Legendary Funk Band War Readies First Live Album, Nearing 40 Year Milestone
Published: Monday - August 25, 2008
Words by Ronnie Gamble
War (Photo: Rhino Records)
Legendary multi-platinum funk band War -- known for such hits as "Cisco Kid," "The World Is Ghetto," and their most famous hit "Lowrider" -- are gearing up for the release of a live album of all their greatest hits.
The upcoming album, titled Greatest Hits Live, will be released in three special commemorative packages, containing a live DVD, a Blu-Ray DVD and a double CD.
The release marks the band's first live releases, and their first musical release in 14 years.
In addition to the aforementioned hit singles, the packages will include songs such as "Why Can't We Be Friends," "Spill The Wine," "Slippin' Into Darkness," "All Day Music," "Gypsy Man," "Me and Baby Brother," "Galaxy" and "Outlaw."
The band's lead singer and founding member, Lonnie Jordan, said the demand for a live album has been there for years.
"The performance in this package shows that War is still going strong. We've never broken up," Jordan said in a statement. "We now have several generations of fans, and we're very proud of that."
The Greatest Hits Live set was recorded at a sold-out performance at The Grove in Anaheim, California, in late December, 2007, which also contains a fold-out poster of the band.
Some of War's most popular tracks have been sampled by the likes of Tupac, Ice Cube, Ice-T, Method Man, Redman, The Geto Boys, The Beastie Boys and, countless other rap artists, as well as R&B artists like Janet Jackson and Barry White. They've also been covered by funk royalty like George Clinton, and rockers ZZ Top.
And long before the late Eazy-E and NWA released their classic Straight Outta Compton album, and artists like DJ Quik and The Game proudly proclaimed Compton as their home turf, War's frontman Lonnie Jordan was already putting Compton on the musical map, making it his home base, as he recorded an international string of chart-topping songs, hit after hit.
Next year War will celebrate 40 years of existence next year. Within that time, the critically-acclaimed group has released 19 albums that spawned 10 top 10 Billboard Pop and R&B singles.
War's Greatest Hits Live CD and DVD set is slated to hit stores on October 14.
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