit more.

Opening the flipside is Lee Oskar’s Vibeka, dedicated to Dane ex-girlfriend that had died too soon, it is based on a Scott chord succession and an Oskar melody, but nothing worth waking up the neighbours by raising your volume to 11. And what to say about this complete waste of time called Fidel’s Fantasy where the band taunts Castro…. Pretty useless some 40 years down the road, when Fidel is still around and I’m not sure Dee Allen singing this is still on this planet of ours.

Little did the band know when they recorded WAR, that Eric Burdon was about to leave them a few weeks later, but this “solo” album came in perfectly in time to help the band build their confidence to go at it without their wild frontman. While this album was not exactly made for chart success, it hit the spot right on, by being almost invisible in the charts. Definitely a bit of a disappointment, this self-titled album is best seen as transitional, where the band morphs slowly from a psych-blues band to a jazzy-funk-rock combo.

Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Symphonic Blues No. 6 Third Stream
CORKY SIEGEL
Buy this album from MMA partners
Recut Jazz Related Electronica/Hip-Hop
SKALPEL
Buy this album from MMA partners
Yuval Cohen Quartet : Winter Poems Post-Fusion Contemporary
YUVAL COHEN
Buy this album from MMA partners
Just Nu Jazz
JIM HART
Buy this album from MMA partners
Skrifum Post-Fusion Contemporary
JON BALKE
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

SOLSTICE album release • Duo Russo - Holst
PAOLO RUSSO
js· 84 minutes ago
Akiko Yano & Hiromi - Kawarushi (Official Audio)
HIROMI
js· 1 day ago
All I Want For Christmas Is You
DAVID HAZELTINE
js· 1 day ago
Chicken
QUATUOR EBÈNE
js· 2 days ago
Det er en egen lomme
THE LEIF
js· 2 days ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed