War defined the ’70s southern Californian musical landscape as vividly as Dr Dre would two decades later. “Discovered” and renamed by Eric Burdon while working as instrumental outfit Nightshift, they blossomed into funk-rock purveyors par excellence. The Burdon-featuring bliss-out “Spill The Wine”, the urban terror of “Slippin’ Into The Darkness” the Latino groove of “Low Rider” and laid-back harmony pop of “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” capture their ferocious chops and wide cultural embrace. Highlighting the band’s consistency between 1970 and 1994, this long-overdue double CD combines all the killer singles with a few choice album tracks.
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