Sunday, January 12, 2014

#265: War - The World is a Ghetto (1972)


Emily: When I clicked on War in my iTunes library to listen to The World is a Ghetto, I was surprised to see another song there in addition to the album. Turns out that back when I first uploaded CDs to my iTunes account in approximately 2005, I added a few songs from my parents' 100% Funk compilation album, including Low Rider by no other than War. So there the song was, and I was disappointed to see that the syncopated funk track was not included on the album I listened to today. Since The World is a Ghetto comes a bit earlier than Low Rider and other paragons of '70s funk, it has a more soulful and jazzy feel to it than more typical funk music. Perhaps not 100% Funk worthy like their later music (and by later music I mean the one other song I know), but The World is a Ghetto is worth a listen for a lesson in the evolution of funk.
Favorite Tracks: Where Was You At; The World is a Ghetto; Four Cornered Room

Zack: This is a tale of two albums, although not by the intention of War. The first half, I was doing some last-minute studying for my Stat final. I was constantly interrupted by people coming in to ask how prepared I was/if I could explain Sum of Squares to them. As a result, the album seemed to be inconsistent, probably as a function of how many times I hit pause. During the second half, I was grading finals, and so the album took on the face of something to add variance to my life and keep me from just lying on the floor and taking a nice, restful coma. That half I really loved. I’m pretty sure this difference is entirely dependent on my listening experience, and I’ll have to go back to try and enjoy the entire thing in a more neutral environment, but for now, this album is too etched in my memory as being paired with that dream scenario for me to try and make comparisons to Parliament or anything else that would require extra thought.
Favorite Tracks: The Cisco Kid; Beetles in the Bog; The World is a Ghetto

No comments:

Post a Comment