Sun Ra Music

He is the only in this world who write the music of Sun Ra this is the piano trascripions of the music of Sun Ra.
What a great cd!
Gaslini is great!

Thank you Evidence for unearthing these tracks. I think that, far from being only for the Ra completist, these two albums are essential Ra and perhaps the best place for the Ra novice to start. Cymbals shows Ra and Company in the mode of the great organ groups of the 50s and 60s, albeit twisted through the distinct Ra prism. Ra's organ playing has never been more inciniary, and John Gilmore burns the house down with his solo on Thoughts Under a Dark Blue Light. This is first rate avant-blues.

Crystal Spears is a pared down Arkestra album that resembles more of the groups 60's recording. It has the extended chamber jazz feel of albums like The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, but is more accessible. These pieces resemble shaman ceremonies...you get the sense that something deep and mysterious is going on.

All in all, these are great releases. They are a must for the Ra completist (though I doubt you'll ever own the complete Ra...new albums keep coming out all the time! Perhaps he's still recording in his new dimension of existence!) But I think these albums are also a great place to start an adventure into the music of Sun Ra. They are equal parts familiar and adventurous.

Despite one of the worst covers yet concieved by Evidence for their Sun Ra releases (don't be fooled by the shot shown on this page--that's the INSIDE cover) and having to shell out the cost of a double (~......) for a set that isn't much longer than their 2 on 1 CD releases, 'The Great Lost Sun Ra Albums' is a fantastic set, documenting what was previously a poorly covered period. These two albums, along with the sister album ('friendly love') give you four effectively lost albums all of outstanding quality. The pieces here are less 'blowing' as the pieces appearing on 'Friendly Love' and are instead a bit gentler with some of Sun Ra's better keyboard playing up front in the mix. This doesn't mean these albums aren't 'out', but like the other albums we've heard from Ra in this period, the music becomes somewhat more approachable--though not in any way less wierd than his 60's period.

All in all, while the price may make this a poor choice for first listeners, I must disagree with other reviews that would make these albums out to be superflous or sub-standard. Excellent stuff by the arkestra that belongs in the collection of any Ra fan.

These 2 records sound like much of the output Ra printed on his Saturn label during the 1970's and 80's - charming in places, but a bit meandering on the whole. A critic would call them "thin". Now, there is a real beauty to collecting as much of Ra's output as one can, and enjoying each recording as a fan of the band might enjoy a series of dozens or hundreds of live performances. And to Ra fanatics, an unearthing of these 2 records, previously unheard to any fans (even those who swap tapes of out-of-print Saturns) is a major archeological discovery. Evidence have done their usual studied, state-of-the-art job in mastering and packaging.

To most of us though this is far from Ra and the Arkestra's best work, and I'd recommend that all but devoted fans start somewhere else.

I've heard a few Sun Ra songs from free downloads and You Tube viewings, and the songs and Sun Ra's reputation are intriguing. I figured I dip my toe into the Sun Ra water with the aptly titled "Greatest Hits: Easy Listening for Intergalactic Travel." It takes you from 1956 to 1973, and gives you a sense of which Sun Ra era might be best for you. The early Sun Ra is fairly straight jazz. "Saturn" is a very catchy song, and the only unusual thing about it is the electric bass. Then, you get into the straight jazz with odd chants, like on "Rocket Number Nine". These are charming songs, they seem kitschy like gigantic tail fins on cars. In the mid '60's the music gets stranger still, and as a rule I like the songs less as the CD goes on. However, Sun Ra is experimenting, and if you don't get anything wrong you're not trying anything new. The odd sensibilities of Sun Ra are perhaps best shown by the last song, "The Perfect Man", which was originally a single. It's Sun Ra funk, though the drum beat is unlike anything a Headhunter would think to play. I think most jazz fans would like this CD, dedicated free jazzers would love it - if you don't have any Sun Ra CD's this is a good place to start.

I bought this CD after watching several videos of Sun Ra that were made later in his career, including Space is the Place, an appearance on Night Music the TV show, and a docementary. I saw him live once at a festival and was charmed and intrigued, I like his nature-humanity-alter destiny message, and the music I enjoy a lot, too. I like the chants, the standard jazz, not so much the squeaking, but it grows on you. The biography book Space is the Pace is also very interesting. The music on this CD is varied, charming, listenable. I hope to get some more of his CDs. This is somewhat earlier in his career, I think, but it has been a good introduction, it has a lot of levels that reveal themselves with more listening. I recommend it.

First off, i must state that I LOVE Sun Ra, and own 25 or more of his reissued CDs. (I named my cat after him, too.)

Second, I *applaud* Evidence records for all their many great reissues of Sun Ra, and for even attempting to do a "Greatest Hits" CD retrospective. In some ways they succeed: they've compiled in one CD one track from almost each full length CD they've reissued. And you really can hear a WIDE variety of the many sounds & styles by Sun Ra & his Arkestra.

However, eh. The success of pulling a track from so many styles and eras ends up sounding too disjointed (if that is possible for Sun Ra). Evidence does a fine job reissuing often two original Saturn recordings on one CD, and they pay attention to the moods of each album and always pair them with like moods. I don't want to discourage anyone from buying this if it is the only way they'll discover Sun Ra. I guess i just want to say that a better way to discover his music would be to listen to several albums in their entirity (go to the library and check them out for free if you don't want to invest $ yet.) Best ones to try first :

"Angels & Demons At Play/Nubians of Plutonia" - A good beginner's CD. more straightforward but not straight. For those who either love jazz already or are indie pop/post-rock fans wanting to dip into Sun Ra.

"Super-Sonic Jazz" - also a great beginner's CD, (not too wildly chaotic but early in Ra's career. Still contains brilliant pieces which aren't 'straight.'

"Sun Ra Visits Planet Earth / Interstellar Low Ways" - another good start, but if you have and enjoy the above, why not try something a bit more out there, like the following...

"Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy/Art Forms for Dimensions Tomorrow" - WONDERFUL abstract work, each piece has its own feel and mood. My first and favorite Ra.

"Heliocentric Worlds v1" - another masterpiece, more percussion oriented.

"The Magic City" - the song 'the magic city' is a 27min masterpiece. part of me wants to mention Miles Davis 'bitches brew', but i know Ra fans would give me hell for that so i suppose i won't.

"The Singles" (2CD) - many excellent moments. This is the CD (2CD) for those who must have a retrospective spanning his entire career.

"Soundtrack to Space is the Place" - lots of fun vocal songs here. 70's and proud. the film is a blaxploitation classic!

I bought this "Greatest Hits" to give to my father for a first go at Sun Ra, but ended up deciding to give him "Angel/Nubians" instead, which he ended up prefering. If you really want to start with a retrospective and hear samples of all eras of Sun Ra, try the 2CD "Singles" instead.

This is as good an introduction to Sun Ra's music as one could possibly wish for. The collection has many things going for it: a very generous selection (18 tracks, 78 minutes - it justifies the disc's steep price) organized chronologically, which amply showcases the evolution of the Arkestra's work; Evidence has culled the 18 tracks from 18 of their Sun Ra reissues, so if the listener has some favorites (s)he can then easily find the album they originated from. Among the highlights, I'd personally mention the jaunty 'Kingdom of Not', perhaps the collection's most accessible instrumental piece; the strange, fascinating and unique 'Rocket #9', whose successive episodes both contrast and complement each other; the moving piano solo 'The Alter Destiny', full of delicate melodic touches by Sun Ra; the spare and percussive 'Yucatan'. The Arkestra's listeners will not merely hear a band play music, but literally live it; music here becomes a ladder towards the transcendent.

Philadelphia is a city of neighborhoods; Germantown is one of the more celebrated ones. Known for its cobblestone streets and historic buildings, Germantown has grown tough and dangerous over time. Our Bicentennial year found me driving a cab there twelve hours a day, six days a week, a rugged job with few perks. One of the best was the opportunity to catch a glimpse of Sun Ra and members of his Arkestra having a bite to eat at the local McDonald's. If this idea is not improbable enough, bear in mind that he was invariably dressed in full Saturnalian regalia.

Sun Ra looked then, as he always did, like a visitor from outer space, quite happily out of context, oblivious to acceptance or the lack of it. This, I think, is ultimately the force of Sun Ra. However much critics desire to dismiss him as a quack, charlatan, or vaudevillian, he himself was utterly sincere. When you buy CDs by almost all musicians, you buy entertainment - predictable entertainment. When you buy a Sun Ra CD, you are purchasing a key to an alternate dimension.

While Sun Ra recorded almost obsessively, he certainly didn't have "hits," unless there's a radio station on Saturn, in which case everything he did is a hit. Most of his records were self-produced and it's a minor miracle that we have them at all. I prefer the subtitle of this CD, Easy Listening For Intergalactic Travel. For novices and devotees alike, this CD offers a very agreeable trip into the world of Sun Ra, from swing and bop into the celebrated interstellar travelogue material for which Sun Ra is best known. It is a particularly good CD for neophytes, because it won't scare them away. There is enough that is familiar to help listeners understand that Sun Ra knew his musical roots cold, and that every note he played, however unexpected, he played on purpose. By the time you hit The Order Of The Pharaonic Jesters you are deep in Sun Ra country, reclining in Rocket Number Nine, libation of choice in your hand, gazing at Jupiter through the portal. Highly recommended.