The Budos Band, The Budos Band III (Bonus Version)

If you’re thinking that minimalist title of their third album portends either more of the same from these Staten Island groovers, or an abrupt turn into previously uncharted territory — a la Led Zeppelin III‘s "getting it together in the country" acoustic freakout — think again. Though they still possess the dense, ominous sound that made their first two albums (and one EP) so enchanting, The Budos Band III finds this killer ten-piece instrumental ensemble serving up their most accessible and straight-ahead funk fusillade to date. "Rite of the Ancients," "Black Venom," "Golden Dunes" and the somewhat misleadingly named "Budos Dirge" combine afrobeat horn blasts with the sort of winding, Mulatu Astatke-style melodies that make you wonder what the music of the Egyptian pharaohs would have sounded like if they’d only had electricity and Farfisa organs back in the day; but they’re all also anchored to the sort of rolling, conga-stoked funk rhythms that propelled such classic '70s blaxploitation soundtracks as Shaft or Superfly. The material on The Budos III was reportedly written and fine-tuned on the road, and then cut live in less than 48 hours, factors which undoubtedly contribute to the sense of immediacy. If you’re not already hip to their mystical magic, The Budos Band III offers the perfect place to board their groove line.