On last November's Record Store Day Black Friday event, Rhino revisited WAR's 1972 classic The World Is a Ghetto for its 50th anniversary on five newly-remastered 140-gram LPs; a four-channel surround Quadio release followed on Blu-ray.  The hard-hitting, socially-conscious soul-jazz-funk-blues-rock-psychedelia best-seller was the California band's fifth album and third following the departure of vocalist Eric Burdon of The Animals.  On July 19, the landmark 5LP box featuring previously unreleased session tracks and "making of" montages will be released on 4 CDs and digitally.  In addition, the original WAR Greatest Hits will return to CD and vinyl.  (An expanded Greatest Hits 2.0 was issued in 2021.)

Jerry Goldstein chiefly produced the album from the lineup of Howard Scott (guitar/percussion/vocals), B.B. Dickerson (bass/percussion/vocals), Lonnie Jordan (organ/piano/timbales/percussion/vocals), Harold Brown (drums/percussion/vocals), Papa Dee Allen (congas/bongos/percussion/vocals), Charles Miller (woodwinds/percussion/vocals), and Lee Oskar (harmonica/percussion/vocals).  The World Is a Ghetto may be best remembered today for its No. 2 pop hit "The Cisco Kid" (the band's biggest-ever hit on the Hot 100), but the album is filled with songs of similar spirit and invention including the raucous "Where Was You At," the extended instrumental jam "City, Country, City," slow-burning "Four Cornered Room," driving "Beetles in the Bog," and hazy, spare title track.

The World Is a Ghetto: 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition was curated by Jerry Goldstein, founding member Lonnie Jordan, and Jeremy Levine. It includes the remastered original album plus six bonus tracks which encompass embryonic versions of "War Is Coming" and "L.A. Sunshine" plus jam sessions and more.  The "making-of" recordings trace the development of each of the six songs on the original LP. All were first released on the vinyl box set, and this marks the first time they will be available on CD and digital/streaming platforms.  Goldstein remarks in the press release that "these tracks show the songs taking shape in the studio.  Lonnie Jordan adds, "The nice part about all these 'making of' tracks is that the final take of all of these tracks is the actual final master that we used in The World Is a Ghetto, without edits, without overdubs, just raw.  Then we turned it around...R-A-W to W-A-R."

The World Is a Ghetto: 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition arrives from Rhino and Avenue Records on July 19.  You'll find pre-order links and the track listing below.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. (Amazon links are not yet live but should be soon!)

WAR, The World Is a Ghetto: 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition (United Artists UAS-5652, 1972 - reissued Rhino/Avenue, 2024)

4CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

CD 1: The Original Album

1. "The Cisco Kid"
2. "City, Country, City"
3. "Four-Cornered Room"
4. "Where Was You At?"
5. "Beetles In The Bog"
6. "The World Is A Ghetto"

CD 2

1. "L.A. Sunshine" - Original Jam
2. "War Is Coming" - Original Jam
3. "Lonnie's Wednesday Night Jam"
4. "Lee's Latin Jam"
5. "Blues For Papa Dee"
6. "This Is My Song Milton James"

CD 3

1. The Making Of "The Cisco Kid"
2. The Making Of "Where Was You At?"
3. The Making Of "City, Country City"

CD 4

1. The Making Of "Four-Cornered Room"
2. The Making Of "The World Is A Ghetto"
3. The Making Of "Beetles In The Bog"

WAR, Greatest Hits (United Artists UA-LA648G, 1976 - reissued Rhino/Avenue, 2024) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Links TBD)

Side 1

1. All Day Music
2. Slippin' Into Darkness
3. The World Is A Ghetto
4. The Cisco Kid
5. Gypsy Man

Side 2

1. Me And Baby Brother
2. Southern Part Of Texas
3. Why Can't We Be Friends?
4. Low Rider
5. Summer