Announcing Pharoah, a new box set featuring the definitive remaster of his seminal 1977 record and rare live versions of “Harvest Time”

With Pharoah Sanders’ blessing, we present the definitive, remastered version of Pharoah, his seminal record from 1977, in an embossed 2 LP box set. Alongside the original, now beautifully remastered record, there will be two previously unreleased live performances of his masterpiece, “Harvest Time,” a 24-page booklet with interviews, essays and incredibly rare photographs, and a separate collection of ephemera, which tell the story of this album and this moment in Pharoah’s life in a way that has never been done before.

Pharoah Sanders’ Pharoah.

For those of you who already know this record, then you know that its origin story is as elusive as Pharoah was about everything Pharoah. It was born out of a misunderstanding between him and the India Navigation producer Bob Cummins, and was recorded when he was at a crossroads in his career with an unlikely crew. Among them was a guitarist who was also a spiritual guru, an organist who would go on to co-write and produce “The Message,” and a classically trained pianist—his wife at the time, Bedria Sanders—who played the harmonium despite never having seen one. At times ambient and serene, at others funky and modal, Pharoah radically departed from his earlier work. And it became beloved.

Last fall, we were working with Pharoah on this project when he unexpectedly passed away. At first, it was hard to know what to do. We loved him, and the reason you do all of this is not solely for the music, but also for the person who made it. It’s their personality, their humor, and their wishes that drive you forward. So, we decided to go deep into the research. We set out to create something that showed Pharoah and his music in a new light. 

Over the next few months, we’re going to share with you all the amazing things we found, from personal photos of Pharoah to newspaper clippings that people saved in their time capsules. (Sign up for the RSS feed to get updates.) And we’re going to share the live versions of “Harvest Time,” which turn the original piece on its head. 

Whether this album is new to you—or whether you’ve got a bootleg (or even an original) at home that you’re wearing out the grooves in—Pharoah will never sound the same.

-Luaka Bop