EARLY WAR ..BROVO.. GIVE THE A HAND.. COME TO DAY .. WELL IN THE 70'WELL KNOWN BAND WHICH IS MY FAVORITE BAND OF ALL TIME.. WAR~~ YAH WAR.. THEY R STILL .. IN MY BOOK THE GREAST BAND OF ALL TIME ... COME ON ...
The band touring now as War is NOT the real War but just a "tribute band" with only ONE original War member, Lonnie Jordan. The REAL War is now called the LOWRIDER BAND. With four of five surving War members, the LOWRIDER BAND is clearly the REAL War featuring OGs Harold Brown, Lee Oskar, Howard Scott and B.B. Dickerson. So if you wanna see the real War who wrote, played and recorded all those great songs we love, don't get scammed. The REAL War is the LOWRIDER BAND.
'The World Is A Ghetto' is sung by WAR's original bassist, BB Dickerson and he's with the LOWRIDER BAND. Lonnie Jordan is not the be all end all of WAR. Yes, I want him reunited with his WAR brothers too, but if he can't make it right by checking his ego at the door, the LOWRIDER BAND is the ONLY WAR band this huge WAR fan gives my loyalty to. Peace.
War is definitely a force to be reckoned with. Same caliber as Earth Wind & Fire, Chicago & P-Funk. I have almost all of their albums on vinyl starting from Eric Burdon Declares War.
You don't know what you're talkin' 'bout. This IS War...or at least the the Music Band version of the group (circa '79). Lonnie Jordan on keys, Papa Dee Allen on percussion, Harold Brown on drums, Lee Oskar on harmonica, and Howard Scott on guitar. Luther Rabb had just replaced BB Dickerson on bass and Pat Rizzo had just replaced Charles Miller on sax. Ron Hammon came on board as a second drummer. There's a few gung-ho WAR experts on this thread...and I'm one of 'em.
Sweet. That would have been the shit to see live back in the day. A "REAL" band playing actual instruments jamming on stage. And such a very under rated band too. Most people only think "low rider" and "why can't we be friends". But they did so much more then that.
Even in '16 despite our best efforts the world still is a ghetto. Maybe this video will explain some of it to anyone that didn't already know this. Since '71 or so in LA everybody that's any good gets this war song.
I saw this tune played by the Styistics way way back in the day. The guitarists started it off with a solo, then the band joined in. The year was 1975. It was more of a warm up tune for the soungman to EQ the room and get his settings right...
Very hard to find on CD format I think. Haven't really looked for those on CD as I have them on vinyl. Don't forget to search for WAR The Music Band Jazz, purple cover, and WAR The Best of The Music Band, blue cover. Peace.
@camster64 It might depend on which DVD you own. I know there are a couple of different pressings of this performance. I actually have the first one, and it's DEFINITELY NOT on my DVD. It has the piano intro heard here, and then it goes right to "Spill the WIne." I'm guessing you have one of the late editions. In any case, we both can agree on the poor labelling of the songs!
Me, too. I saw them right after they split from Eric Burdon, in 71', and this band in 83'. both were among the very best concerts I have ever seen. This band may have been better, technically, and I saw them with two additional horns, but I've never seen a group improvise like that first one. They turned "Slipping Into Darkness" into a 20 minute spiritual odyssey, and Lonnie Jordan had the audience testifying to all kinds of shit,
Only problem is I love that Lonnie voice and is huge to the WAR sound. WORLD IS A GHETTO is my fav. WAR song. I do however agree with you that WAR just can't be Lonnie.
@Tessyrella The main chords are Dm7 and Ebaj7. Of course, you could spice things up by going with a Dm9 to Ebmaj9. On the chorus, if memory serves me correctly, their going from Dm to Cmaj and then Gm to Fmaj. I don't have an instrument in front of me right now, so I'm totally sure, but that sounds right.
thank's i'm just glad to see this. when they where in akron music store i had a chance to jam so to say and learn.that was a long time ok,thank's again.
@surfbeat64 Amateur recording? Probably, BUT...the folks at Avenue Records/Far Out Productions will do anything to make a buck. There's definitely better footage out there, it's just a matter of digging it up. Any SERIOUS War fan, though, knows that these guys are top-notch musicians. Even with the crappy quality seen and heard here, their musicianship CLEARLY stands out.
@Moreasy Believe me, if it could be any better, it would. Even thought it's from a "professional" DVD, it's definitely a bootleg product. The video quality of the DVD isn't much better than what it is here. There is better footage out there, but this was all about Avenue Records & Jerry Goldstein making a quick buck.
Why are all these uploads in this low shitty 240p quality? The live sound recording in those days already left something to be desired. Now with these low resolution uploads were double screwed. But nice choice of upload nevertheless. But some high Def would be nice, especially when you rip it from a DVD.
Joe Gargiulo I hear you, but it does say "Music Band Version" in the title. It's been sort of a polarizing version since it came out in '79. People either love it or hate it.
Let's not get carried away here. I don't hate the uptempo version. … It works as a funk tune, but the ballad was soulful and very special. Kind of like Tower's You're Still a Young Man. … Just a suggestion: a more accurate qualifier in music terminology would be something like "uptempo arrangement" or "uptempo funk version." … More importantly, I do appreciate you posting it!
Joe Gargiulo As far as the "qualifier" language goes, those of us who are most familiar with War's catalog know that the "Music Band" refers to a very particular period in their history. To be exact, it refers to four color-coded albums released from 1979-81: The Music Band (red); Music Band 2 (green); and Music Band Live (black--which is essentially the album document of this same tour). If you're a casual War fan, you may not be aware of these things. Basically the "Music Band" era was the band's toughest phase: new record company (MCA), management issues, and several major personnel shake-ups that changed the band's sound. Some fans embraced the albums because they were loyal; others prefer to forget the "Music Band" albums altogether. This song--along with "Good, Good Feelin'" from the first music band album--is. probably the most polarizing tune from that period. The silver lining from this period is an album released in 1983 after they had left MCA called "Music Band Jazz" (purple) which has some great instrumental tracks...some of which are here on RU-vid.
I am a casual fan as you suspect, but I appreciate you taking time to provide an explanation. … City Country City is my fav WAR tune, but I haven't heard all of their material.
Joe Gargiulo No problem. If you appreciate their instrumental work, I've also posted "Seven Tin Soldiers"...which came just before The Music Band period. Also check out "Five Spot" which is from the "Music Band Jazz" album of what we all figure are outtakes.
