Album of the Day

The title of War’s second album, THE BLACK-MAN’S BURDON, was a reference to Eric Burdon; the 1970 collection would be the last with the legendary British Invader fronting the band. Cut at Wally Heider’s studio in San Francisco, the double-LP is dominated by jam-based originals like the single “They Can't Take Away Our Music,” and the set’s two covers take “Paint It, Black” and “Nights In White Satin” far beyond anyplace The Rolling Stones or Moody Blues ever dreamed. Even at this early stage, the SoCal group’s innovative addition of Latin and jazz elements to funky grooves is impressive. While it only reached #82 on the Billboard chart, THE BLACK-MAN’S BURDON makes War’s later success seem inevitable.