Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs

• Pharaohization! [Rhino, 1985] A-

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Pharaohization! [Rhino, 1985]
Junk miners like to believe that every garage classic has an album buried underneath. With "Wooly Bully," always as primal as "Louie, Louie" by me, this turns out to be true. Domingo Samudio was no pimple-faced jerk: a 25-year-old Chicano navy vet bandleading his way through college when he had his stroke of genius, he followed up with numerous strokes of talent. His solid formula was no more repetitive than Jimmy Reed's or the Supremes', his secondhand drawl as sly as Dr. John's if not Lee Dorsey's. And his lyrics were to the point even when they didn't have one, which wasn't always--check out "Black Sheep" or "(I'm In With) The Out Crowd" or "Green'ich Grendel" (as in Vill'ge, not C'nnetic't). A-