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Showing posts with label War Masters CD Reissues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label War Masters CD Reissues. Show all posts

Sunday 17 January 2021

"The Black-Man’s Burdon" by ERIC BURDON and WAR - December 1970 USA 2LP set on MGM/Far Out Records and January 1971 UK 2LP set on Liberty Records – also featuring Lonnie Jordon, Charles Miller, Howard Scott, and Lee Oskar in War with Guest Vocalist Sharon Scott (May 1993, Reissued January 1996, UK/EUROPE ARG Records/BMG Reissue – 2LPs Remastered onto 2CDs) - A Review by Mark Barry...






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"...Beautiful New Born Child..."

Talk about a forgotten double-album – and its politics. Released Stateside first just 3 days before Christmas 1970 on MGM/Far Out Records (Blighty would have to wait until Liberty Records put it out in January 1971) – the urge-to-splurge 2LP set "The Black-Man's Burdon" was frankly a bit of a beautiful if unwieldy beast. Radical for its time, the initial 30,000 copies of British twofer vinyl sets even elicited censorship in the UK when the spoken poem-piece "P.C. 3" (Track 5 on Side 1) was deemed riot-incendiary because of naughty HRH Queenie references and therefore had that unholy sin of self-expression excluded from the subsequent 20,000 copies pressed (what a palavar). 

A wild combo of originals and extended cover versions where some songs are 2:43 minutes long, while others stretch to 14-minutes and seven parts, 8-minutes, seven-minutes and so on - Eric Burdon and the seven-piece band War were continuing their Rock-Funk meets Soul meets Jazz meets Blues journey with this adventurous and ambition double-whammy. 

Experimental, Rock-Soulful and even Progtastic in some instrumental passages – big things were expected of the release – especially following as it did on the heels of the catchy "Spill The Wine" 45 from their April 1970 debut "Eric Burdon Declares "War"" that had managed a huge No. 4 chart position. But the sheer size and wild nature of what was on offer proved maybe a step too far-out for the public and radio – the 2LP set limping into the US album charts in late December 1970. It eventually peaked at No. 83 and five or six weeks later, quickly disappeared (as did Burdon's fractious relationship with MGM Records where he felt they weren't behind it enough). 

By the end of 1971 - and after a controversial tour of the UK where the British Establishment made it apparent that they were not too pleased with the double's references to Her Majesty in a not so warm-and-fuzzy light – EB and War had parted (only to be reunited years later). Subsequently, five decades of secondhand record shop rack trawling by music lovers seeking something new or maybe different, has seen the 2LP-set become something of an underground darling – an ahead-of-its-racial-times gob at the powers-that-be. Soul-Rock fans love BMB and speak of it in hushed tones, while samplers dig into its sexy rhythms and look reference-cool as they do so. 

The history of "The Black-Man's Burdon" far-out journey on digital is a strangely muted one too. Even in January 2021, an astonishing 50 years after the event – the best 2CD version is not from the 00s or 10s or 20s – but dating all the way back to the reissue halcyon days of Rhino in the early Nineties. Here are the pretty colors for u...

UK released May 1993 (reissued January 1996) - "The Black-Man's Burdon" by ERIC BURDON and WAR on ARG Records/BMG 74321 30742 2 (Barcode 743213074221) offers the US 1970 Double-Album (1971 UK) Remastered onto 2CDs and breaks down as follows: 

CD1 (44:39 minutes): 
1. Paint It Black Medley [Side 1]
(a) Black On Black In Black
(b) Paint It Black I
(c) Laurel & Hardy 
(d) Pintelo Negro II
(e) P.C. 3 
(f) Black Bird 
(g) Paint It Black III
2. Spirit 
3. Beautiful New Born Child [Side 2]
4. Nights In White Satin I
5. The Bird & The Squirrel 
6. Nuts, Seeds & Life 
7. Out Of Nowhere 
8. Nights In White Satin II 
Track 1 is a Rolling Stones cover except Parts (c) to (f) which are War songs; Track 3 features Sharon Scott and The Beautiful New Born Children of Southern California; Tracks 4 and 8 are Moody Blues covers 

CD2 (45:48 minutes):
1. Sun/Moon [Side 3]
2. Pretty Colors 
3. Gun
4. Jimbo
5. Bare Back Ride [Side 4]
6. Home Cookin' 
7. They Can't Take Away Our Music 
Track 7 features Sharon Scott and The Beautiful New Born Children of Southern California

"The Black-Man's Burdon" was released December 1970 in the USA on MGM/Far Out Records SE-4710-2 and January 1971 in the UK on Liberty Records LDS 84003/4 as a 2LP set in both countries. Produced by JERRY GOLDSTEIN – it peaked at No. 82 in the USA (didn't chart UK). All tracks written by War - excepting "Beautiful New Born Child" and "They Can't Take Away Our Music" - which were written by Jerry Goldstein and War. "Paint it Black" and "Nights In White Satin" are cover versions of Rolling Stones and Moody Blues songs.

WAR was: 
ERIC BURDON – Lead Vocals
LONNIE JORDON – Organ, Piano and Vocals 
HOWARD SCOTT – Guitar and Vocal 
LEE OSKAR – Harmonica and Vocal 
CHARLES MILLER – Tenor, Baritone and Alto Saxophones and Flute
B.B. DICKERSON – Bass and Vocal
DEE ALLEN – Conga, Percussion, Vocal 
HAROLD BROWN – Drums 
Guest: 
Sharon Scott and The Beautiful New Born Children of Southern California sing on "Beautiful New Born Child" and "They Can't Take Away Our Music"

Long-standing Rhino/Atlantic Audio Engineers BILL INGLOT and KEN PERRY did the Remasters from first generation tapes and the Audio is punchy and full (the US version was released 4 May 1993 is on Rhino R2 71193 - Barcode 081227119324). There is a later reissue of this but it hasn't got the booklet - nor has it any improvement in Audio. 

The six-leaf double-sized foldout inlay could be described as functionary at best. The two naked ladies laying on grass alongside other seven African-American nature man-children in the background (the band War) which adorned the inner gatefold sleeve of the original double vinyl album is reproduced on two leaves as is a band photo from the period. But the cool 'Official War Bond One Dollar Bill' (shaped like a dollar) that also came with originals is AWOL. With it, you could get $1 discount upon the purchase of two tickets to any Eric Burdon and War gig up to 31 December 1973 – even though he'd disembarked by then and they simply become WAR. There are the usual credits in black and white and BARRY ALFONSO does a great job with the liner notes that include new interviews with Burdon about the songs and their processes. A rear inlay on the British/EC issue lists and pictures the WAR Masters reissue catalogue (see list below). To the music...

In a bold move, MGM took the full-length 6:50-minute version of Side 4's "They Can't Take Our Music Away" with Sharon Scott on Vocals and put it out as the lead American 45-single. December 1970's MGM K-14196 had the full cut of "Home Cookin'" on its flipside and rewarded the band with a No. 50 placing. The British variant from January 1971 on Liberty LBF 15434 had a 4:50 minutes edit with the same B-side, but it sank without a trace and I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen that Liberty Records 45 anywhere in my fifty years of digging tunes and vinyl. 

Side 1 opens with the 13:34-minute cover of "Paint It Black” – the Stones cover turning up three times amidst the original bits – the second of which is sung as "Pintelo Negro". I have to admit that this too-long opener tests my patience nowadays. One hundred times sexier is 8:39 minutes of "Spirit" – a warbling guitar and drum opening explodes into a great Rock-Funk groove – an always on my mind tune that has the band cooking (why was this not single number two in edit form?). Dig that Lee Oskar harmonica too. 

Side 2 sees Sharon Scott make the first of two appearances on duet/crowd Vocals with Eric as "Beautiful New Born Child" comes slinking out of your speakers. A groove – a vibe – the pounding song is the sort of five minutes they probably made up in the studio (I think it is Sharon pictured on the rear sleeve sat atop EB). They then take "Nights In White Satin” and for the first version – slow it right down to a Soul ballad pace – but I find his vocals are forced even if the backing music is fab. We then 2:44 minutes of Flute-Cool – an instrumental with Congas and strummed acoustics called "The Bird & The Squirrel" where War feel Santana good – such a superb groove. Stunning Bass audio on "Nuts, Seeds & Life" – another shuffling percussion number that solo-instrumentals its way to the finish line. You could call it fluff or filler – but I dig it (teeny bit hissy in the transfer). Part 2 of "Nights In White Satin" feels more Soulful that its predecessor. 

For me the second LP confirms the album's greatness far more than the first. Side 3's "Sun/Moon" is a 10-minute slow Jazz-Rock shuffle – Eric and the boys sounding like a cross between a mellow John Mayall circa "Blues From Laurel Canyon" meeting with Miles Davis rehearsing for "A Kind Of Blue". Things pick up the Funky pace big time with the fantastic "Pretty Colors" where Lonnie Jordan suddenly explodes out of the speakers with his piano fills accompanied by seductive Sax jabs from Charles Miller – Eric talking about ladies with a skin tone he loves (probably my fave track on the album). If any song on "The Black-Man's Burdon" double-album was to convince you that War and EB were on to a very special groove and their own sound – then this near seven-minutes of uber-cool is it. Razorblades, switchblades and your handguns – Eric and the boys want you to ditch the lot in "Gun" – urging the street kids to not inflict any more tears. That brilliance is topped off with "Jimbo" – a Funky as James Brown's underarms chugger that once again benefits from a wicked groove, Lonnie Jordan's naturally fluid piano playing and Oscar's harmonica jabs.

Side 4 opens with a bit of ZZ Top "La Grange" guitar before "Bare Back Ride" kicks 
in proper – yet another foot-stomper that feels like Traffic have been listening to Sly and The Family Stone as Eric sings "...don't blow it baby!" Filled with fantastic soloing from Miller on Sax and Oscar on Harp – "Bare Back Ride" is just so typically hip it hurts. Our hero joined the Navy at the age of 17 but he misses Mama and her "Home Cookin'", while the mighty twofer comes to a dignified Gospel-feeling end with "They Can't Take Away Our Music" – a proud and pure cry from deep within for racial equality – no colour – no skin divide. Nice...

These 1993 and 1996 double-CD releases have been deleted decades and can cost up to thirty quid on the open market (I got mine for a reasonable fifteen-ish, so hunt around). But for sheer hutzpah, melt of styles and sound discovery - like so many of their forgotten albums - this is a blast from the past you will want to feel the heat of again and again...

WAR Masters CD Reissues for the UK/EUROPE

1. Eric Burdon Declares "War" (April 1970 US LP)
1995 CD on ARG Records/BMG 74321 30526 2 (Barcode 743213052625)

2. The Black-Man's Burdon (December 1970 US 2LP-set)
May 1993 2CDs on ARG Records/BMG 74321 30742 2 (Barcode 743213074221)

3. War (March 1971 US LP)
May 1993 CD on ARG Records/BMG 74321 30737 2 (Barcode 743213073729)

4. All Day Music (November 1971 US LP)
1995 CD on ARG Records/BMG 74321 30520 2 (Barcode 743213052028)

5. The World Is A Ghetto (November 1972 US LP)
1992 CD on ARG Records/BMG 74321 30521 2 (Barcode 743213052120)

6. Deliver The War (August 1973 US LP) 
1992 CD on ARG Records/BMG 74321 30522 2 (Barcode 743213052229)

7. War Live! (March 1974 US 2LP set) 
1992 2CD on ARG Records/BMG 74321 30730 2 (Barcode 743213073026)

8. Why Can't We Be Friends? (June 1975, with "Low Rider")
1992 CD on ARG Records/BMG 74321 30523 2 (Barcode 743213052328)

9. Love Is All Around – ERIC BURDON and WAR (December 1976) 
May 1993 2CDs on ARG Records/BMG 74321 30743 2 (Barcode 743213074320)

10. Platinum Jazz (July 1977, 2LP Set, New Material On LP1, Old Material on LP2)
May 1993 CD on ARG Records/BMG 74321 30524 2 (Barcode 743213052427)

11. Galaxy (November 1977 US LP)
January 1996 CD on ARG Records/BMG 74321 30739 2 (Barcode 743213073927)

12. Youngblood – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (August 1978 US LP)
January 1996 CD on ARG Records/BMG 74321 30735 2 (Barcode 743213073521)

13. Outlaw (March 1982 US LP)
January 1996 CD on ARG Records/BMG 74321 30734 2 (Barcode 743213073428)

14. Life (Is So Strange) (July 1983 US LP) 
January 1996 CD on ARG Records/BMG 74321 30738 2 (Barcode 743213073828)

Monday 2 May 2016

"The World Is A Ghetto: 40th Anniversary Expanded Edition" by WAR (December 2012 Universal/Avenue CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...





This Review Along With 284 Others Is Available In My
SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites
HIGHER GROUND 
70ts Soul, R'n'B, Funk, Jazz Fusion
Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters  
Just Click Below To Purchase for £6.95
Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 
(No Cut and Paste Crap)

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"...Where Was You At..."

(A review of an iconic American LP from a UK point of view)

It strikes me as extraordinary that "The World Is A Ghetto" didn't make any real mark in the UK – a country that loves its Soul Music with a rabid passion. I say this because it's incredibly rare that a US Soul album crosses over so hugely from the R&B charts to the notoriously hard-to-break into Rock charts.

Yet that's what "...Ghetto..." did in November 1972 – hitting the coveted Number One spot on both counts. Not Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" (1971), Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" (1972) nor Stevie Wonder's "Innervisions" (1973) ever achieved this - legendary titles or no. You have to back Isaac Hayes and his genre-busting "Shaft" Blaxploitation double in 1971 on Stax or Curtis Mayfield's brilliant social-statement "Superfly" in 1972 on Curtom to get simultaneous Numbers 1's on both charts. It would take until February 1973 for the British vinyl LP to arrive – by which time all momentum was gone (it didn't dent any chart in Blighty).

Having said all that - Universal's 'Avenue Records' of the USA seems to think "The World Is A Ghetto" is a masterpiece of the genre and have given it a proper sonic makeover - a '40th Anniversary Expanded Edition' CD reissue that absolutely rocks. Here are the inner city details y'all...

US and UK released December 2012 – "The World Is A Ghetto: 40th Anniversary Expanded Edition" by WAR on Universal/Select/Avenue Records/Far Out B0017703-02 (Barcode 602537194964) is a Remaster and plays out as follows (69:38 minutes):

1. The Cisco Kid (4:35 minutes)
2. Where Was You At (3:25 minutes)
3. City, Country, City  (13:18 minutes)
4. Four Cornered Room (8:30 minutes) [Side 2]
5. The World Is A Ghetto (10:10 minutes)
6. Beetles In The Bog (3:51 minutes)
Tracks 1 to 6 are the album "The World Is A Ghetto" – released November 1972 in the USA on United Artists UAS-5652 (No.1 Pop & R&B charts) and February 1973 in the UK on United Artists UAS 29400 (didn't chart). It was Produced by JERRY GOLDSTEIN with all track were written by WAR.

BONUS TRACKS – GHETTO JAMS (All Previously Unreleased):
7. Freight Train Jam (5:41 minutes)
8. 5 8 Blues (5:29 minutes)
9. War Is Coming (Blues Version) (6:15 minutes)
10. The World Is A Ghetto (Rehearsal Take) (8:06 minutes)

WAR was:
HOWARD SCOTT – Guitars, Percussion and Vocals
LEE OSKAR – Harmonica, Percussion and Vocals
LONNIE JORDAN – Organ, Piano, Timbales, Percussion and Vocals
CHARLES MILLER – Clarinet, Alto, Tenor and Baritone Saxophones, Percussion and Vocals
PAPA DEE ALLEN – Conga, Bongos, Percussion and Vocals
B.B. DICKERSON – Bass, Percussion and Vocals
HAROLD BROWN – Drums, Percussion and Vocals

HARRY WEINGER has produced the '40th Anniversary Expanded Edition' and provided the short but enlightening essay on the LP and its 1972 impact in the 8-page booklet. But the big news is first generation master tapes provided by the original LP producer – JERRY GOLDSTEIN – that have uncovered four lengthy jams – all Previously Unreleased. PETER DOELL of Universal has remastered the CD and it sounds truly fantastic – kicking on every level. When you're in the middle of one the funky workouts – the instruments are pumping – not overdone or over trebled – just there. This is a warm remaster and I love the way it sounds. My only real complaint would be that there are 7" single four-minute edits of "The World Is A Ghetto" and its flipside "Four Cornered Room" (USA United Artists 50975) – a single edit/mix of "The Cisco Kid" and Promo-only 'Mono' mixes of "The Cisco Kid" and "The Whole Is A Ghetto" - that could have been added on as Bonus Material (but alas).

War's music appears to be that strange hybrid – not quite Soul and not quite Rock – but somewhere in-between. And that's ably demonstrated by the album's lead off track "The Cisco Kid". Brilliant stuff and an obvious single - United Artists USA released it January 1973 on UA-XW163-W with "Beetles In The Bog" as its B-side (April 1973 in the UK on UP 35521 with the same flip). It peaked at No. 5 on the US R&B singles charts - but cruised up to No. 2 on the Pop side. Blessed with an irresistible funky keyboard backbeat aligned with street lyrics about 'kids on Sunset' and 'outlaws' (complete with spoken Mexican) – "The Cisco Kid" is typically War – very hip and very cool. A loose piano/harmonica/guitar jam – "Where Was You At" again hits that finger clickin' sweet spot when he sings "...I looked around for someone to help me...where was you at..." (it also has an almost Capt. Beefheart break which is brilliant). "City, Country, City" is the first of those lengthy funky workouts and really makes the Remaster shine – sounding just incredible when that breathy harmonica kicks in (it ends Side 1). As the liner notes state - it's a 'go to track' if you need convincing - and after a few saxophone flourishes fill your speakers in this 13-minute instrumental – you're also in no doubt as to how good Peter Doell's transfer is – brilliant stuff.

"Four Cornered Room" is my crave on this album – the guitar, bass and warbling Oskar harmonica sounding mean and alive. It's a fantastic groove and showcases everything that’s brill about this seven-piece band (it's similar in feel to the Crusaders-sounding instrumental "Vibeka" on the 1971 "War" album). Alongside "Low Rider" - the album's title track "The World Is A Ghetto" is probably their most famous song and I'm taken aback at how good it sounds here – beautifully clear – all those harmony vocals filling your living room - accompanied by that chunky backbeat. The album ends "Beetles in The Bog" where the band sound more like Malo meets Santana than War.

The Four Bonus Tracks are 'funky funky' nirvana – wildly good. "Freight Train Jam" feels like James Brown's JB's having a wig-out on a wah-wah guitar – all brilliant licks underpinned by a slick-as-Mister Cool backbeat (the piano fills from Lonnie Jordan are wicked too – what a winner). "5 8 Blues" is a harmonica driver about a dubious acquaintance. Sounding not unlike Little Walter having fun with a funky bunch of cats – you get saucy gender-bender lyrics like "...Did you see my big legged lady...walking across town...she's got a long blond wig...weighs about 125 pounds..." I can see why it was left off the album – too much like good-time Chess and Cadet R&B of the 60ts (not in keeping with the album) – but that doesn't stop it from being a genuine bonus in more than name. But even better is a 'Blues Version' of "War Is Coming" – six-minutes of grinding Soul-Blues. A version of would eventually show up on the "Platinum Jazz" LP in 1977. The 'Rehearsal Take' of "The World Is A Ghetto" is a couple of minutes shorter than the finally released album cut (runs to 8-plus but still wonderful) – and is presented here with truly gobsmacking audio quality.

Our US compatriots have always dug WAR and their 1972 Number 1 platter - "The World Is A Ghetto". I can’t help thinking that it’s about time their UK buddies got streetwise too. And this fabulous '40th Anniversary Expanded Edition' is the place to do just that. Wonderful stuff...and peace in all ghettos the world over...

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