War Deliver

There really are more War best-of packages than the situation warrants, and while the double-CD The Very Best of War is a fine compilation if you don't already have one in your collection, it's questionable whether it was a necessary addition to the band's discography. For one thing, it doesn't differ all that much from the previous two-CD War best-of on Rhino, Anthology (1970-1994). Sure, each has a few tracks not on the other, but both are built around their lengthy string of big hits. Even Barry Alfonso's accompanying essay was adapted from the liner notes to Anthology (1970-1994). Still, this does have all of the big chart hits and a few minor ones, as well as standout album tracks from throughout the 1970s and early '80s that illustrate the band's versatility. Reading the small print on the track listings, it's revealed that half a dozen of these cuts are edits that either appear here for the first time or were only available on previous anthologies or imports.

An often overlooked and underrated part of War’s legacy was their instrumentals, many of which were quite imaginative. War’s members loved jazz, and they expressed that passion not because they had any illusions of trying to compete with Miles Davis or Joe Henderson, but simply for the enjoyment of it. Released as a two-LP set, Platinum Jazz gathered War’s previously released instrumentals (plus one vocal, “Deliver the Word”) with fine results. Jazz fusion material ranging from the unpredictable “City, Country, City” (arguably the band’s best instrumental ever, and certainly their best known) and the salsa-influenced “Nappy Head” to the mellow “H2Overture” and the congenial “Smile Happy” show just how effective War’s members could be without vocals. And when saxman Charles Miller and keyboardist Lonnie Jordan stretch out, it’s clear that as improvisers, they weren’t half bad.

For some reason, there still isn't a truly comprehensive single-disc War collection on the market. Rhino's Grooves and Messages easily comes the closest, although its unnecessary remix disc kicks up the price a bit (and one could argue about a couple of omissions in favor of latter-day tracks). That makes Rhino's own double-disc Anthology (1970-1994) even more valuable – it might be too much for casual fans who just want War's biggest hits, but there's absolutely nothing missing here. All the hits are included, of course, as well as some overlooked singles and fine album tracks; plus, Anthology does fans a service by gathering the highlights from their uneven later work, which is more disco-tinged and less distinctive. A concise overview this is not; what Anthology illustrates instead is the full scope of War's versatility, and their loping, easygoing way with a groove.

Cut from the same cloth as the band's 1973 Deliver the Word LP, War's 1975 Why Can't We Be Friends? is a masterpiece in its scope and breadth. And, emerging as the last work the band would do for its longtime label, United Artists, it became a fitting swansong, powering up the charts and giving War its fourth and final number one hit…