For my
money, War is the best funk band this side of James Brown. Calling them a “funk
band” really doesn’t do them justice, however, with the way their sound
frequently features Latin rhythms and the harmonica work of Lee Oskar (probably
the only Dane ever to play in a successful American funk or soul act).
While the
group is best-known for top 10 hits such as “Cisco Kid”, “Why Can’t We Be
Friends”, and “Low Rider”, “Slippin’ Into Darkness” is their masterpiece. Dave
Marsh writes that the lyrics “evoke the dissolution of the civil rights movement
into the drug-laced daze of the frustrated early seventies.” I’m not sure how
much of that was intentional – the lyrics are certainly opaque in places – but “You’ve
been slippin’ into darkness / Pretty soon you’re gonna pay” definitely does hit
home.
Well, way better than the Average White Band, whose album, if you recall, you could start at any point and it would all sound the same.
ReplyDeleteShoemaker had that LP, right?
DeleteI actually like most of AWB's stuff (never could stand "Cut The Cake"), although I certainly wouldn't argue that they were in the same league as War. Maybe not great, but at least well above average.