Videos by American Songwriter
The World Is a Ghetto: 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition
(Rhino)
5 out of 5 stars
Released for Record Store Day 2023 in a vinyl edition limited to 4000 copies, this five LP set (no CD or digital at this time) not only presents a remastered version of War’s 1973 classic The World Is a Ghetto but includes previously unheard sessions/jams that show the songs being created.
It’s a fascinating peek behind the soundproof studio walls where the listener becomes an uninvited observer as the six selections gradually emerge from War’s collective creativity. Each runs about 25 minutes (edited from even longer sessions) comprising one full side of three albums with the other two platters dedicated to outtakes and the final mix.
This is an interesting, although not unusual way to create art, especially for an outfit that reveled in ad-libbing on stage (see War Live). But to hear the intra-band chatter as they find toss around then sometimes dispose of grooves and licks, argue, agree, and finally coalesce as a unit to refine jams into shorter songs is a captivating, often mesmerizing, occasionally tedious, and at times lackluster experience.
What becomes clear over the “making of tracks” section is how intertwined these seven multi-racial guys were. The result combined Latin, soul, funk, rock, and even Caribbean influences to yield a whole that, even 50 years later, doesn’t sound like anything else.
The record became one of the biggest sellers of 1973 and was Billboard’s top charting entry of the year. “The Cisco Kid” and its title track, edited from the album’s 10:17 to a more radio-friendly 4:05, were gold-selling singles, and the 13-plus minutes of the stirring soul/jazz instrumental “City, Country, City” displayed how effectively War improvised, even within the limited playing time of vinyl.
Six extra tracks revealing War winding through extended instrumental blues (“War Is Coming”), noir piano jazz (“Lonnie’s Wednesday Night Jam”) and bubbling funk (13 minutes of “L.A. Sunshine) are all worth hearing and make a worthy addition to the core tunes.
But between the fly-on-the-wall/watching-the-sausage-being-made material that even fans probably won’t want to hear more than once, the limited pressing, and a price that hovers around $170, this is geared to the hardest of hardcore War fans, implied by the “collector’s edition” notation on the cover.
Regardless, it’s worth reaching back to revisit the half-dozen initial songs as a reminder of just how talented and groundbreaking this combo was, especially at the creative peak exemplified by this hefty and comprehensive box.
Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images
