VIA PRESS RELEASE | In the winter of 1974, WAR were already a half-decade into their career and fresh off the success of the #1 Billboard best-selling album of 1973, The World Is a Ghetto. Following months of touring throughout the US, and then nearly thirty shows across Europe, WAR arrived in Japan for the first time ever, to perform a series of live shows in Shizuoka, Tokyo, Osaka, and Kobe. Now, recordings from these performances have been rediscovered and meticulously restored for Live In Japan 1974, the first live album to feature all seven original members in 50 years.
With the release of a Japan-exclusive CD set for January 29th, 2025—featuring a custom obi sleeve and liner notes by local music journalists—Live In Japan 1974 will get a global release on February 7th, 2025. The collection will be available in 2LP and 2CD sets worldwide, as well as digitally, and includes a variety of live recordings of classic WAR tracks like “The Cisco Kid,” “The World Is A Ghetto,” and “All Day Music.”
The liner notes, written and edited by Cory Frye, feature an in-depth interview with founding band member Lonnie Jordan and WAR’s longtime producer Jerry Goldstein, wherein Lonnie shares, “It was a fun, exciting experience because we’d never gotten that amount of people loving what we did, especially during that time.” Jerry adds, “They knew all the songs. It was pretty exciting, getting the vibe that everyone knew and loved what we were doing. They gave us a lot of standing ovations, and we did lots of encores.”
The liner notes also reveal the story behind the creation of yet another iconic WAR song, “Why Can’t We Be Friends?,” inspired by the band’s interactions with locals during their debut tour of Japan.
Packed with never-before-heard performances and insights into a pivotal moment in the band’s history and evolution, Live in Japan 1974 offers fans a deeper understanding of WAR’s global impact and serves as a perfect sonic touchstone to further celebrate the band’s 55th Anniversary. Additionally, WAR will mark the 50th Anniversary of “Why Can’t We Be Friends” throughout 2025, on the heels of performing the titular hit song live on last week’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Furthermore, the release of Live In Japan 1974 will also see two nights of two-set shows at Japan’s Blue Note Tokyo on February 7th and 8th, 2025. Coinciding with the international street date, these performances will double as a celebration of the record’s release, with more details to come. Tickets are available here.
