War became so popular on their own in later years that it's easy to forget how they first sprung onto the soul charts – here, in an album of many styles that was put together by the wayward Eric Burdon after the dissolution of The Animals. We have to admit that Burdon was a genius to hook onto the rich talents of this LA combo – even though he really didn't know what to do with them on this record. Part of the album's an homage to Roland Kirk, part is an extended reworking of "Tobacco Road", and part is an overly-long bluesy passage called "Blues For Memphis Slim". Fortunately, the record also includes the monster groover "Spill The Wine", one of the first big crossover tracks to popularize the Chicano funk sound of LA – and a great little groover that still hooks us in today. LP, Vinyl record album