Bill ''Ravi'' Harris & The Prophets • Funky Sitar Man

Review by Sean Westergaard

Bill "Ravi" Harris is the funky sitar man. Ravi Harris & the Prophets play James Brown/Meters-inspired funk with a difference: The main voice on these instrumentals is sitar. It might be viewed as a gimmick -- if it didn't work so well. Harris is never going to make it as a performer of Indian classical music; he hasn't got the chops for that, but his playing on this album is as good as it needs to be (let's face it, Indian classical and instrumental funk require decidedly different skills). Solid bass, syncopated drums, chicken-scratch guitar, and economical organ fills form the backdrop, and the funky sitar rides at the front. They cover both James Brown and the Meters, which are interesting, but the originals are where it's at. This has got to be the greatest album of sitar funk ever (not that there's much competition). Funky Sitar Man is lots of fun, and recommended to fans of late-'60s style funk with open ears.

seña de Sean Westergaard

Bill "Ravi" Harris es el hombre de la cítara funky. Ravi Harris y los Profetas juegan al funk inspirado en James Brown/Meters con una diferencia: La voz principal en estos instrumentos es sitar. Podría ser visto como un truco, si no funcionara tan bien. Harris nunca va a llegar a ser un intérprete de música clásica india; no tiene los medios para ello, pero su participación en este álbum es tan buena como debe ser (afrontémoslo, el funk clásico e instrumental indio requiere habilidades decididamente diferentes). El bajo sólido, la batería sincopada, la guitarra raspada de pollo y los económicos rellenos de órgano forman el telón de fondo, y los divertidos juegos de sitar en la parte delantera. Cubren tanto a James Brown como a The Meters, que son interesantes, pero los originales están donde está. Este tiene que ser el mejor álbum de sitar funk de todos los tiempos (no es que haya mucha competencia). Funky Sitar Man es muy divertido, y se recomienda a los fans del funk de finales de los 60 con los oídos abiertos.

Tracklist
A1 Path Of The Blazing Sarong
A2 Gimme Some More Hot Pants Medley
A3 Soul Makossa
A4 I Dream Of Gina
A5 Ravi's Thing
A6 Cissy Strut
B1 Look A Py Py
B2 Lost Dragon Of The Sahara
B3 Pass The Peas Sex Machine Medley
B4 Funky Sitar Man
B5 Same Beat
B6 Escapism

Credits
Bass – Edgar Lopez (2)
Drums – Toby Bailey (2)
Keyboards – Gina Harris
Percussion – Fernando 'Boogaloo' Velez
Sitar, Guitar – Bill 'Ravi' Harris

 

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