Cameo, the band best known for their 1985 funk smash "Word Up" has just reissued their 1977 release We All Know Who We Are. This record catches the band in a sort of funk purgatory: after they'd soaked up the influences of Parliament and George Clinton, but before they stretched out and found their own sound.

On this particular record, they play around with their sound, experimenting with various strong basslines and cool harmonies. The creative use of horns and the sleek vocals of frontman and mastermind Larry Blackmon hint at what the band would eventually become some eight years later.

We All Know Who We Are lacks the thumping bass power of their later efforts, and the funky guitar lines of previous ones. But there is a glimmer of Blackmon's vision for the band. It's rare for a record label to reissue the awkward stages of a band's development, but it's also important for new and old fans to experience every evolutionary phase of Cameo's sound.

-Aparna Mohan