War

Nine songs from the group War, performed at the Civic Theatre in Halifax, England, find release 27 years after the fact, with excellent liner notes by Clive Richardson penned in January of 2007. A four-page booklet accompanies the eight tracks, opening with a Lonnie Jordan keyboard introduction that morphs into a bit of their first Eric Burdon hit, "Spill the Wine" (sadly, without Burdon, and more upsetting, not a full version of one of their best songs), and then into a nice rendition of "All Day Music." The imagery is fun, though dated by long shots from stationary cameras. Still, it's vintage stuff, and hearing "Low Rider" and "Cisco Kid" in succession is a bit of funky fun, the material having survived the ages just fine. Seven of the nine songs are bona fide hit records from the dozen the group launched into the American charts. Concert promoter and label owner Jeffrey Kruger, according to the liner notes, filmed the last night of the U.K. leg of the tour -- in which he put the group on with Blood, Sweat & Tears -- and thus appears this excellent DVD. (Yes, there is a separate 60-minute Blood, Sweat & Tears disc, entitled Spinning Wheel, taped at this event, but none of that material is included in this package.) "Gypsy Man" is misspelled "Gipsy Man" and extends over 12-plus minutes, Lee Oskar's harmonica dueling with Pat Rizzo's sax, the group getting into the groove à la the Grateful Dead's type of expression long before the jam band formula came into vogue and slipped into the mainstream. The camera angles almost feel like a public-access TV crew was at work, but that adds to the charm. It's a nice document of the time and shows this band's versatility and ability to keep a vibe electric. The show concludes unceremoniously after 51 and a half minutes as the band leaves the stage during a terrific "Why Can't We Be Friends," the horns still playing as the footage closes out. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide