The Pharaohs - IN THE BASEMENT

[JSngry]

Everything you'd ever want out of 70's "Afro-Centric" funk but were afriad to ask for, for fear that it didn't really exist the way you thought it did.

It did. And here it is.

Carpe diem!

Edited September 18, 2005 by JSngry

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Which one is Sam The Sham?

Mike

[JSngry]

The one that was never there.

[Kalo]

I'm intrigued.

Tell us more, Jim.

[JSngry]

Nothing more to say, really. If you're intrigued, get it (somehow - I found mine used. The CD seems to be a hard bugger to get, but DG still has the LP in stock).

And - if you're intrigued, I seriously doubt that you'll be disappointed.

But is you insist, here's the AMG review. And they got sample to listen to.

[Kalo]

OK, now I know what you meant by your initial post. According to AMG "the much loopier and more jazz-oriented tracks here sound more like Sun Ra jamming with the P-Funk All Stars."

That definitely is, as you wrote, "Everything you'd ever want out of 70's 'Afro-Centric' funk but were afraid to ask for, for fear that it didn't really exist the way you thought it did."

Another one to add to the ever-burgeoning list.

Edited September 18, 2005 by Kalo

[JSngry]

Well, the secret word for these guys is tempo. Not just in terms of the speed of each song, but also in the pacing within each number. On both counts, they take their time. And it works. Oh yeah - it works.

[JSngry]

Fortune has been kind.

[RDK]

Found 'em on emusic a while back - truly funky stuff!

[Adam]

The Pharaohs are really good. The Lov 'n Haight label should still be easy to find, part of Ubiquity.

Ah, here we are, with the Ubiquity page:

http://www.ubiquityrecords.com/pharaohs.html

I own Awakening, not In the Beginning, and attest to its quality as well.

[jlhoots]

The Pharaohs are really good.  The Lov 'n Haight label should still be easy to find, part of Ubiquity.

Ah, here we are, with the Ubiquity page:

http://www.ubiquityrecords.com/pharaohs.html

I own Awakening, not In the Beginning, and attest to its quality as well.

←

Neither one currently available on CD from their website.

Bookmarked!!

We'll see.

[Adam]

Really? Wow. Sorry,. I just found the page and didn't check the purchase options. I think I bought it from the Bastards some time ago, or from Ubiquity directly.

[Noj]

Like RDK, I got the Pharaohs' albums from emusic.

The Ubiquity funk compilations on that site are also a lot of fun--Groove Merchant, Soulful, Deja Vu, Bag Of Goodies, Feeling Good, Heading In The Right Direction, Hip City, Evolution, and What It Is! are all loaded with weird funk gems such as Stone Alliance "Sweetie Pie" and Pir Square "Fantasy."

There were a few other good funk items on emusic, such as Nino Nardini & The Pop Riviera Group, Black Nasty, Lee Fields, and lots of other stuff on Stax. I may have to re-enlist and see what I missed.