The World Is a Ghetto
The World Is a Ghetto is the fifth album by the band War, released in late 1972 on United Artists Records. The album attained the number one spot on "Billboard", and was "Billboard" magazine's Album of the Year as the best-selling album of 1973. In addition to being "Billboard"'s #1 album of 1973, the album was ranked number 444 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's original list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The title track became a gold record. Cover. The cover illustration, a lighthearted drawing showing a Rolls Royce  with a flat tire in a ghetto, was drawn by Howard Miller, with Lee Oskar credited with album concept. Alternate formats. The album was also made available in a 4-channel surround sound (quadraphonic) mix in the 8-track tape format (United Artists UA-DA178-H). Critical reception. In a contemporary review for "Rolling Stone", Gordon Fletcher said "The World Is a Ghetto" found War progressing further in the arena of soul and jazz music, and "closer to total mastery of their music as they attempt to use it to communicate the essence of ghetto life". Robert Christgau was less  enthusiastic in "Creem", believing he "should love this big Afro-roots band" in theory, but was critical of the fairly slow quality of the music and the lyrics, calling it "blackstrap-rock". He singled out the "jazz pretensions" of "Four Cornered Room" and "City, Country, City", finding the latter's rhythmic foundation solid but the song too long and mawkish. In a retrospective review, Bruce Eder from AllMusic said the album's music encompassed "not only soul and funk but elements of blues and psychedelia" and a "classy, forward-looking production" comparable to Curtis Mayfield's 1970 album "Curtis" and  Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" (1971). "The Crisis" journalist Bruce Britt identified "The World Is a Ghetto" as one of the few Black rock recordings that became a classic within the pan-African community during FM rock radio's segregation of African-American rock acts in the 1970s, a viewpoint echoed by music historian Jefferson Morley. "The Washington Post" critic Geoffrey Himes names it an exemplary release of the progressive soul development from 1968 to 1973. Track listing. All tracks composed by War (Papa Dee Allen, Harold Brown, B. B. Dickerson, Lonnie Jordan, Charles Miller, Lee Oskar, Howard  E. Scott). CD bonus tracks. In 2012 the album was re-released on CD in a 40th anniversary expanded edition with 4 previously unreleased bonus tracks. Charts. Singles. Singles from the album include "The World Is a Ghetto" backed with "Four Cornered Room", and "The Cisco Kid" backed with "Beetles in the Bog".