War - The Hits

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:13
Size: 117.3 MB
Styles: Funk, R&B
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[4:52] 1. Spill The Wine
[3:56] 2. All Day Music
[3:44] 3. Slippin' Into Darkness
[4:05] 4. The World Is A Ghetto
[3:45] 5. Cisco Kid
[5:20] 6. Gypsy Man
[3:27] 7. Me And Baby Brother
[3:50] 8. Southern Part Of Texas
[3:45] 9. Why Can't We Be Friends
[3:08] 10. Low Rider
[4:43] 11. Galaxy
[6:35] 12. Summer

WAR-THE HITS: Surprisingly, this is the first CD collection to gather up virtually every one of WAR's organic jazz-funk-rock hits on a single platter...previous efforts including THE BEST OF WAR AND MORE wrongly omitted stone classics like GYPSY MAN and THE WORLD IS A GHETTO in favor of filler. The 2010 release THE HITS unfurls eleven of their even dozen Top 40 singles, (in blessed chronological order to boot), the lively instrumental BELLARO being the only missing hit. It's not easy to pick highlights from a band this consistent, but their spicy ERIC BURDON collaboration SPILL THE WINE, the reflective chant SLIPPIN' INTO DARKNESS, and the disco-laced final chart entry GALAXY are all powerful contenders. WAR was a democracy, with everyone sharing vocal and songwriting duties...PAPA DEE ALLEN's expressive percussion workouts, LEE OSKAR's slinky harmonica blasts and CHARLES MILLER's sublime woodwinds were but three important components of the band's unique rhythmic vibe. In lieu of the more comprehensive, but more expensive double set THE VERY BEST OF WAR, THE HITS is exactly what it says...which is all most fans of this street-smart, celebratory ensemble will need to get their jam on. ~Jukebox Dave

The Hits

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Lee Oskar - Before The Rain

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:21
Size: 99.3 MB
Styles: R&B-Funk-Soul
Year: 1978/2011
Art: Front

[8:15] 1. Before The Rain
[5:32] 2. Steppin'
[7:20] 3. San Francisco Bay
[3:43] 4. Feelin' Happy
[4:45] 5. More Than Words Can Say
[6:54] 6. Sing Song
[6:49] 7. Haunted House

Here's why all serious music lovers still need a turntable: there are so many worthwhile LPs from the '60s and '70s that will probably never be reissued on CD. Before Avenue Records came into the picture, it seemed unlikely that Lee Oskar's solo albums of 1976-1980 would ever be reissued on CD -- labels usually reissue titles they think there is a heavy demand for, and Oskar's solo efforts weren't the mega-blockbusters that War's albums were. But Avenue pleasantly surprised listeners in the '90s by making Oskar's solo output available on CD, including 1978's Before the Rain. Did this album outsell War classics like Why Can't We Be Friends? and All Day Music? Hardly. Reissued in 1995, this mostly instrumental album deserved to come back into print simply because it is good. From a commercial standpoint, the problem with Before the Rain is that it's difficult to categorize -- is it funk, pop-jazz, quiet storm, or fusion? Arguably, Before the Rain is all of those things, and Oskar's harmonica playing is expressive whether he is getting mildly funky on "Steppin'" or being mellow and laid-back on "More Than Words Can Say" and the title track. "Steppin'" certainly isn't typical of funk instrumentals; the tune opens with bagpipes -- not exactly an instrument that one ordinarily associates with funk. But then, Oskar is no stranger to multiculturalism; how many harmonica players who were born in Copenhagen, Denmark, went on to play with one of the top soul/funk bands of the '70s? Before the Rain may not have set the world on fire when it was first released in 1978, but it was certainly nice to see the album making its CD debut in 1995. ~Alex Henderson

Before The Rain 

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