Greatest Hits as a hybrid stereo SACD from Analogue Productions: Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound mastered WAR’s 1976 hits collection direct to DSD from the original analogue master tapes. All ten tracks play in one sequence – from “All Day Music” to “Summer”.
Seven voices sharing a groove
WAR’s Greatest Hits is not drawn from a single studio session. Released in 1976, the collection traces several years of the band’s work and adds “Summer”, a brand-new track at the time. That is exactly its appeal: instead of magnifying one phase, it shows how an ensemble stays recognisable across different albums – ten selections in which soul, funk, blues, rock and Latin-influenced rhythms meet.
The Los Angeles group first reached a wider audience alongside Eric Burdon, but this programme focuses on the band after the Burdon years – which is why “Spill the Wine” is not here. Instead you hear musicians who shared the singing, writing and arranging, and whose collective identity grew from working together rather than from one dominant instrumental voice.
More than a singer and a backing group
The classic line-up had Lonnie Jordan on keyboards, Howard Scott on guitar, B. B. Dickerson on bass and Harold Brown on drums. Lee Oskar’s harmonica and Charles Miller’s wind instruments widened the melodic colours, while Thomas “Papa Dee” Allen’s percussion helped weave the rhythm – and the vocals were shared too.
That suggests a wonderful way to listen: a riff can pass from one instrument to another, and a short melodic figure can matter as much as a sung line. Bass, drums and percussion never simply sit behind everything else – their interplay decides how much movement lives inside an apparently steady groove. Jerry Goldstein’s important production work belongs to the story as well.
A path through the seventies
“All Day Music” and “Slippin’ Into Darkness” lead back to the 1971 album All Day Music, while “The World Is a Ghetto” and “The Cisco Kid” represent the group’s next big chapter. Some tracks appear in shorter versions than on their original studio albums – that concentration is part of the hits programme, not something missing. Deliver the Word supplies “Gypsy Man”, “Me and Baby Brother” and “Southern Part of Texas”.
“Why Can’t We Be Friends?” and “Low Rider” take the sequence into 1975, showing how differently memorable songs by the same musicians can be built, and “Summer” gives the collection its then-contemporary close. A perfect invitation to hear familiar hits as ensemble performances – and perhaps to head from here to the full albums.
The hybrid stereo SACD from Analogue Productions
CAPP 149 SA is a hybrid stereo SACD from Analogue Productions. According to the publisher, Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound mastered it direct to DSD from the original analogue master tapes. The SACD layer plays on SACD-capable players, the CD layer on any conventional CD player. The disc contains the original ten-track collection, with “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”, “Slippin’ Into Darkness”, “Low Rider” and “The Cisco Kid”.
You order from Michael 45 in Germany. We arrange the US import and ship from Hilden.
Also in another edition: Greatest Hits
Customer question: Buying Analogue Productions records in Europe
Musicians
Participants and documented credit status. Track references correspond to the tracklist.
- Lonnie Jordankeyboards, vocalsParticipation: Compilation ensemble
- Howard Scottguitar, vocalsParticipation: Compilation ensemble
- Harold Browndrums, vocalsParticipation: Compilation ensemble
- B. B. Dickersonbass, vocalsParticipation: Compilation ensemble
- Lee Oskarharmonica, vocalsParticipation: Compilation ensemble
- Charles Millersaxophone, flute, vocalsParticipation: Compilation ensemble
- Papa Dee Allenpercussion, vocalsParticipation: Compilation ensemble
Album credits do not imply every instrument on every track.
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