First things first – if you’ve come here out of curiosity, because you like ‘the song that features on the Marmite advert, then this boxset probably isn’t going to be up your street. Don’t get me wrong, I personally love ‘Low Rider‘ too; it’s just that War rarely released anything approaching that kind of commerciality after 1976, instead further advancing the more ‘mature’ funk, soul and jazz sound with which they made their name. Whilst the chart hits dried up though, they were still an impressive set of performers with a knack for often mesmeric roots music, and that is evidenced here, in remastered versions of five albums: Platinum Funk (1977), Galaxy (1977), The Music Band (1979), Outlaw (1982) and Peace Sign (1994).
1977’s Platinum Funk (this was a double album called Platinum Jazz originally, half new material and half compilation) was a one-off album for Blue Note, its opening track ‘War Is Coming! War Is Coming!‘ a sultry, bass-heavy number and rarely, if ever, will you hear a funk song that makes you want to dance as much as this does. It’s even better when listened to through headphones, those throbbing grooves pulsating like your ears like nectar. Not that nectar pulsates through people’s ears, but you know what I mean. ‘Slowly We Walk Together‘ then comes on, melodically similar to The Beatles‘ track ‘You Never Give Me Your Money‘ but a gorgeous, souled up song that is like a warm comfort blanket, ‘L.A. Sunshine‘ feels just like its title suggests, and the gentle, woozy title track is sort of like the soul version of a midnight lullaby. I’m sure I’ve heard ‘River Niger‘ several times, possibly when the overnight Ceefax pages came on back in the day, when I did nightshifts. That track builds beautifully, its tender inception giving way to a tilt and sway that is somewhat irresistible.
Later that same year, Galaxy was released, the progressive jazz-funk of its title track deservedly becoming a sizeable hit, every bit as much a floor filler as Platinum Funk‘s opener, though the brilliant ‘Hey Señorita‘ wouldn’t fare so well, it’s position right on the bottom rung of the Top 40 sadly their last taste of mainstream success, despite the easy rhythm and sway of its cowbell-heavy elegance. Perhaps the almost-reggae vibe of ‘Baby Face‘ may have pleased the audience of the time more, who knows? All I know is that this is another absorbing record, side one ending with the early morning ambience of ‘Sweet Fighting Lady‘, a seven minute track that seems to just delicately glide by in no time at all, but even that’s only half as long as the curtain closer ‘The Seven Tin Soldiers‘, a fourteen minute instrumental that’s simply the absolute definition of “chill”.
1979’s The Music Band was an interesting attempt to try something new, mixing the soft rock style of the era with a kind of Latin infusion and, on ‘Corns & Callouses (Hey Dr. Shoals)‘, a touch of gospel too, while ‘I’m The One Who Understands‘ would surely have had an impact on a young Luther Vandross and the suave soul with which he would make his name in the following decade. The faux-Rastafarian vocal style of ‘All Around The World‘ was perhaps a little ill-advised, as it has such a pleasant lilt to it otherwise, but hey, it was 1979, I guess. A different world. At least it wasn’t Typically Tropical, and to be fair, it’s one of the best tracks on the record.
Now we’re getting onto two entire albums that I hadn’t heard before, starting with 1982’s Outlaw. ‘You Got The Power‘ is straight out of the blocks and immediately we’re reminded that they’ve still ‘got da funk’, in the words of Positive Force three years before. You can sort of hear the change in decades though and somehow this is leaning more toward the production style of Grandmaster Flash without being rap, though the chorus is more reminiscent of The Gibson Brothers on their 1979 hit ‘Que Sera Mi Vida‘. This time, the focus is well and truly on the dancefloor, with a steady continuous beat running through the early part of this particular long player, though they do go full reggae on us for the rather sweet ‘Just Because‘ and ‘The Jungle‘ must, I would have thought, have been influenced by Kool and The Gang. ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside‘ is an original ballad, and not a take on the old 1940s Frank Loesser standard whose lyrical content came in for some criticism a few years back. This is definitely a song that DJ’s would have featured in what they would cringingly have called “the erection section” back in the day. It’s a really easy listen, this one.
Finally, more than a decade later, War would release Peace Sign, beginning with a marimba style redolent of The Police‘s ‘King Of Pain‘ but crossing that sound with the sleazy funk of Cameo and, bizarrely, a brass passage that reminded me of Level 42‘s ‘Running In The Family‘. Actually a lot of this still has 1980s production on it, so ‘Wild Rodriguez’ has a dash of The Art Of Noise about it, and ‘Smile For Me‘ the polished soul of Jeffrey Osborne‘s ‘On The Wings Of Love‘.
In conclusion, none of these albums are completely perfect, but I can’t really deny that they’re all kind of great in their own way, and War undoubtedly deserve to be heard more often. They’re certainly worthy of more than merely being a footnote in musical history, or simply just remembered as a bloody Marmite advert!
War – The CD Collection 1977-1994 is out now on Rhino.
