Fantasy
2007
War Stories
About This Album
If Lonnie Jordan's 2007 long-player War Stories is to believed -- that and a couple of thousand other 12" singles and albums by other artists around the globe -- the era of nu soul has given way to soul, and acid jazz has given way to genuine jazz-funk once more. It's not so much that he makes a claim for these things, it's that the evidence is in the grooves themselves. Jordan is, of course, a founding member of Bay area legends War. His singing and keyboard playing helped to define that group's brave (and very successful) attempts at combining jazz, funk, soul, Latin groove and polyrhythmic pop. War Stories is Jordan's third album as a leader, and his first since 1982. It is also easily the best of his own recordings. Of course there are elements of War's sound here and the synthesis that was their trademark is, as expected, all over this 14-song set. Vocally, Jordan is as strong as ever. He has his full range, from falsetto to gritty shout. His writing skills are sharp, and he's not given to the excesses he once was as a solo artist, though he's more adventurous now. There are a number of covers on this set as a well, most notable among them is a slow-burning mambo reading of the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" with Jordan's funky Cuban piano leading the charge, and a gorgeous jazz version of Jimi Hendrix's "Third Stone from the Sun," complete with acoustic piano and Rhodes, berimbau, and a funky bassline -- yeah, yeah, there are guitar parts too.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,5,6,7,10 and 13)

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