Cold Blood

Cold Blood - Thriller - 1973 - Reprise

A San Francisco-based R&B band originally formed by guitarist Larry Field as the "New Invaders" in the wake of the Summer of Love, Cold Blood had the key elements of strong female vocalist, a fine guitarist, and a powerful horn section. After successful gigs at Golden Gate Park and at the Fillmore, they were signed by impresario Bill Graham to his new San Francisco Records label, on which they released their self-titled debut in 1969. Four more albums followed over the next five years -- in fact, later efforts boasted the production and musical contributions of Steve Cropper -- but all were hamstrung by Graham's underhanded distribution deals with Columbia and Atlantic. Lydia Though the debut's single "You've Got Me Humming" crawled up to number 52 on the American charts, Cold Blood seemed doomed to labor in the shadow of bands like Tower of Power, Chicago, and especially Janis Joplin. The latter comparison became endemic among critics; for although blues belter joined Field's band as its youngest member -- she had formerly been, of all things, a childhood national rollerskating champion -- her magnetic stage presence established her as the band's central force. Eventually, the band billed itself as Lydia Pense With Cold Blood, and even released an album simply titled Lydia. Joplin sensed a kindred soul; after screaming at Cold Blood for scooping her on a blistering cover of "Piece of My Heart," she warmed to Pense enough to give her a swig of Southern Comfort. After hitting increasingly lower tier venues in San Francisco by the late '70s, Cold Blood disbanded for most of the next decade; Pense focused her energies on child rearing. By the late '80s, the band slowly awoke from its long sleep, and they began regular features on California's festival and fair circuit. A 1998 return to their Fillmore stomping ground brought out the band's faithful. © Paul Collins © 2013 AllMusic, a division of All Media Network, LLC. | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/cold-blood-mn0000774807/biography

Thriller! -- Cold Blood's fourth LP -- is a continuation on the brass-intensive funky R&B that drove their previous efforts. In contrast to those discs, however, there is very little in the way of original material here, the singular exception being Max Haskett's rollicking "Live Your Dream," which features the Pointer Sisters on backing vocals. This was not the first collaborative effort between the two either, as the vocal trio had also made a few notable contributions to the Sisyphus album. One of the primary distinctions between Cold Blood and their Bay Area contemporaries the Tower of Power is lead vocalist Lydia Pense. She has developed from simply belting out the blues -- à la Janis Joplin -- to becoming an increasingly sensitive lyrical interpreter without diminishing her prowess or guttural growl. One prime example is her ease and agility on the cover of Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" -- which likewise includes some of the finest and most tasteful contributions from the horn section. The same can also be said of their cover of the Band's "Sleeping" -- retaining much of the same charm as the original. Cold Blood contrasts the mellow with a few loud funkified fusion numbers, such as the lead track, "Baby I Love You," and "Kissing My Love" -- which hearkens directly back to the double-jointed rhythms found in the band's eponymously titled debut album. Another highlight is Raul Matute's Hammond-organ on the classic blues "Feel So Bad" -- which is similar to Ray Charles' original reading. © Lindsay Planer © 2013 AllMusic, a division of All Media Network, LLC. | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/thriller!-mw0000670637

Brilliant funkified soul, blues and R&B from the great Lydia Pense & Cold Blood. The present awful music scene needs a good injection of music like this. Because of trash music fed to people by various TV channels and TV shows like “Britain/America’s Got Talent”, “The X Factor”, and more, many people have never heard this kind of music and the fat cats who own the major media outlets will make sure they never will. Did you ever listen to the so called “judges” on these shows? They know how to make big bucks, but as regards quality music, most of them wouldn’t know the difference between a good artist and a hole in the ground. It's amazing just how many great artists are out there who seldom if ever receive any radio play. It's paradoxical, because usually to get heard on the media, you have to sell out to the commercial, money-driven fat cats in the music industry. You can also retain your musical integrity and never get heard! That's why I originally set up a music blog...to try and bring these artists to a bigger audience. In my own small way, I hope I am helping to promote the lesser known artists. I receive many e-mails and comments from people who are completely oblivious to this kind of music and are very interested in checking out these musicians. Many people will say that uploading music is wrong and depriving artists of their income, etc. I would say that without bloggers and other less commercial outlets, many artists would have an even smaller income as many real music lovers would be unaware of their existence! Always a hot subject! Listen to Lydia Pense & Cold Blood’s great “Transfusion” album. Support real music! [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 95 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 Baby I Love You - Jerry Ragavoy 6:10
2 You Are The Sunshine Of My Life - Stevie Wonder 7:40
3 Feel So Bad - L.Temple & L.Johnson 7:22
4 Sleeping - Robbie Robertson & Richard Manuel 5:16
5 Live Your Dream - Max Haskett 3:21
6 I'll Be Long Gone - Boz Scaggs 5:40
7 Kissing My Love - Bill Withers 6:07

MUSICIANS

Lydia Pense - Lead Vocals
Michael Sasaki - Electric & Acoustic Guitar
Rod Ellicott - Bass
Raul Matute - Keyboards
Gaylord Birch - Drums
Bob Ferreira - Tenor Saxophone, Flute
Bennie Maupin - Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet
Skip Mesquite - Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Backing Vocals
Mel Martin - Baritone Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Flute
Michael Andreas - Saxophone
Rigby Powell - Trumpet
Peter Welker - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Bill Atwood - Trumpet, Flute, Flugelhorn
Max Haskett - Trumpet, Background Vocals
John Mewborn - Trumpet, Trombone (Valve)
Pat O'Hara - Trombone
The Pointer Sisters, Holly Tigard - Background Vocals

BIO (WIKI)

Cold Blood is a long-standing soul-rock-jazz band founded by Larry Field in 1968 and originally based in the San Francisco East Bay area. They have also performed and recorded under the name "Lydia Pense and Cold Blood", due to the popularity of their lead singer, Lydia Pense. The band first came to prominence in 1969 when rock impresario Bill Graham signed them after an audition and they played the Fillmore West in San Francisco. Pense has been compared to Janis Joplin, and it was Joplin who recommended the audition to Graham. The band has often been compared to another long-standing popular Northern California group, Tower of Power, and like Tower of Power they were rare in that they featured a horn section in addition to guitar, keyboards (usually featuring a Hammond organ and Leslie speaker), bass and drums. The Tower of Power horn players have performed with Cold Blood on a regular basis since the early 1970s. Skip Mesquite and Mic Gillette have been members of both Tower Of Power and Cold Blood. Their fan base also overlaps with the Sons of Champlin, although their musical styles are quite different. Their initial four albums, Cold Blood (produced by David Rubinson), Sisyphus (produced by Fred Catero), First Taste of Sin (produced by Donny Hathaway), and Thriller (produced by David Rubinson) remain their best known work. The band disbanded in the late 1970s, reformed in the 1980s and stabilized with its current membership in the 1990s. Cold Blood continues to record and perform today, and some former band members such as Raul Matute (and some from Tower of Power) appear on the band's most recent album. Original band members were founder Larry Field (lead guitar), Lydia Pense (vocals), Danny Hull (tenor saxophone and songwriter), Larry Jonutz (trumpet; born Mar 15 1947), Pat O'Hara (trombone; born May 25, 1946 (?), died August 1977 of an overdose), Raul Matute (Hammond organ, piano, arranger and songwriter, born Feb 19 1946), Jerry Jonutz (baritone, alto and tenor saxophone; born Mar 15 1947), David Padron (trumpet; born May 4 1946), Rod Ellicott (bass), Paul C Saenz (guitar), and Frank Davis, who was replaced on drums by Sandy McKee (real name Cecil James Stoltie, born 12 July 1945, died 15 October 1995) during the Sisyphus sessions. Narada Michael Walden and Jonathan "Sugarfoot" Moffett both mention McKee on their short list of drummers most influential in their stylistic development. Over the years there have been various incarnations of the band including singer/trumpet player Max Haskett (born 7 March 1947, died 15 September 1999, ex-Rubicon), Tower Of Power horn player Mic Gillette, Journey keyboardist Stevie "Keys" Roseman on Hammond B-3 organ, Sons Of Champlin drummer Jim Preston, guitar player Michael Sasaki (born Apr 3 1952), Tower Of Power guitarist Jeff Tamelier, Boz Scaggs horn player Tom Poole, Elvin Bishop sax player Bill Slais, bass player Michael White & others. Current personnel are Lydia Pense (vocals), Steve Salinas (keyboards), Steve Dunne (guitar), Mike Morgan (percussion), Evan Palmerston (bass), Rich Armstrong (trumpet, percussion), Rob Zuckerman (alto, tenor, baritone saxes) and Donny Baldwin (drums). Cold Blood is featured playing live in Fillmore, a documentary of the last concerts at the Fillmore West auditorium during July 1971.

ABOUT LYDIA PENSE

Lydia Pense (born Lydia Jane Pense in San Francisco, California on December 14, 1947) is an American rock-soul-jazz singer who since 1969 has performed with the band Cold Blood. Her style has been compared to powerful singers including Janis Joplin (who recommended the band to Bill Graham for their first audition), Aretha Franklin and Teena Marie. Pense's mother, the former Miss Ramos, was born in Madrid, Spain, while her father came from Nebraska, United States. While attending Sequoia High School in Redwood City, California at the age of 14, Pense started singing with a band called The Dimensions, with Guitarist Fred Tatman. She was a fan of Brenda Lee and was singing her songs, but the band, formed by Fred Tatman, Larry Hatch, Paul C Saenz, and Kerry Yates encouraged her to sing R&B in the style of James Brown, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, and Ray Charles. Lydia joined Cold Blood in 1968. Their initial four albums, Cold Blood, Sisyphus, First Taste of Sin (produced by Donny Hathaway), and Thriller remain their best known work. The band continues to record and perform today. The band separated in the late 1970s, and Pense suspended her career in the 1980s to raise her daughter before re-forming the group. – from Wikipedia

Ballin'jack

Ballin'jack - Ballin'jack - 1970 - CBS

Ballin'jack was a horn based funk rock group formed in Seattle, Washington in 1969 by the late bassist/vocalist Luther Rabb, and drummer Ronnie Hammon. The band had a minor hit in 1970 with "Super Highway". Luther Rabb later toured with Santana, and both Ronnie Hammon and Luther later joined War. Ballin'jack's debut album has some nice funky rock and wah wah killer tracks, with some good breakbeats. Over forty years after the release of this album, it could be said Ballin'jack was a progenitor of the NY hip-hop movement. In the late seventies DJ's noted them for their "breaks" and the band's music has been sampled by artists like Young MC, Beastie Boys, Ozamatli, Gang Starr, DoubleXX Posse, and the Cheetah Girls. "Found a Child" has a great guitar riff and heavy drums break. The horns are terrific, and there's some nice samples and loops on "Never Let 'Em Say". The problem with this album is track lengths. Seven of the tracks on "Ballin'jack" are less than three minutes long. In fact two of the tracks are less than two minutes in length. "Festival", "Carnival", and "Hold On" are longer pieces and allow the band more musical leeway.The band's 1972 "Buzzard Luck" album was stronger than this debut album, with longer and more developed tracks. Nevertheless, this album from 1970 despite dated vocals reminiscent of the time period, has a lot of good original R&B/soul/jazz funk, and it would be worth checking out for remastered CD versions of this vinyl album, which contains some "snap, crackle, and pop". [ All tracks @ 192 KBps: File size = 47 Mb ]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

A1 Found A Child - J. Walters & L. Rabb
A2 Super Highway - J. Walters
A3 Festival - J. Walters & L. Rabb
A4 Telephone - J. Walters
A5 Only A Tear - L. Rabb
A6 Never Let 'Em Say - L. Rabb

B1 Street People - J. Walters & L. Rabb
B2 Carnival - Ballin'jack
B3 Ballin' The Jack - C. Smith & J. Burris
B4 Hold On - L. Rabb

MUSICIANS

Guitar, Backing Vocals – Glenn Thomas
Bass, Lead Vocals – Luther Rabb RIP
Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals – Ronnie Hammon
Piano, Trombone, Backing Vocals – Tim McFarland
Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet, Backing Vocals – Jim Coile
Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Lead Vocals – Jim Walters

ABOUT BALLINJACK

Luther Rabb and Ronnie Hammon originally formed Ballin'jack in their hometown of Seattle, Washington in 1969. Getting encouragement and inspiration from the sudden success of their childhood friend Jimi Hendrix. they added Glenn Thomas on guitar and a compliment of horns including long time musicians like Jim Coile and Tim McFarland. They moved to Los Angeles, California where there are many stories of famous people visiting their big mansion home-studio near the Sunset Strip. BALLINJACK'S reputation was that live their shows were so good that fans were known to have left afterwards, and that some headliners had actually refused to have them again as an opening act. ( 1970 Billboard Magazine ) This didn't seem bother Jimi all too much...as he aksed his old school mates to come along with him on his 1970 "Cry Of Love" tour. During 1969-74 Ballin'jack headlined up and down the West Coast and went on nationwide US tours warming up for many legendary bands at famous venues like the Fillmore East and West and was on the bill of several large "Pop Festivals" of the era. They went as far as Japan with great reception. Ballin'jack's studio recordings hold true as archives of some very cool and spiritually diverse music. Their songs have broad appeal, containing purely original beats, rich soulful melodies and plenty of good old-fashioned "Wah-Wah" guitar. In the years to come, many of their funky, yet organic sounds were re-discovered by live DJ's (who still spin LP records). In 1989, Young MC won a Grammy award for the hit single "Bust A Move" (VH1 Story) using a looped lick taken from the their song "Found A Child". Sampled by many since, the Hip-Hop movement found that... the grooves Ballinjack had originally laid down over 30 years ago… were in fact, original. Ballin'jack had released three studio and one live album before disbanding in 1974. Luther & Ronnie worked on solo projects and other music ventures as a bass and drum team and both had a long running gig as members of the WAR The Music Band. The limited edition Best Of Luther Rabb & Ballin'Jack CD and the upcoming 21st Century Tribute to Ballin'lack CD along with the eventual reissue of their original LP's from the1970's can finally share with this new millenium, the old vibrations, that their many loyal fans have always have kept close to their heart. Originally recorded on vinyl, their music was sweet and tasty when it was freshly made… but now, available on CD there will be many more helpings of terrific leftovers in the days to come. From Hendrix to Hip-Hop… fans get a plate. Ballin'jack may once again be the best thing to come around since sliced bread. © http://www.ballin-jack.com/

Edgar Winter's White Trash

Edgar Winter's White Trash - Recycled - 1977- Blue Sky

The much-anticipated reunion of Edgar Winter's White Trash brings the powerhouse vocalist Jerry LaCroix back to the forefront, allowing Edgar Winter to put more of his energy into the keyboards, saxophones and percussion. While Recycled is by no means any competition for their 1971 debut album or their subsequent live release, Roadwork, it still houses a few punches that will catch you with your guard down if you aren't careful. Extreme musicianship dominates, but a few classic covers might have helped endear this release to its listeners. After all, that was the key to the original success. © Michael B. Smith © 2011 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/recycled-r52775

While his brother Johnny mainly sticks to blues and blues rock, Edgar likes to incorporate jazz, soul, rock, R&B as well as blues into his music. And while Johnny Winter is an incredibly talented guitarist, it is often forgotten that Edgar is a multi-instrumentalist, proficient on guitar, alto sax, bass, drums and keyboards. "Recycled" has nine great tracks. Tracks like the bluesy "The In And Out Of Love Blues", and the soul jazz "Parallel Love" are just two examples of Edgar Winter's musical styles. Jerry LaCroix is a fantastic vocalist and shines on this album. However, all the musicians involved are at their best. Jon Smith's sax and Marshall Cyr's trumpet work add a real funky soul flavour to the album. Edgar's piano work is also terrific. White Trash only released three albums and Edgar disbanded White Trash in July 1972, shortly after drummer Bobby Ramirez was tragically killed in a bar room fight. "Recycled" is a great and underrated album of blues, jazz, soul, R&B, and Texas-Louisiana style funk, and is VHR by A.O.O.F.C. Listen to the band's 1971 classic s/t album produced by Rick Derringer. Edgar Winter & Friends' "The Real Deal" album is a fabulous rockin' album and includes artists like Johnny Winter, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Rick Derringer, Ronnie Montrose, and Leon Russell. Also worth checking out is BS&T's 'Mirror Image' album, and also Rare Earth's 'Back To Earth' album which both feature the great vocalist, Jerry LaCroix. Edgar will be joining Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band's 12th All Starr tour, (2011) which will play venues in Russia, The Ukraine, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Latvia, Poland, England, Scotland, France, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, and Austria. Also joining Ringo Starr will be Rick Derringer on guitar, Richard Page on bass, Wally Palmar on guitar & harmonica, Gary Wright on keyboards and Gregg Bissonette on drums. Dates start on 4th June in Kiev, and finish on the 17th July in Vienna. If you get a chance, try and make one of these gigs.

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

SIDE 1

1 Puttin' it Back - E. Winter
2 Leftover Love - E. Winter
3 Shake It Off - J.Smith, G.Recile, D.Minatre
4 Stickin' It Out - E. Winter
5 New Wave - E. Winter, J.LaCroix

SIDE 2

Open Up - E. Winter
Parallel Love - E. Winter, J.LaCroix
The In And Out Of Love Blues - E. Winter, J.LaCroix
Competition - E. Winter

MUSICIANS

Dan Minatre, Dan Hartman, Floyd Radford - guitar
Robert "California" Arnold - bass
Edgar Winter - vocals, piano
Bobby Ramirez RIP, George Recile - drums
Jon Smith - sax
Marshall Cyr - trumpet
Jerry LaCroix - lead vocals

ABOUT EDGAR WINTER'S WHITE TRASH (WIKI)

Edgar Winter's White Trash is a 1970s rock band founded by Edgar Winter. Notable members included guitarist Rick Derringer and newcomer Jerry Lacroix on vocals, with Edgar's brother guitarist Johnny Winter a frequent contributor. Formed in 1971 after working on his brother's Second Winter and his own first solo effort Entrance, Edgar Winter's new band White Trash fused elements of funk, gospel, R&B and high-energy rock and roll, propelled by Winter's multi-instrumental workouts and Sly Stone influenced vocals and arrangements, Derringer's fiery guitar work and Lacroix's powerful gospel-tinged vocals. The band's first release, 1971's Edgar Winter's White Trash, was well received, and yielded the modest hit Keep Playing That Rock And Roll. The band toured extensively throughout 1971, developing a reputation as formidable live act. In 1972 following the release the double live LP Roadwork, the group disbanded to pursue individual interests and to make way for Edgar's next project The Edgar Winter Group. In 1977 White Trash reunited briefly in the studio to produce Recycled.

ABOUT EDGAR WINTER

Although he's often skirted the edges of blues music, at heart, saxophonist, keyboardist and composer Edgar Winter is a blues musician. Raised in Beaumont, TX, the younger brother of ukulele player and guitarist Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter has always pushed himself in new directions, synthesizing the rock, blues and jazz melodies he hears in his head. As a consequence, his fan base may not be what it could have been, had he made a conscious effort -- like his brother Johnny -- to stay in a blues-rock mold over the years. He's one musician who's never been afraid to venture into multiple musical arenas, often times, within the space of one album, as in his debut, Entrance (1970 Columbia Records). Edgar Winter, the second son of John and Edwina Winter, was born December 28, 1946 in Beaumont, TX, and much of the credit for Edgar and Johnny's early musical awareness must go to the brothers' parents, who have been a constant source of encouragement throughout their respective musical careers. The boys' father sang in a barbershop quartet, in their church choir, and played saxophone in a jazz group. Edgar and Johnny, who's three years older, began performing together as teens, playing local watering holes like Tom's Fish Camp before they were old enough to drink. The pair's early R&B and blues groups included Johnny and the Jammers, the Crystaliers and the Black Plague. In high school, Edgar became fascinated with the saxophone stylings of Julian "Cannonball" Adderley and Hank Crawford, and he began playing alto sax in earnest. As a pre-teen, he had played ukulele, like his older brother. But by the time he was of college age, Edgar had become competent on keyboards, bass, guitar and drums. Edgar was signed to Epic Records in 1970 after performing on his brother's Second Winter album. He recorded Entrance, his debut, which featured himself on most of the instruments. After radio success accompanying his brother on Johnny Winter And, he formed a large horn ensemble called White Trash. Although it was a short-lived group which broke up in mid-'72, Winter assembled another group to record two more albums for Epic Records, White Trash and Roadwork. Winter's single, "Keep Playing That Rock 'n' Roll," reached number 70 on the U.S. rock radio charts, and the album Roadwork hit number 23 on the album charts. By the summer of 1972, through constant touring, (and a ready willingness to do interviews, unlike his older brother), Winter formed the Edgar Winter Group in the summer of 1972. In January, 1973, Epic released They Only Come Out at Night, produced by guitarist Rick Derringer, which reached number three in the U.S. This album had Winter's most famous song, "Frankenstein," which reached number one in the U.S. in May of 1973. Later that year, "Free Ride" from the same album reached number 14. Although he's never matched that kind of commercial radio success again, Winter has continued to tour and record at a prolific pace. He relocated from New York City to Beverly Hills in 1989 to pursue movie score work, which he's had some success with, most notably with a slightly reworked version of "Frankenstein" for the movie Wayne's World II. Although his early-'70s albums like Entrance, White Trash, They Only Come Out at Night and Shock Treatment are bluesier affairs than some of his later albums, there are blues tunes like "Big City Woman" on one of his 1990s releases, Not a Kid Anymore (1994), on the Intersound label, and 1999's Winter Blues was almost wholly devoted to the idiom. A good introduction to Winter for those who weren't around in the early '70s is The Edgar Winter Collection (1993) on Rhino Records. © Richard Skelly © 2011 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/edgar-winter-p73272/biography

Lloyd Jones

Lloyd Jones - Lloyd 'Have Mercy' Jones - Live! - 1993 - Burnside Distribution

Great live raw bar room blues recorded by college students at the Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico California. "This was done over 17 years ago as a project for the local community college. We've grown a lot since then, but this recording brings back fond memories. Besides having my ol' friend Terry Hanck join in with "Crying Fool", this was the catylist for Joe Louis Walker to record "I Can't Get You Off My Mind" for Polygram Records. Since that time, others such as Coco Montoya, Curtis Salgado, and Clarence "Gatemouth Brown" have continued to cover my songs. I thank Bob Littel at The Sierra Nevada Brewery for such kind support of this music both then and now". - Lloyd Jones. "The Lloyd Jones Struggle" is a great album and worth hearing

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 Let's Have a Natural Ball - Albert King 7:46
2 Driving Wheel - Roosevelt Sykes 4:43
3 I'm a Fool for You - Ray Charles 7:57
4 Crying Fool - Terry Hanck 8:39
5 Goin' Away Baby - J. A. Lane, J. Rogers 6:37
6 Live It Up - Lloyd Jones 6:09
7 I Can't Get You off My Mind - Lloyd Jones 5:26
8 Gone to Main Street - McKinley Morganfield 8:16
9 It Hurts Me Too - James Marshall, Hudson Whittaker 5:22
10 Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky - Allen Toussaint 11:05

MUSICIANS

Lloyd Jones Guitar, Vocals
James Solberg Bass, Vocals (Background)
Glen Holstrom Organ, Piano
Mike Klobas Drums
Terry Hanck Sax (Tenor), Vocals on "Crying Fool"
Rudy Draco Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor) (solo on "It Hurts Me Too")
Bob Roden Sax (Tenor) (solos on "I'm a Fool for You", "Let's Have a Natural Ball", & "I Can't Get You off My Mind")

BIO

Lloyd Jones is a consummate guitarist- singer- songwriter- arranger- performer- band leader. One of the most original artists on the modern day blues scene, Jones is, in the words of Blues Revue, "certainly worthy of greater recognition." The release of his first recording for Blind Pig Records, Love Gotcha, should bring him the national and international acclamation he deserves. Jones was born in Seattle into a musical family, which moved to Portland soon afterward. "Yeah, I remember music was everywhere in our house growing up. My dad was playing Dixieland jazz records and trying to teach me to play trumpet when I was only five years old. My older brother played drums and showed me how. Then he took me to his band rehearsals and had me playing gigs when I was just 13. He took me to see James Brown in '64. you've got to imagine James in '64- ouch! Then B.B. King, Buddy Guy, even Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee - all this before I was out of high school. I was underage and totally mesmerized." Jones got deep into the blues and was the leader of Portland's most popular blues bands, Brown Sugar, in the early 7O's. "We got to work with touring musicians in those days, like Charlie Musselwhite, George "Harmonica" Smith, the Johnny Otis Show, Big Mama Thornton and Big Walter Horton. That's how we learned, and that's really when I first picked up the guitar. A lot of times these people would stay at our homes and teach us music and history. Some of them have passed now, so I cherish those memories. S.P. Leary, who was in Muddy Waters band and was playing drums with Big Walter at the time, leaned over to me as he was leaving town and said, "Man, I'm getting old. You gotta keep it alive. It's a struggle sometimes, but if you love it, you keep on struggling.'" Through the years Jones would continue to hone his craft by performing with the likes of Albert Collins, Robert Gray, Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, B.B. King, Dr. John, John Hammond, Etta James, Junior Wells and Buddy Guy, and many more music legends. In the 80's Jones joined forces with ex-Robert Cray singer/harp player Curtis Salgado in a band called In Yo' Face. "That was one fun band! Seemed like we all had the same record collection. Curtis really pushed me as a guitar player, and when he left in '85 to join Roomful of Blues I knew it was time to play my music." Jones knew what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it. The Lloyd Jones Struggle started in 1985 as a vehicle for his songwriting. "I love a good story. Most of the traditional blues stayed with a shuffle or slow blues. Being a drummer I keep hearing the rhythm of the words all broke down funky and swamp-a-fied; nice and relaxed but kind of turned inside out." Jones made two recordings in the late 80's for Criminal Records: The Lloyd Jones Struggle (1987) and Small Potatoes (1989). They won over a dozen local music awards, as well as acclaim from national music publications such as Down Beat and Guitar Player, which in turn led to some extensive touring for the band. In 1993 Jones released his third album, Lloyd 'Have Mercy' Jones -Live! on the Burnside Records label. In 1995 Lloyd Jones recorded a highly acclaimed album for the Audio Quest label, entitled Trouble Monkey. Blues Revue named it, "not only one of the best albums of 1995, it is one of the best albums of the 1990's," while Robert Cray called it "the best damn record I've heard in a long time!" Vintage Guitar Magazine said, "Jones offers vocals that would make Sam and Dave smile and guitar work Steve Cropper would be proud of" and referred to his affecting vocals as "gritty as a dirt road and smooth as melting butter." Lloyd's songwriting was starting to be noticed as well, with Joe Louis Walker and Gatemouth Brown covering two of his compositions. Jones and his band have become a mainstay on the West Coast circuit, and have brought their tasteful, crowd-pleasing brand of music from New Orleans to Canada to the Caribbean, where Delbert McClinton witnessed a performance and remarked, "When I heard Lloyd Jones live for the first time in January 1999, it was like exhaling after holding my breath for fifteen years." It was such a typically memorable set at the Santa Cruz Blues Festival that led to Jones' signing by Blind Pig Records. Jones describes his soulful and intelligent fusion of funk, blues, and R&B as "storytelling with a Memphis groove." His latest CD, Love Gotcha, presents Lloyd's writing at its trenchant best. His songs have the quality that makes them sound as if they have been around as blues standards for years or they seem to have fallen out of some time warp from the golden days of R&B. His approach to the guitar is both economical and rhythmically sophisticated, with a style that can be as delicate as it is devastating. And Jones' accomplished guitar and vocal work are complemented throughout the recording by some of the funkiest horn-rhythm-organ arrangements around. Blues lovers everywhere are about to discover what Lloyd Jones' fans already know - one taste of his beguiling music and you're captivated. Lloyd's gotcha! © 2006 Blind Pig Records, a division of Whole Hog, Inc. - All Rights Reserved C:\Documents and Settings\Paul\My Documents\Blind Pig Records.mht

War

War - All Day Music - 1971 - Island Records

One of War's great early "hard and raw" albums, with War's great Chicago funk sound. Check out the magnificent "Slipping Into Darkness." There is info on War's classic 1972' album, "The World Is a Ghetto " @ WAR/TWIAG

TRACKS

A1 All Day Music
A2 Get Down
A3 That's What Love Will Do
A4 There Must Be A Reason
B1 Nappy Head (Theme From 'Ghetto Man')
B2 Slipping Into Darkness
B3 Baby Brother
Recorded at Wally Heider Recording Studio (San Fransisco & Los Angeles), Crystal Studios (Los Angeles), and on location with the Far Out remote unit.
Track B3 recorded live June 30, 1971 at the United Artists 99cent Spectacular, Hollywood Bowl. Album was also released on United Artists Records, & MCA Records (Canada) in 1972

MUSICIANS

Bass, Percussion, Vocals - B.B. Dickerson
Composed By - War
Congas, Bongos, Percussion, Vocals - Papa Dee Allen
Drums, Percussion, Vocals - Harold Brown
Flute, Saxophone [Alto, Tenor, Baritone], Percussion, Vocals - Charles Miller
Guitar, Percussion, Vocals - Howard Scott
Harmonica, Percussion, Vocals - Lee Oskar
Organ, Piano, Percussion, Vocals - Lonnie Jordan

BIO

One of the most popular funk groups of the '70s, War were also one of the most eclectic, freely melding soul, Latin, jazz, blues, reggae, and rock influences into an effortlessly funky whole. Although War's lyrics were sometimes political in nature (in keeping with their racially integrated lineup), their music almost always had a sunny, laid-back vibe emblematic of their Southern California roots. War kept the groove loose, and they were given over to extended jamming -- in fact, many of their studio songs were edited together out of longer improvisations. Even if the jams sometimes got indulgent, they demonstrated War's truly group-minded approach: no one soloist or vocalist really stood above the others (even though all were clearly talented), and their grooving interplay placed War in the top echelon of funk ensembles.

The roots of War lay in an R&B cover band called the Creators. Guitarist Howard Scott and drummer Harold Brown started the group in 1962 while attending high school in the Compton area, and three years later, the lineup also featured keyboardist Leroy "Lonnie" Jordan, bassist Morris "B.B." Dickerson, and saxophonist/flutist Charles Miller (all of them sang). The group had an appetite for different sounds right from the start, ranging from R&B to blues to the Latin music they'd absorbed while growing up in the racially mixed ghettos of Los Angeles. Despite a two-year hiatus following Scott's induction into the service, they released several singles locally on Dore Records (their first, "Burn Baby Burn," was with singer Johnny Hamilton), and backed jazz saxophonist Jay Contreli, formerly of the psychedelic band Love; they also went by the names the Romeos and Señor Soul during this period. In 1968, the band was reconfigured and dubbed Nightshift; Peter Rosen was the new bassist, and percussionist Thomas Sylvester "Papa Dee" Allen, who'd previously played with Dizzy Gillespie, came onboard, along with two more horn players. B.B. Dickerson later returned when Rosen died of a drug overdose. In 1969, Nightshift began backing football star Deacon Jones (a defensive end for the L.A. Rams) during his singing performances in a small club, where they were discovered by producer Jerry Goldstein. Goldstein suggested the band as possible collaborators to former Animals lead singer Eric Burdon, who along with Danish-born harmonica player Lee Oskar (born Oskar Levetin Hansen) had been searching L.A. clubs for a new act.

After witnessing Nightshift in concert, Burdon took charge of the group. He gave them a provocative new name, War, and replaced the two extra horn players with Oskar. To develop material, War began playing marathon concert jams over which Burdon would free-associate lyrics. In August 1969, Burdon and War entered the studio for the first time, and after some more touring, they recorded their first album, 1970's Eric Burdon Declares War. The spaced-out daydream of "Spill the Wine" was a smash hit, climbing to number three and establishing the group in the public eye. A second album, The Black Man's Burdon, was released before the year's end, and over the course of two records it documented the group's increasingly long improvisations (as well as Burdon's growing tendency to ramble). It also featured War's first recorded vocal effort on "They Can't Take Away Our Music." Burdon's contract allowed War to be signed separately, and they soon inked a deal with United Artists, intending to record on their own as well as maintaining their partnership with Burdon. However, Burdon -- citing exhaustion -- suddenly quit during the middle of the group's European tour in 1971, spelling the beginning of the end; he rejoined War for a final U.S. tour and then left for good.

War had already issued their self-titled, Burdon-less debut at the beginning of 1971, but it flopped. Before the year was out, they recorded another effort, All Day Music, which spawned their first Top 40 hits in "All Day Music" and "Slippin' Into Darkness"; the album itself was a million-selling Top 20 hit. War really hit their stride on the follow-up album, 1972's The World Is a Ghetto; boosted by a sense of multicultural harmony, it topped the charts and sold over three million copies, making it the best-selling album of 1973. It also produced two Top Ten smashes in "The Cisco Kid" (which earned them a fervent following in the Latino community) and the title ballad. 1973's Deliver the Word was another million-selling hit, reaching the Top Ten and producing the Top Ten single "Gypsy Man" and another hit in "Me and Baby Brother." However, it had less of the urban grit that War prided themselves on; while taking some time to craft new material and rethink their direction, War consolidated their success with the double concert LP War Live, recorded over four nights in Chicago during 1974.

Released in 1975, Why Can't We Be Friends returned to the sound of The World Is a Ghetto with considerable success. The bright, anthemic title track hit the Top Ten, as did "Low Rider," an irresistible slice of Latin funk that became the group's first (and only) R&B chart-topper, and still stands as their best-known tune. 1976 brought the release of a greatest-hits package featuring the new song "Summer," which actually turned out to be War's final Top Ten pop hit; the same year, Oskar released his first solo album, backed by members of Santana. A double-LP compilation of jams and instrumentals appeared on the Blue Note jazz label in 1977, under the title Platinum Jazz; it quickly became one of the best-selling albums in Blue Note history, and produced an R&B-chart smash with an edited version of "L.A. Sunshine."

Yet disco was beginning to threaten the gritty, socially aware funk War specialized in. Later in 1977, the band switched labels, moving to MCA for Galaxy; though it sold respectably, and the disco-tinged title track was a hit on the R&B charts, it fizzled on the pop side, and proved to be the last time War would hit the Top 40. After completing the Youngblood soundtrack album in 1978, the original War lineup began to disintegrate. Dickerson left during the recording of 1979's The Music Band (which featured new female vocalist Alice Tweed Smith), and not long after, Charles Miller was murdered in a robbery attempt. After The Music Band was released, the remaining members attempted to refashion their image to fit the glitz of the era, and added some new personnel: bassist Luther Rabb, percussionist Ronnie Hammon, and saxophonist Pat Rizzo (ex-Sly & the Family Stone). The Music Band 2 flopped, and the group was thrown into disarray; Smith exited, and the follow-up took an uncharacteristic three years to prepare. Released in 1982, Outlaw was a moderate success; the title track was a Top 20 R&B hit, and "Cinco de Mayo" became a Latino holiday standard. Yet it didn't restore War's commercial standing. Rizzo left later in the year; Harold Brown followed in 1983, after Life Is So Strange flopped; and Rabb was replaced with Ricky Green in 1984. In the years that followed, War was essentially a touring outfit and nothing more. Papa Dee Allen collapsed and died on-stage of a brain aneurysm in 1988, leaving Jordan, Hammon, Oskar, and Scott as the core membership (Oskar would finally leave in 1992). Interest in War's classic material remained steady, however, thanks to frequent sampling of their grooves by hip-hop artists. 1992's Rap Declares War paired the band with a variety of rappers, paving the way for the 1994 comeback attempt Peace Sign; for that record, Brown returned on drums, and Jordan (now on bass), Scott, and Hammon were joined by saxophonists Kerry Campbell and Charles Green, percussionist Sal Rodriguez, harmonica player Tetsuya "Tex" Nakamura, and Brown's son, programmer Rae Valentine (plus guests Lee Oskar and José Feliciano). The album failed to chart, however, and the group returned to the touring circuit. Brown and Scott left the lineup in 1997. © Steve Huey, All Music Guide

Tower Of Power

Tower Of Power - Live And In Living Color - 1976 - Warner Bros
Recorded at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium and Cerritos College in 1976, this album proves the old adage - It's "quality not quantity" that counts. This album has got to be one of the best live albums ever recorded. It may be short, but it has five classic live tracks. The vocals, the musicianship, and the sheer energy of this incredible live R&B/Funk band make this album a seventies classic, and VHR by A.O.O.F.C.  Check out TOP's "Back To Oakland" album [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 108 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1.Down to the Nightclub - Castillo, Garibaldi, Kupka
2.You're Still a Young Man - Castillo, Kupka
3.What Is Hip? - Castillo, Garibaldi, Kupka
4.Sparkling in the Sand - Lopez, Castillo, Kupka
5.Knock Yourself Out - Castillo, Kupka

BAND

Lenny Pickett - Flute, Saxophone, Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor)
Francis Prestia - Bass
Chester Thompson - Organ, Keyboards, Clavinet, Vocals
Hubert Tubbs - Vocals
Greg Adams - Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Vocals, Horn
Emilio Castillo - Sax (Tenor), Producer, Vocals
Bruce Conte - Guitar, Vocals
David Garibaldi - Drums
Mic Gillette - Trombone, Flugelhorn, Piccolo, Horn, Vocals, Trumpet
Stephen "Doc" Kupka - Saxophone, Vocals, Sax (Baritone)

REVIEW

The band's final album for Warner Bros. before it decamped to Columbia, the absolutely stunning 1975 Live and in Living Color ensured that Tower of Power left in a blaze of glory. Recorded at Sacramento Memorial Auditorium and Cerritos College, the group brought what remains one of the era's finest live albums to glorious fruition. Leaving behind the dismal soul of its previous In the Slot, the band fell back on its two great strengths -- classy live performance and unerring funk. With every ounce of the group's full energy packed into the grooves and a little more added for emphasis, Live squeezes out five tracks of epic proportions. Reaching back to its debut LP, East Bay Grease, Tower of Power jammed on a majestic 23-minute rendition of "Knock Yourself Out" and the sleepy classic "Sparkling in the Sand," before continuing its sonic domination across two songs pulled from Bump City. "Down to the Nightclub (Bump City)" is effusive, while "You're Still a Young Man" is an absolutely outstanding performance of one of TOP's finest songs -- and judging by the audience enthusiasm, it packed as much power in 1976 as it did in 1972 (and indeed, still does today). Courageously, only one track, "What Is Hip?," emerges from the group's most successful era, but with its rock riffing slices and roiling organ solo, you really don't need anything else -- it stands well as a lone representative of what many hail as TOP's finest hour. There's nothing to fault here except, possibly, the decision to release a mere single disc at a time when live double albums were becoming de rigueur, a move guaranteed to leave listeners crying for more. But perhaps that was the intent all along -- too little is always sweeter than too much. © Amy Hanson, All Music Guide

BIO (WIKI)

Tower of Power is a 10 member horn-based soul band from Oakland, California. In the mid-1960s, 17-year-old tenor saxophonist Emilio Castillo moved from Detroit, Michigan, to Fremont, California. He started a band called 'The Gotham City Crime Fighters' which evolved into 'The Motowns', including bassist Francis 'Rocco' Prestia, specializing in soul music covers. During 1968, Castillo teamed up with baritone saxophonist Stephen Kupka (later to be dubbed 'The Funky Doctor') and trumpet/trombone player Mic Gillette, moved to Oakland, and together began writing and performing original material. One of their early influences was the now late great Soul Pioneer artist James Brown. They changed the band's name to 'Tower of Power' and began playing frequently in the Bay Area. In 1970, Tower of Power (by then including trumpeter/arranger Greg Adams, and drummer David Garibaldi) signed a recording contract with Bill Graham's San Francisco Records and quickly released its first album, East Bay Grease. Next, augmented by percussionist/conga/bongo player Brent Byars, they moved to Warner Bros. Records and 1972's Bump City and 1973's self-titled release, Tower of Power, were breakout albums for the band. The former album included "You're Still a Young Man", which peaked at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972. The latter album contained possibly their most enduring song, "What is Hip?" Tower of Power was the third album release for the Oakland-based band. This was the group's most successful album to date, released in the spring of 1973. The album peaked at #15 on the Billboard Pop Album chart in 1973 and received a gold record award for sales in excess of 500,000. The Album also spawned their most-successful single "So Very Hard To Go". Although the single only peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100, "So Very Hard To Go" landed in the Top 10 on the surveys of many West Coast Top 40 radio stations, hitting #1 on most of them. The Album also charted two other singles on the Billboard Hot 100, "This Time It's Real" and "What Is Hip?" 1974's Back to Oakland spawned another hit, "Don't Change Horses (in the Middle of a Stream)," that reached #26 on the Billboard Hot 100, plus "Time Will Tell," which charted at #69. On some of their releases in the mid-1970s, such as Urban Renewal (1974), the band moved more towards funk from soul; however, they continued recording ballads as well. After vocalist Lenny Williams moved on, the band's days of chart radio airplay declined. During the later 1970s, they briefly tried recording somewhat disco-sounding material. Tower of Power has remained active throughout the years, and still tours extensively and worldwide today. Inevitably, over a nearly 40-year span, some personnel changes have been part of the history and evolution of this funk and soul institution. At least 60 musicians have been touring and/or recording members of the group through the years, including current Saturday Night Live musical director/saxophonist Lenny Pickett, drummer David Garibaldi, bassist Rocco Prestia, organ master Chester Thompson, saxophonists Richard Elliot and Euge Groove, and early guitarist Bruce Conte, whose cousin and BALCO founder Victor Conte also briefly played bass guitar in the band from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. One of their original vocalists, Rick Stevens, after leaving the band, was sentenced to life in prison on three counts of first-degree murder. The other original vocalist, Rufus Miller, performed most of the lead vocals on 'East Bay Grease'. Bruce Conte recently rejoined ToP, replacing almost 10-year ToP veteran guitarist Jeff Tamelier, and even more recently departed again, after slightly more than a year, quoting personal recording projects and health issues. Long term fans will note that for this relatively short period during 2006–2007, that ToP (with Bruce) had 5 of their (then) 11 'Back-in-the-Day' members 'Back-on-the-Stage'. Next, following Bruce into the guitarist position was Charles Spikes (very capable, though temporary, while auditions for a permanent player were held), and currently Mark Harper, who so far, from an audience perspective, seems to be a valuable addition to the group, and who also offers powerful yet accurate harmony vocals. Tower of Power has released 18 albums over the years (Compilations and regional variations not included), the latest being 2003's 'return to form' CD, entitled Oakland Zone. In addition, their horn section has become well-known as a backing unit for other artists. The ToP horn section has appeared on many artists' recordings, including Little Feat, the Monkees, Santana, Elton John, Linda Lewis, RAD. (Rose Ann Dimalanta), John Lee Hooker, Rod Stewart, Jefferson Starship, Heart, Huey Lewis and the News, Spyro Gyra, Lyle Lovett, Poison, Phish, Toto, Pharoahe Monch, and Aerosmith. Tower's early song, 'So Very Hard To Go' was featured in the soundtrack of the 2002 film City of God. The ToP Horns' most notable touring was as part of the Top 40 Pop group 'Huey Lewis and The News', during the mid-80's. They joined for the 'Sports' tour, to support Huey's highly successful album of the same name, recorded on several of Huey's next albums, and Huey enjoyed the experience so much that he later hired other horn players to continue the bigger sound he had achieved with the Tower Horns. - Huey has collaborated in a few of Tower's song writings. Tower of Power has also made special guest appearances on the albums of other major recording solo artists. In 1993, the band was featured on Luis Miguel's album Aries, in a cover of "Attitude Dance" titled "Que Nivel de Mujer". Most recently, Tower of Power has been featured on Josh Groban's Awake album, during an instrumental break in "Machine". Tower of Power recently performed in Pitman High School (California) in 2004

War

War - The World Is A Ghetto - 1972 - Avenue Records

A classic seventies album. "War" at their best! This is the album that made WAR a crossover success, mainly due to title track. Songs like "Cisco Kid", "The World Is A Ghetto" became landmarks of that era. The other four tracks are simply hard to find in any other album of that kind. Take a trip back to '72 and discover (or re-discover) this astonishing album..

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1. The Cisco Kid - Lee Oskar, Lonnie Jordan, Thomas Allen, Harold Brown, Howard Scott, Charles Miller, Morris Dickerson
2. Where Was You At - Lee Oskar, Lonnie Jordan, Harold Brown, B.B. Dickerson, Howard Scott, Charles Miller, Sylvester Allen
3. City, Country, City - Lee Oskar, Lonnie Jordan, Thomas Allen, Harold Brown, B.B. Dickerson, Howard Scott
4. Four Cornered Room - War, Richard Warner
5. The World Is A Ghetto - Lee Oskar, Lonnie Jordan, Papa Dee Allen, Harold Brown, B.B. Dickerson, Howard Scott, Charles Miller
6. Beetles In The Bog - Richard Warner

CREDITS

War (Main Performer), Lee Oskar (Harmonica), Lee Oskar (Percussion), Lee Oskar (Vocals), Lee Oskar (Concept), Lonnie Jordan (Organ), Lonnie Jordan (Percussion), Lonnie Jordan (Piano), Lonnie Jordan (Timbales), Lonnie Jordan (Vocals), Lonnie Jordan (Producer), Ken Perry (Remastering), Papa Dee Allen (Percussion), Papa Dee Allen (Bongos), Papa Dee Allen (Conga), Papa Dee Allen (Vocals), Harold Brown (Percussion), Harold Brown (Drums), Harold Brown (Vocals), B.B. Dickerson (Bass), B.B. Dickerson (Percussion), B.B. Dickerson (Vocals), Joe Gastwirt (Mastering), Jerry Goldstein (Producer), Chris Huston (Engineer), Bill Inglot (Remastering), Howard Scott (Guitar), Howard Scott (Percussion), Howard Scott (Vocals), Howard Scott (Producer), Charles Miller (Clarinet), Charles Miller (Sax (Alto)), Charles Miller (Sax (Baritone)), Charles Miller (Sax (Tenor)), Charles Miller (Vocals), Abbey Anna (Coordination), Art Slave, Bob Gordon (Photography) #msnlivesearch1{width:300px;height:60px;background-image:url(/main/images/livesearch300.gif);background-position:top left;background-repeat:no-repeat;}

REVIEWS

Essential recording. Best known for its distinctive fusion of Latin-flavored jazz, funk, rock, and soul, War was unquestionably one of the most successful fusion bands to emerge in the early '70s. Initially working with Eric Burdon, former lead singer with the British '60s band the Animals, the seven-member team enjoyed a commercial breakthrough with 1971's "All Day Music." The follow-up, The World Is a Ghetto took War mainstream thanks to the crossover success of the title track, a top 10 pop and R&B smash as 1972 became 1973. Cuts like the 13-minute-plus jazz-flavored adventure known as "City, Country, City" alongside the witty "Where Was You At" and the eerie "Four Cornered Room" were standouts on the six-track album. But it was the immediacy of the No. 2 pop single "The Cisco Kid," with its catchy hook that helped give the band a chart-topping No. 1 gold-selling album in 1973, arguably the best representation of its work as groove pioneers of the day. © David Nathan © 1996-2007, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates
On THE WORLD IS A GHETTO, War's artistic vision moves one step beyond the preceding ALL DAY MUSIC. The band's multicultural musical stew is better blended, the social commentary of its lyrics more pointed, and its grooves are tighter and meaner. As the title indicates, THE WORLD IS A GHETTO is a dark album, but in the best possible sense--deep, thick beats predominate, as on the alternately punchy and dreamy title cut and the hypnotic "Four Cornered Room." The irresistible "The Cisco Kid" marries a slow Latin rhythm to pulsing funk on a song about the 1950s television hero, and the lively combination sent the tune up the charts. The syncopated backbeat to the New Orleans-flavored "Where Was You At" is infectious, while "City, Country, City" is an extended instrumental that allows each band member to stretch out with Latin, R&B, and jazz-inspired improvisations. One of the best-selling albums of '73, this disc is arguably War's finest. © 1996 - 2007 CD Universe
War has progressed far and fast since they disassociated themselves with Eric Burdon, with whom they had committed the all-time War atrocity, "Spill The Wine." Relieved of the necessity of shouldering this Burdon, they've developed a full, luscious sound that's engagingly funky. All Day Music saw the evolvement of this disctinctly urban sound to a point just short of proficiency -- War could talk but hadn't yet mastered the language. With The World Is a Ghetto, they edge even closer to total mastery of their music as they attempt to use it to communicate the essence of ghetto life.
It begins with "The Cisco Kid," a song just teeming with imagery about Cisco and obese buddy Pancho. Sittin' down by the Rio Grande, drinkin' wine and "eatin' salted peanuts from the can" C.K. and Pancho are no more than a fantasy in the minds of the ghetto youth singing their praises, but an important fantasy because it allows them hope, heroes, and a temporary respite from the harsh realities of ghetto existence. "Where Was You At," which follows, is a true delight, a soulful get-down cut from the Isley Brothers mold. Shit, man, just the kinda funk you need to get off on the good foot! These two cuts are truly Watts and Harlem unleashed -- ghetto life at its most brazen.
"City, Country, City" is a tour de force energizer in which everybody gets his musical rocks off. Through a series of solos ahead of varying rhythmic percussion accompaniment, War attempts to convey the hustle and bustle of a ghetto day, sandwiched between the comparitive calm of morning and night. It works well despite one terrible flaw, a total failure to communicate the desperate urgency of the situation. Somehow the boiling rage and pent-up frustration never seem to surface. By totally ignoring the blues heritage so richly ingrained in ghetto life (a major component of Savoy Brown and Santana in similar albums), War ends up conveying the mistaken impression that ghetto-dwellers are content with their lot. Given the fact that even black ghetto youth are similarly ignoring this heritage, the absence of a significant blues component in War's music is understandable, even factually accurate. Nonetheless, it's regrettable.
"Four Cornered Room" is a Temptationesque choral ballad, mildly interesting but hardly worth the eight and a half minutes devoted to it. But the title track is simply the most successful use of the "Groovin'" motif since the Rascals tantalized urban America with the prototype. A study in casual, laid-back musical discipline, it soothes savage passions, lulling them to sleep to be awakened only by the stark, sudden refrain, "the world is a ghetto." Charles Miller's sax solo is magnificent, as definitive a statement of emotion as can be imagined.
While they've yet to reach perfection (as they insist on demonstrating with self-indulgent crap like "Beetles in the Bog"), War has reached the point where they're becoming a significant force in the jazz and soul fields. Add a pinch of da blooze and they could well be artistic knockouts. © Gordon Fletcher, Rolling Stone, 3/1/73.
1972's Billboard's Album Of The Year, the career defining The World Is A Ghetto would place WAR at the top of the charts (reaching #1 on the pop album chart). On the chart for more than 68 weeks, this album sold more than three million copies and was the best-selling pop album of 1973. Beyond the commercial success, however, The World Is A Ghetto remains an influential masterpiece transcending musical, economic and social barriers. Whether it's addressing urban desolation in "The World Is A Ghetto" (#3 R&B), kickin' a funky ode to a '50s Latino television hero with "The Cisco Kid" (#5 R&B, #2 Pop) or breaking into an instrumental jazz-funk jam in "City, County, City", this is WAR at the height of their powers. © Rhino Records

War's third album as an act separate from Eric Burdon was also far and away their most popular, the group's only long-player to top the pop charts. The culmination of everything they'd been shooting for creatively on their two prior albums, it featured work in both succinct pop-accessible idioms ("The Cisco Kid," etc.) as well as challenging extended pieces such as the 13-minute "City, Country, City" -- which offered featured spots to all seven members without ever seeming disjointed -- and the title track, and encompass not only soul and funk but elements of blues and psychedelia on works such as the exquisite "Four Cornered Room." "The Cisco Kid" and "The World Is a Ghetto" understandably dominated the album's exposure, but there's much more to enjoy here, even decades on. Beyond the quality of the musicianship, the classy, forward-looking production has held up remarkably well, and not just on the most famous cuts here; indeed, The World Is a Ghetto is of a piece with Marvin Gaye's What's Going On and Curtis Mayfield's Curtis, utilizing the most sophisticated studio techniques of the era. Not only does it sound great, but there are important touches such as the phasing in "Four Cornered Room," not only on the percussion but also on the vocals, guitars, and other instruments, and the overall effect is a seemingly contradictory (yet eminently workable) shimmering blues, even working in a mournful and unadorned harmonica amid the more complex sounds. © Bruce Eder, All Music Guide

BIO

One of the most popular funk groups of the '70s, War were also one of the most eclectic, freely melding soul, Latin, jazz, blues, reggae, and rock influences into an effortlessly funky whole. Although War's lyrics were sometimes political in nature (in keeping with their racially integrated lineup), their music almost always had a sunny, laid-back vibe emblematic of their Southern California roots. War kept the groove loose, and they were given over to extended jamming -- in fact, many of their studio songs were edited together out of longer improvisations. Even if the jams sometimes got indulgent, they demonstrated War's truly group-minded approach: no one soloist or vocalist really stood above the others (even though all were clearly talented), and their grooving interplay placed War in the top echelon of funk ensembles.

The roots of War lay in an R&B cover band called the Creators. Guitarist Howard Scott and drummer Harold Brown started the group in 1962 while attending high school in the Compton area, and three years later, the lineup also featured keyboardist Leroy "Lonnie" Jordan, bassist Morris "B.B." Dickerson, and saxophonist/flutist Charles Miller (all of them sang). The group had an appetite for different sounds right from the start, ranging from R&B to blues to the Latin music they'd absorbed while growing up in the racially mixed ghettos of Los Angeles. Despite a two-year hiatus following Scott's induction into the service, they released several singles locally on Dore Records (their first, "Burn Baby Burn," was with singer Johnny Hamilton), and backed jazz saxophonist Jay Contreli, formerly of the psychedelic band Love; they also went by the names the Romeos and Señor Soul during this period. In 1968, the band was reconfigured and dubbed Nightshift; Peter Rosen was the new bassist, and percussionist Thomas Sylvester "Papa Dee" Allen, who'd previously played with Dizzy Gillespie, came onboard, along with two more horn players. B.B. Dickerson later returned when Rosen died of a drug overdose. In 1969, Nightshift began backing football star Deacon Jones (a defensive end for the L.A. Rams) during his singing performances in a small club, where they were discovered by producer Jerry Goldstein. Goldstein suggested the band as possible collaborators to former Animals lead singer Eric Burdon, who along with Danish-born harmonica player Lee Oskar (born Oskar Levetin Hansen) had been searching L.A. clubs for a new act.

After witnessing Nightshift in concert, Burdon took charge of the group. He gave them a provocative new name, War, and replaced the two extra horn players with Oskar. To develop material, War began playing marathon concert jams over which Burdon would free-associate lyrics. In August 1969, Burdon and War entered the studio for the first time, and after some more touring, they recorded their first album, 1970's Eric Burdon Declares War. The spaced-out daydream of "Spill the Wine" was a smash hit, climbing to number three and establishing the group in the public eye. A second album, The Black Man's Burdon, was released before the year's end, and over the course of two records it documented the group's increasingly long improvisations (as well as Burdon's growing tendency to ramble). It also featured War's first recorded vocal effort on "They Can't Take Away Our Music." Burdon's contract allowed War to be signed separately, and they soon inked a deal with United Artists, intending to record on their own as well as maintaining their partnership with Burdon. However, Burdon -- citing exhaustion -- suddenly quit during the middle of the group's European tour in 1971, spelling the beginning of the end; he rejoined War for a final U.S. tour and then left for good.

War had already issued their self-titled, Burdon-less debut at the beginning of 1971, but it flopped. Before the year was out, they recorded another effort, All Day Music, which spawned their first Top 40 hits in "All Day Music" and "Slippin' Into Darkness"; the album itself was a million-selling Top 20 hit. War really hit their stride on the follow-up album, 1972's The World Is a Ghetto; boosted by a sense of multicultural harmony, it topped the charts and sold over three million copies, making it the best-selling album of 1973. It also produced two Top Ten smashes in "The Cisco Kid" (which earned them a fervent following in the Latino community) and the title ballad. 1973's Deliver the Word was another million-selling hit, reaching the Top Ten and producing the Top Ten single "Gypsy Man" and another hit in "Me and Baby Brother." However, it had less of the urban grit that War prided themselves on; while taking some time to craft new material and rethink their direction, War consolidated their success with the double concert LP War Live, recorded over four nights in Chicago during 1974.

Released in 1975, Why Can't We Be Friends returned to the sound of The World Is a Ghetto with considerable success. The bright, anthemic title track hit the Top Ten, as did "Low Rider," an irresistible slice of Latin funk that became the group's first (and only) R&B chart-topper, and still stands as their best-known tune. 1976 brought the release of a greatest-hits package featuring the new song "Summer," which actually turned out to be War's final Top Ten pop hit; the same year, Oskar released his first solo album, backed by members of Santana. A double-LP compilation of jams and instrumentals appeared on the Blue Note jazz label in 1977, under the title Platinum Jazz; it quickly became one of the best-selling albums in Blue Note history, and produced an R&B-chart smash with an edited version of "L.A. Sunshine."

Yet disco was beginning to threaten the gritty, socially aware funk War specialized in. Later in 1977, the band switched labels, moving to MCA for Galaxy; though it sold respectably, and the disco-tinged title track was a hit on the R&B charts, it fizzled on the pop side, and proved to be the last time War would hit the Top 40. After completing the Youngblood soundtrack album in 1978, the original War lineup began to disintegrate. Dickerson left during the recording of 1979's The Music Band (which featured new female vocalist Alice Tweed Smith), and not long after, Charles Miller was murdered in a robbery attempt. After The Music Band was released, the remaining members attempted to refashion their image to fit the glitz of the era, and added some new personnel: bassist Luther Rabb, percussionist Ronnie Hammon, and saxophonist Pat Rizzo (ex-Sly & the Family Stone). The Music Band 2 flopped, and the group was thrown into disarray; Smith exited, and the follow-up took an uncharacteristic three years to prepare. Released in 1982, Outlaw was a moderate success; the title track was a Top 20 R&B hit, and "Cinco de Mayo" became a Latino holiday standard. Yet it didn't restore War's commercial standing. Rizzo left later in the year; Harold Brown followed in 1983, after Life Is So Strange flopped; and Rabb was replaced with Ricky Green in 1984. In the years that followed, War was essentially a touring outfit and nothing more. Papa Dee Allen collapsed and died on-stage of a brain aneurysm in 1988, leaving Jordan, Hammon, Oskar, and Scott as the core membership (Oskar would finally leave in 1992). Interest in War's classic material remained steady, however, thanks to frequent sampling of their grooves by hip-hop artists. 1992's Rap Declares War paired the band with a variety of rappers, paving the way for the 1994 comeback attempt Peace Sign; for that record, Brown returned on drums, and Jordan (now on bass), Scott, and Hammon were joined by saxophonists Kerry Campbell and Charles Green, percussionist Sal Rodriguez, harmonica player Tetsuya "Tex" Nakamura, and Brown's son, programmer Rae Valentine (plus guests Lee Oskar and José Feliciano). The album failed to chart, however, and the group returned to the touring circuit. Brown and Scott left the lineup in 1997. © Steve Huey, All Music Guide

Tower Of Power

Tower Of Power - Back To Oakland - 1974 - Warner Bros

Not regarded as one of Tower of Power's better albums, but it contains plenty of funky syncophated rhythms, some great instrumentals, and brilliant horn arangements.Check out their brilliant instrumental, Squib Cakes. One of the best R&B/Soul albums of the seventies. Also check out the Average White Band, and Blood Sweat & Tears.

TRACKS

A1 Oakland Stroke... (0:53) - Written By David Garibaldi , Emilio Castillo , Stephen Kupka
A2 Don't Change Horses (In The Middle Of A Stream) (4:28) - Written By .J. Watson , Lenny Williams. Arranged By Tower Of Power. Backing Vocals Marilyn Scott , Pepper Watkins
A3 Just When We Start Makin' It (6:30) - Written By Emilio Castillo , Lenny Williams , Stephen Kupka. Arranged By Greg Adams. Backing Vocals Marilyn Scott , Pepper Watkins. Conductor [Strings] Greg Adams
A4 Can't You See (You Doin' Me Wrong) (3:00) - Written By Emilio Castillo , Lenny Williams , Stephen Kupka. Arranged By Greg Adams , Tower Of Power. Backing Vocals Marilyn Scott , Pepper Watkins
A5 Squib Cakes (7:49) - Written By Chester Thompson . Arranged By Chester Thompson.
B1 Time Will Tell (3:11) - Written By Emilio Castillo , Stephen Kupka. Arranged By Greg Adams. Backing Vocals Alice Thompson , Marilyn Scott. Trombone Kell Houston , Ray Gillette.
B2 Man From The Past (4:00) - Written By Emilio Castillo , Lenny Williams , Stephen Kupka. Arranged By Tower Of Power. Conductor [Strings] Greg Adams
B3 Love's Been Gone So Long (4:47 ) - Written By Bruce Conte. Arranged By Greg Adams. Conductor [Strings] Greg Adams
B4 I Got The Chop (2:59) - Written By Emilio Castillo , Stephen Kupka. Arranged By Tower Of Power
B5 Below Us, All The City Lights (4:20) - Written By Emilio Castillo , Stephen Kupka. Arranged By Greg Adams. Conductor [Strings] Harry Betts. Flute, Flute [Alto], Saxophone [Alto], Piccolo Flute Bud Shank. French Horn David Duke , Richard Perissi , Vincent DeRosa. Trombone - Frank Rosolino , Tom Shepard .
B6 ...Oakland Stroke (1:08) - Written By David Garibaldi , Emilio Castillo , Stephen Kupka.

CREDITS

Richard Perissi French Horn
Lenny Pickett Flute, Flute (Alto), Piccolo, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor), Sax (Bass), Sax (Baritone), Sax (Alto)
Francis Prestia Bass
Frank Rosolino Trombone
Tommy Shepard Trombone
Bruce Steinberg Art Direction, Cover Design, Photography
Chester Thompson Organ, Synthesizer, Vocals (Background), Clavinet, Piano
Pepper Watkins Vocals (Background)
Vincent DeRosa French Horn
Ray Guilette Trombone
Kell Houston Trombone
Stephen Kupka Horn (English), Vocals (Background), Sax (Baritone)
Greg Adams Strings, Trumpet, Conductor, Flugelhorn, Vocals (Background), Bells, Arranger
Thomas Shepard Trombone
Alice Thompson Vocals (Background)
Ali Thompson Vocals
Marilyn Scott Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Harry Betts Conductor
Brent Byars Conga
Emilio Castillo Sax (Tenor), Vocals (Background)
Bruce Conte Guitar, Vocals (Background)
David Duke French Horn
Jim Gaines Engineer
David Garibaldi Drums
Mic Gillette Trombone, Flugelhorn, Trumpet, Trombone (Bass), Vocals (Background)
Stephen "Doc" Kupka Horn (English), Sax (Baritone), Vocals (Background)
Tower of Power Producer, Main Performer
Lenny Williams Vocals
Bud Shank Flute, Sax (Alto), Piccolo, Flute (Alto)

REVIEWS

Tower of Power followed their self-titled gold album with an even better album that didn't enjoy similar sales success. Back to Oakland had tougher, funkier and better-produced cuts, stronger vocals from Lenny Williams (who was more comfortable as their lead singer), and included an excellent ballad in "Time Will Tell," and a rousing tempo in "Don't Change Horses (In the Middle of a Stream)." The Tower of Power horn section reaffirmed its reputation in both soul and pop circles, and the album included a powerhouse instrumental. © Ron Wynn, All Music Guide
Paying tribute to their hometown, Tower Of Power's BACK TO OAKLAND is a landmark in the group's history. Sporting the syncopated instrumental "Oakland Stroke" that bookends the disc, this set is the very definition of the Tower Of Power sound and style, powered by both the ultra-funky rhythm section and the world-renowned Tower Of Power horns. Vocalist Lenny Williams is the guiding light through R&B-flavored cuts like the bouncing "Don't Change Horses (In the Middle of the Stream)" and the dramatic ballad "Just When We Start Makin' It." It's the signature instrumental "Squib Cakes," however, that opens the floodgates to all the funky power that the band can muster; it's the group's premiere showcase, with hearty contributions from keyboardist Chester Thompson, drummer David Garibaldi, and the entire stellar horn section. © 1996 - 2007 CD Universe

ABOUT THE GROUP

In the mid-1960s, 17-year-old tenor saxophonist Emilio Castillo moved from Detroit, Michigan, to Fremont, California. He started a band called The Gotham City Crime Fighters[1] which evolved into the Motowns, specializing in soul music. In 1968, Castillo teamed up with baritone saxophonist Stephen "Doc" Kupka (aka "The Funky Doctor") and trumpet/trombone player Mic Gillette, moved to Oakland, and began writing original material. They changed the band's name to Tower of Power and began playing frequently in the Bay Area.
In 1970, Tower of Power (by then including trumpeter Greg Adams) signed a recording contract with Bill Graham's San Francisco Records and quickly released its first album, East Bay Grease. They moved to Warner Bros. Records and 1972's Bump City and 1973's self-titled release were breakout albums for the band; the latter included possibly their most enduring song, What is Hip?. On some of their releases in mid-1970s, such as Urban Renewal (1974), the band moved towards funk, but always continued recording ballads as well. After vocalist Lenny Williams left, the band's days of commercial success were over. In late 1970s they moved towards disco sounds.
Tower of Power has remained active throughout the years, and is still touring. Personnel changes have been part of the history and evolution of the band; at least 60 musicians have performed, toured, and/or recorded with the band through the years, including Saturday Night Live musical director Lenny Pickett, drummer David Garibaldi, trumpet Rick Waychesko, bassist Rocco Prestia, saxophonist Richard Elliot, and bassist and BALCO founder Victor Conte whose cousin Bruce Conte played guitar in the band as well (Bruce Conte has recently rejoined). After leaving the band, one of their original vocalists, Rick Stevens, was sentenced to life in prison on three counts of first-degree murder. The other original vocalist, Rufus Miller, performed most of the lead vocals on "East Bay Grease."
Tower of Power has released 18 albums over the years (Compilations and regional variations not included), the latest being 2003's return to form Oakland Zone. In addition, the horn section has become well-known as a backing unit for other artists. The TOP horn section has appeared on many artists' recordings, including Little Feat, the Monkees, Santana, Elton John, Linda Lewis, John Lee Hooker, Rod Stewart, Jefferson Starship, Heart, Huey Lewis and the News, Spyro Gyra, Lyle Lovett, Poison, Phish, and Aerosmith. The song, "So Very Hard To Go" was featured in the soundtrack of the film City of God.
Tower of Power has also made special guest appearances in the albums of other major recording solo artists. In 1993, the band was featured in Luis Miguel's album Aries, in a cover of "Attitude Dance" titled "Que Nivel de Mujer." Most recently, Tower of Power has been featured on Josh Groban's Awake album, during an instrumental break in Machine. Copyright © 2007 Answers Corporation. All rights reserved