War’s second album to hit #1 on the charts, Deliver the Word lacks the focus of All Day Music and its multiplatinum follow-up The World Is A Ghetto, but the album was a breakthrough in terms of expanding the band’s sonic palette. “H2 Overture” is a contemplative introduction that weaves together flute, harmonica, tenor sax, and strings, while the wiggly keyboard of “In Your Eyes” brings something new to the band, anticipating the staccato riff of “Low Rider.” Yet for all the experimentation, the band is at its best when it’s in familiar territory. “Me and Baby Brother” is reminiscent of early Sly and the Family Stone, a group that resembled the familiar, multi-racial atmosphere of War. The album’s title track centerpiece, “Deliver the Word,” falls into the tradition of “There Must Be A Reason” and “That’s What Love Will Do,” lush, slow-motion blues that approach from a place of introspection. While some of Deliver the Word (“Blisters,” “Gypsy Man”) comes off as exciting musical ideas in search of songs, the album is not a misfire, but rather a transitional work which planted the seeds that would come to fruition on War’s next album, Why Can’t We Be Friends.