WAR — Why Can't We Be Friends? (review)

WAR — Why Can't We Be Friends? album cover Album · 1975 · Latin Rock/Soul Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
Sean Trane
Although War’s previous DTW was a bit less successful than the anterior TWiaG and ADM, it still held up fine. In some ways, DTW is a musically a superior album (IMHO), Why Cant’t We Be Friends will be another immense commercial success as two huge hit came out of it: the title track and the very unusual Low Rider

The opening side is made of shorter tracks bar Leroy’s medley (the booklet speaks of an ambitious mini-suite) the first two of them are radio-friendly soul-ish-funk pieces that go relatively unnoticed. This is hardly the case for the wild Heartbeat happy jump-on-the-funkwagon. The Leroy’s Latin Lament ambitiously described as a “mini-suite” is another finely (over?) arranged track, even if it is a soul meets Santana’s Treat on the debut album of the latter, mostly due to the bluesy piano.

The flipside opens on the instrumental Smile Happy and is a joyous Carribean-tinged piece that is dominated by the jazzy sax. Originally intended to be the album’s title, this song still has the artwork to claim as its own. After an unremarkable So ballad, comes the superb Low Rider with its insidious riff made of repeated notes (ostinato) once ascending, next descending and the superb bass voice of Charlie Miller (the owner of the Low Rider Chevy 48). Absolutely not complex, but one had to think about this, Low Rider is impossible not to like, but one can overdose on repeated listens. Mazlatan is a jazzier ballad than So but I’ll prefer Smile Happy, while the title tracks closes another artistic deception, but it was saving the album’s commercial success as it was released as an advanced single that shot through the charts, but nothing for the proghead.

Clearly coming after a (relative) dry spell, Friends renewed with commercial success, but artistically speaking (and especially for progheads), the group was on a slow but unstoppable slide, IMHO. Still worth putting your ears upon it for Heartbeat, Smile Happy and Low Rider, if you don’t already know the latter.
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

6 Eclectic Fusion
KROKOFANT
Buy this album from MMA partners
Spring In Stockholm Live At Konserthuset, 1959 Cool Jazz
GERRY MULLIGAN
Buy this album from MMA partners
Mikolaj Trzaska, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, Paal Nilssen-Love : The Last Temple vol.3 Avant-Garde Jazz
MIKOŁAJ TRZASKA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Mikolaj Trzaska, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, Paal Nilssen-Love : The Last Temple, Vol.1 Avant-Garde Jazz
MIKOŁAJ TRZASKA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Mikołaj Trzaska / Ingebrigt Håker Flaten / Paal Nilssen-Love : The Last Temple Vol.2 Avant-Garde Jazz
MIKOŁAJ TRZASKA
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

FASCINATING RHYTHM - The Amazing Keystone Big Band feat. Neima Naouri
THE AMAZING KEYSTONE BIG BAND
snobb· 1 day ago
Alicante
RENAUD GARCIA-FONS
js· 1 day ago
She's Forty with Me
WILTON CRAWLEY
js· 1 day ago
Tall Tillie's Too Tight
WILTON CRAWLEY
js· 1 day ago
Rhoda Scott Ladies and Gentlemen - special guest : David Linx
RHODA SCOTT
snobb· 1 day 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