Amazon.com essential recording
At their best, War walked a line between bleak evocations of inner-city life seen from their California vantage point ("
The World Is a Ghetto," "Me and Baby Brother") and delightful affirmations that came complete with winking humor ("The Cisco Kid," "
Why Can't We Be Friends?"). All those songs and more fill
Grooves & Messages's first disc; the second collects remixes of some of the classics, both strikingly effective (Soundprops' mellow take on "Tobacco Road") and less so (the Ganja Kru's by-the-numbers drum & bass "Low Rider"). Still, those with an ear for both old- and new-school sounds who haven't invested in a War CD may find this two-for-the-price-of-one package irresistible.
--Rickey Wright
Album Description
Disc One is a Best of Collection. Disc Two Contains Remixes by Armand Van Helden, Ganja Kru, and Peter Kies.