Grooves & Messages: Greatest Hits of War

Disc 1
1	Spill the Wine 4:06
2	Tobacco Road 6:30
3	All Day Music 3:58
4	Slippin' into Darkness 6:58
5	The World Is a Ghetto 4:03
6	The Cisco Kid 4:27
7	City, Country, City 4:00
8	Gypsy Man 5:23
9	Me and Baby Brother 3:36
10	Why Can't We Be Friends? 3:47
11	Low Rider 3:10
12	Summer 6:36
13	Galaxy 2000 4:00
14	Outlaw 3:59
15	You Got the Power 4:02
16	East L.A. 5:41
Disc 2
1	Slippin' into Darkness Armand Van Helden Remix 8:46
2	Low Rider Ganja Kru Remix 7:44
3	Galaxy 2000 Plump DJs Remix 7:56
4	Outlaw Orinoko Remix 6:48
5	You Got the Power Peter Reis Remix 5:47
6	The World Is a Ghetto La Pozze Latina Remix 4:16
7	Why Can't We Be Friends? Hithunter Remix 3:45
8	Tobacco Road Bonus Track / Soundprops Remix 4:18

Barnes & Noble

War has long been a musical melting pot -- black, white, and Hispanic musicians rocking out on funk grooves sweetened with soul sensuality, hippie escapism, and political awareness. At their best, they celebrated everyday life on the streets of East L.A. in odes to cruising around, hanging out, and otherwise making the best of the realities of urban life during tough times. This essential two-CD set opens with the group's 1970 hit with former Animal Eric Burdon, "Spill the Wine," and goes on to spin the hits -- "The World Is a Ghetto," "Why Can't We Be Friends," "Summer," "Low Rider" -- all classics in their own right. Put on the first disc of this two-CD set and you'll hear something pretty special: the sound of the greatest stoner band on the planet developing into a hot, Gap Band-style funk unit on late-'70s tunes like "Galaxy 2000" and "Outlaw." The second, a collection of eight remixes by various house artists, is interesting but less compelling -- falling short when these modern interpretations can't quite match the power of War's immortal soul. Jon Dolan

All Music Guide

Grooves & Messages is another compilation from Rhino that recycles War's greatest hits and, like the previous collections, it contains most of the hits, but not all of them. The difference is, it actually has all the Top 10 pop hits and the majority of the Top 10 R&B hits (only "LA Sunshine" is missing), and it's sequenced in chronological order -- two important elements that were absent on The Best of War and its sequel, The Best of War & More, Vol. 2. Sounds perfect, doesn't it? The problem is, Grooves & Messages contains a bonus disc of remixes. There are a couple of big-name mixers here, including Armand Van Helden and Ganja Kru, but none of the mixes are of any interest. Furthermore, the casual fans that will want the first disc will have little use for the second. Still, that first disc is the best, most concise collection of War hits on the market, and Grooves & Messages is a specially priced double-disc set, so it may be worth the time of some casual fans, those willing to spend a little bit more to get a good hits collection. However, it would have been nicer if the first disc was available individually. Stephen Thomas Erlewine