Genre: rock
Rating: 3 stars ***
Title: Eric Burdon Declares War
Company: MGM
Catalog: SE
4663
Year: 1970
Country/State: UK / US
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: still in shrink wrap (opened)
Available: SOLD
GEMM catalog ID: SOLD
Price: SOLD $10.00
With The Animals in turmoil, 1970 saw Eric Burdon living in Los Angeles. Burdon was originally interested in starting a film career, but offers didn't come flooding in the door (hard to imagine that). Manager Jerry Goldstein was apparently responsible for suggesting Burdon refocus on music and introduced him to the L.A-based funk band Night Shift (which included a Danish harmonica player). The parties apparently found common interest and after Night Shift rechristianed themselves War, the start of a full scale collaboration.
Produced by Goldstein, 1970's "Eric Burdon Declares War" has always struck me as a mixed success. While the focus was clearly meant to be on Burdon, the real stars were War. Not only did the band pen most of the material, but their enthusiastic and frequently funky performances repeatedly saved the album for complete collapse. To be perfectly fair, Burdon deserved some credit for turning in what may have been his best-post Animals performances. His ragged voice actually sounded pretty good on this one and he brought considerable energy to some of the material including the unexpected hit 'Spill the Wine' and tracks like 'The Vision of Rassan' (which deserved credit for name checking jazz legends like John Coltrane, Roland Kirk, and Charlie Parker). Hard to really explain but somehow the mix of Burdon's blues-rock moves and War's funk,jazz, Latin and soul roots made for an intriguing musical mix. Now for the downsides. Most of the album was taken up by two extended jams - a plodding 13 minute War blues original 'Blues for Memphis Slim' and a 12 minute plus cover of John D. Loudermilk's 'Tobacco Road'. Yeah, their Loudermilk cover was better than most, but stretching it out to this length simply wasn't a good idea, particularly when Burdon started to vamp making you wonder if you'd ever see the end of this piece of blacktop. Shame they didn't edit it down by about half as it couldn't have been a true classic. MGM also tapped the LP for a top-10 single in the form of:
- 1970's 'Spill the Wine' b/w 'Magic Mountain' (MGM catalog number 14118)
Propelled by the single the parent set sold quite well hitting # 18 in the States and # 50 in the UK.
"Eric
Burdon Declares Ward" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) The Vision of Rassan (Papa Dee Allen - Harold Brown - B.B. Dickerson - Lonnie Jordan - Charles Miller - Lee Oskar - Howard E. Scott) - 7:40
a.) Dedication
b.) Roll On Kirk
2.) Tobacco Road (John D. Loudermilk) - 14:24
a.) Tobacco Road
b.) I Have a Dream
c.) Tobacco Road
(side
2)
1.) Spill the Wine (Papa Dee Allen
-
Harold Brown - B.B. Dickerson -
Lonnie Jordan - Charles Miller -
Lee Oskar -
Howard E. Scott) - 4:51
2.) Blues for Memphis Slim (Papa Dee Allen - Harold Brown - B.B. Dickerson - Lonnie Jordan - Charles Miller - Lee Oskar - Howard E. Scott) - 13:08
a.) Birth
b.) Mother Earth
c.) Mr. Charlie
d.) Danish Pastry
e.) Mother Earth
3.) You're No Stranger (P. Chapman) - 1:55