After ten years away, Avenue Records has reunited with Rhino Entertainment, bringing recordings from WAR, Eric Burdon, Jimmy Witherspoon, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Redbone, Circle Jerks, Funkadelics, New Riders Of The Purple Sage, and more back to the imprint of Warner Music.
Central to the new worldwide deal are WAR's complete master recordings dating back decades, beginning with the band's first album Eric Burdon Declares "WAR" - which introduced listeners to the band's irresistible blend of Latin rhythms, funk, blues, jazz, and soul - through to their 2018 Greatest Hits Live record. To celebrate the announcement, Rhino will release a gold vinyl pressing of the 1976 Greatest Hits album, sourced from the original master recordings and limited to only 5,500 copies. This marks the first vinyl reissue of the compilation in decades.
Eric Burdon and WAR was founded in the late '60s by Burdon and Jerry Goldstein. Ex-Animals vocalist Burdon had separated from the band and was itching to find a new group to play with. Goldstein brought the group of L.A. club players together with Burdon and they immediately clicked, releasing Eric Burdon Declares "WAR" - with its smash hit "Spill The Wine" - in 1970. Burdon left the following year after participating in the double album The Black-Man's Burdon. Redubbed WAR, the band continued to enjoy popularity with a trio of hit albums, The World Is A Ghetto, Deliver The Word, and Why Can't We Be Friends? These albums included the gold-certified hits "Slippin' Into Darkness," "The World Is A Ghetto," "Why Can't We Be Friends?" and "The Cisco Kid," not to mention the signature No. 1 R&B hit, "Low Rider."
Now the iconic band's legacy finds a home once more at Rhino. In addition to the RSD Black Friday release, Rhino has placed a number of WAR albums online to stream and download. You can find a list of those albums and all the details of Greatest Hits below! Want to order a copy of Greatest Hits? You'll want to check out your nearest local record shop on Black Friday, November 27.
WAR, Greatest Hits [gold vinyl] (originally United Artists Records UALA-648-G, 1976 - reissued Avenue/Rhino, 2020)
Side 1:
- All Day Music
- Slippin' Into Darkness
- The World Is A Ghetto
- The Cisco Kid
- Gypsy Man
Side 2:
- Me and My Baby Brother
- Southern Part of Texas
- Why Can't We Be Friends?
- Low Rider
- Summer
A partial list of WAR albums included in the new Avenue campaign, all of which are now available digitally:
Eric Burdon Declares "WAR" (1970)
The Black-Man's Burdon (1970)
WAR (1971)
All Day Music (1971)
The World Is a Ghetto (1972)
Deliver the Word (1973)
WAR Live (1973)
Why Can't We Be Friends? (1975)
Greatest Hits (1976)
Love Is All Around (1976)
Platinum Jazz (1976)
Galaxy (1977)
The Music Band (1979)
The Music Band 2 (1979)
Outlaw (1982)
Life (Is So Strange) (1983)
The Best of WAR...and More (1987)
Grooves & Messages (1999)
Peace Sign (1994)
Greatest Hits Live (2008)
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“Black Man’s Bourdon” needs a 24bit remaster download for sale please.
Great news! I hope this means more WAR vinyl reissues.
I'd go for a box set of their first four lps,
wi/o the Burdon associated titles,
low number press and remastered
with colored vinyl.
That would be fabulous.
Those albums are golden.
I would love to see a CD version available of the War Jazz album. It has never been available on CD before ever to my knowledge. It has outtakes from the original War band after Burdon, some real jazzy far out stuff, plus some recordings after Charles Miller left the band. However, I have heard the master were burned in the fire at Universal Studios, so I'm not sure it would be possible to obtain them.