A surprisingly great pairing of talents – the post-Animals Eric Burdon on vocals, and early grooves from Cali funk legends War – coming together here in a blend that still holds up beautifully after all these years! Burdon was already getting pretty soulful on the last few Animals albums on MGM – and he really advances that style here when working with War's great grooves – some of the grittiest, nastiest, most stretched out work of their career – especially on some of the album's nicely long tracks. There's some nice Latin currents to the music at times, and the group vocalize alongside Burdon at times – and titles include a long version of "Paint It Black", plus "Bare Back Ride", "Sun/Moon", "Pretty Colors", "Gun", "Nuts Seeds & Life", "They Can't Take Away Our Music", and "Spirit". LP, Vinyl record album

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

Two excellent funky cuts from Eric Burdon and War! You probably know "Spill The Wine" – the Latin-tinged tune that made all them a lot of money, and which still sounds surprisingly great today – but "Magic Mountain" is also another winner, with a heavy funky beat at the beginning, and a great chugging groove that's in the best low rider mode! 7-inch, Vinyl record

A wonderful first solo album from War – a set that has them breaking away from their early partnership with singer Eric Burdon – and finding an even better groove in the process! The vibe here is hipper, and even more righteous than before – some of those great jazz currents on flute, keyboards, and even harmonica – that sweet Lee Oskar mode that always made the group so great – set to very cool rhythms that blend together funk, Latin, and soul elements – all openly grooving here at a level that's free from some of the more hitbound modes of their biggest records. The whole thing's great, and still stunningly fresh after all these years – and titles include "Sun Oh Son", "Lonely Feelin", "Back Home", "War Drums", and "Vibeka". CD