War Albums Ranked

War (originally called Eric Burdon and War) is an American funk-rock band from Long Beach, California, known for several hit songs (including “Spill the Wine”, “The World Is a Ghetto”, “The Cisco Kid”, “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”, “Low Rider”, and “Summer”). Formed in 1969, War is a musical crossover band that fuses elements of rock, funk, jazz, Latin, rhythm and blues, and reggae. Their album The World Is a Ghetto was Billboard’s best-selling album of 1973. The band transcended racial and cultural barriers with a multi-ethnic line-up. War was subject to many line-up changes over the course of its existence, leaving member Leroy “Lonnie” Jordan as the only original member in the current line-up; four other members created a new group called the Lowrider Band. Here are all of War albums ranked.

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10. Outlaw

“Disco had some good stuff but a lot of it turned into really bad hip hop like songs in which were beyond plastic sounding and limited. At least war was still playing their own instruments and this is average dance music from the era , it’s not terrible but it’s not up to the level of the 1970’s war output The songs are average danceable songs and war at least is better at average songs than most hip hop artists are at their best. But I wouldn’t pay a high price for this one.”

9. War Live

“Their set list is smooth and they are playing for the sake of a great concert, as opposed to just playing their songs. Rock, Soul, Blues, Jazz, Funk, it has it all and it all works perfectly. There is so much depth to this, and yet it maintains that simple, blues core that makes it very hard to not try and keep the beat.”

8. Galaxy

“The title song is a classic War jam. Beginning with laser beam-like synthesizers darting to and fro,the song goes into a jump 4/4 disco friendly beat that’s accessorized strongly by Papa Dee Allen’s jumping Afro-Latin percussion. It has a more fast paced tempo flavor of Roy Ayers “Running Away” from the same year,and is a fine example of funk functioning as disco.”

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7. Greatest Hits

“Everyone knows the group for “Lowrider”, but so many of their songs were big hits. The group seems to fly under the radar compared to other groups with a comparable number of big hits. Eclectic influence from Black, Latino and White band members from Los Angeles produce music that you can only associate with the 70’s.”

6. The Very Best Of War

“My favorite hits from War include: SPILL THE WINE (which featured the vocals by former Animals lead singer Eric Burdon), THE CISCO KID, WHY CAN’T WE BE FRIENDS, LOW RIDER, and SUMMER. War’s warm, South of the boarder and Caribbean sounds never sounded better.”

5. Deliver The Word

“Given their eclectic (and electric) sound, War has always been a difficult band for me to categorize. Even with their mainstream airplay, they can’t be classified as a pop band. Their edge wasn’t hard enough to be a true funk band. They aren’t R & B slow jam crooners. They built a sound that was all their own and that really hasn’t re-emerged over the years. Deliver the Word is one of their more solid offerings and it’s the only place you can get the 11-plus minute version of Gypsy Man.”

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4. Why Can’t We Be Friends?

“The track Why Can’t We Be Friends is a riot that continually threatens to fall apart without ever losing its stride, likewise Heartbeat, one of my favourites.Leroy’s Latin Lament runs the gamut of latino sounds from ballad to dance.The reflective Lotus Blossom and So are great soul ballads and the instrumental Smile Happy starts off laid back and suddenly takes a jazzy turn halfway through.”

3. All Day Music

“”All Day Music” turned into the soundtrack to anyones daily routine. Some will argue that this wasn’t as powerful as “The World Is A Ghetto” or as commercial as “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”. Make no mistake, this is War in top form musically and lyrically. A must have among all music lovers of the post-modern era and perhaps War’s strongest recording ever. Yes, even stronger than anything the band did with Eric Burdon. This is classic War”

2. Icon: The Hits

“This outstanding compilation serves up a comprehensive sampling of the many flavors of WAR, starting with the Eric Burdon days and running all the way through to the admittedly less satisfying pseudo-disco phase of the band’s career. Listeners will be delighted to hear many of their beloved radio hits as well as a well rounded foray into some of the slightly more obscure items in the WAR repertoire.”

1. The World Is A Ghetto

“Great album from War. This is the Far out release from 2015 that doesn’t feature the bonus tracks that other versions of the album do. The packaging is minimal but the music is fantastic. I was a little worried beforehand that this release wouldn’t be remastered but thankfully it has been and sounds great. Excellent stuff.”