*** SUN RA Corner***

[AndrewHill]

This seems to duplicate a lot of the Evidence "The Singles" package. Is that now unavailable?

Yes, that's what I figured, too. Even if there are alt takes involved, it's too much like the 2cd singles set for me - much as I love it.

According to the Evidence website and Amazon, the Singles 2cd set is still available.

[jazzbo]

Wow, it's hard to believe that came out 12 years ago! I remember my Sun Ra Fever of the time.

Yesterday got in the Antique Blacks and the Horo. Will spin those soon.

[kh1958]

Wow, it's hard to believe that came out 12 years ago! I remember my Sun Ra Fever of the time.

Yesterday got in the Antique Blacks and the Horo. Will spin those soon.

A sonic report on the Horo would be greatly appreciated.

The ArtYard reissues are automatic buys for me already.

[jazzbo]

Just finished listening to the Horo and it sounds pretty good. I don't hear any obvious artifacts of a "needle-drop" but it doesn't sound like a master tape remastered release. Still, quite listenable. Based on my listening to this and the Johnny Griffin Horo cd release. . . and studying the packaging, I'm in agreement with JETman that these are Andorran boots.

[JETman]

Just finished listening to the Horo and it sounds pretty good. I don't hear any obvious artifacts of a "needle-drop" but it doesn't sound like a master tape remastered release. Still, quite listenable. Based on my listening to this and the Johnny Griffin Horo cd release. . . and studying the packaging, I'm in agreement with JETman that these are Andorran boots.

That Griffin is a killer record, though, isn't it?

[jazzbo]

Well yeah, it is. I like the Sun Ra even more. Will have copies of the Shepps soon.

Edited December 4, 2009 by jazzbo

[jeffcrom]

Just went through this entire thread for the first time, since I'm in the throes of a Ra fixation right now. I'm not going to count my Sun Ra LPs and CDs, but I have a lot. I do have these original Saturn (or Thoth) LPs:

The Night of the Purple Moon - Quartet session from 1970

Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Live in Bloomington, Indiana, 1977

Taking a Chance on Chances - Live at the Jazz Showcase, Chicago, 1977

The Soul Vibrations of Man - More from the Jazz Showcase, 1977

Media Dreams - Quartet live in Italy, 1978

The Sound Mirror - More from the Italian quartet tour/1978 NYC studio

Oblique Parallax - Jazz Center, Detroit, 1981/82

A Fireside Chat With Lucifer - NYC studio recordings, 1982. One of the all-time great Ra albums, in my opinion.

Stars That Shine Darkly I/Hiroshima - Side one is the 1983 all-star group with Don Cherry, Lester Bowie, Archie Shepp, etc. Side two is an organ solo recorded at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, 1984 or '85

Stars That Shine Darkly I/II - A Saturn "hybrid." Ra would sometimes repress side one of an album with side two of another album. In this case, the hybrid made more sense than the original pairings, which split "Stars That Shine Darkly" over two albums.

Only one of these (Purple Moon) has a printed cover and label. Others have blank covers, covers with Xeroxed papers glued to them, blank labels, penciled labels, and various combinations of the above. The Robert Campbell/Chris Trent discography The Earthly Recordings of Sun Ra has been invaluable to me in figuring out the details of what I have.

Edited March 3, 2010 by jeffcrom

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

purple moon is the best, i love that

[blajay]

About a week ago I finished my own immersion in Sun Ra. I finally read John Szwed's excellent book that had been lying around for a while, and listened to all of the recordings of his that I have chronologically: around 50 albums, I think. Last night I watched "Space is the Place" through a streaming site. I kind of wish the whole film were made of Sun Ra concert footage and space scenes, rather than the scenes with the "overseer," but it was definitely cool to finally see it.

[clifford_thornton]

I haven't seen that since dorm-rat and pot-smoking days (mid-90s).

[jostber]

ESP Records is releasing an expanded version of the classic "Nothing Is" album in June:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/College-Tour-Complete-Nothing-Dig/dp/B003INBO7Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1273614664&sr=1-1

[clifford_thornton]

Probably the same as the previously (a few years ago) issue of the complete material. I am amazed that it sold out already.

[lesterperkins]

Anyone looking for the movie

Space is the Place, look no further.

Unedited version. Free.

Cause we love you and Sun Ra. (Sun Ra more)

http://jazzonthetube.com/videos/black-history-month/sun-ra---space-is-the-place.html

The Differences

Sometimes in the amazing ignorance

I hear things and see things

I never knew I saw and heard before

Sometimes in the ignorance

I feel the meaning

Invincible invisible wisdom,

And I commune with intuitive instinct

With the force that made life be

And since it made life be

It is greater than life

And since it let extinction be

It is greater than extinction.

I commune with feelings more than

prayer

For there is nothing else to ask for

That companionship is

And it is superior to any other is.

Sometimes in my amazing ignorance

Others see me only as they care to see

I am to them as they think

According the standard I should not be

And that is the difference between I and them

Because I see them as they are to is

And not the seeming isness of the was.

-Sun Ra

[Tom Cat]

who has listened or reached the 5CD box of sun ra all stars?

very good stuff

[kh1958]

who has listened or reached the 5CD box of sun ra all stars?

very good stuff

Yes that was worth buying, the weakest link being Archie Shepp.

[kh1958]

I resolved this afternoon to buy no more CDs for a while--but...

Beyond the Purple Star Zone/Oblique Parallax has now been reissued by Art Yard.

[jostber]

Those Art Yard releases are great, fine packages and sound.

[papsrus]

so youre going in chronological order- thats good. but if you really wanna do it u gotta go back and listen to i believe the name was Clearence Williams- "CHOCOLATE AVENUE" is def. the title, Suns 1st publicaly recorded and released composition. its from **1929**. thats right you heard me. the same year the stock market crashed and pornos had girls doing sex acts that werent seen again until the 1990s. clarance williams or perhaps the recordlabel or publichsing house or i dolnt know screwed sun ra, and used his submitted song and didnt even tell him or pay him, and the story goes this was a big reason which spawned his lifelong distrust of the music industry and inspired him to go his own way, eg. el saturn records

Thanks Chewy. The track is listed on a 1933 Chronological Classic and a Timeless '33 -'34 compilation. I have a half dozen Williams compilations from the late '20s and don't see the title on any of 'em. The Chrono's are way too pricey at this point.

Thanks though.

[jostber]

Seems like the Sun Ra Meets Salah Ragab In Egypt album will be reissued on LP shortly too:

http://www.normanrecords.com/records/116746

Edited June 16, 2010 by jostber

[jostber]

A fine review of "College Tour Vol. 1, The Complete Nothing Is" over at AllAboutJazz:

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=37182

[brownie]

Art Yard is releasing this

from a 1971 concert at the Théatre du Chatelet.

Have not heard it yet!

[jostber]

A nice entry on the Paris Tapes here:

http://dougpayne.blogspot.com/2010/11/sun-ra-and-his-mythic-science-arkestra.html

[brownie]

The Paris Tapes are indeed quite stunning!

I listed the release and its quality when I posted about it on the What are you listening to thread a couple of weeks ago.

[jostber]

Space Probe has just been reissued by Art Yard Records:

[kh1958]

Space Probe has just been reissued by Art Yard Records:

1. Art Yard releases Sun Ra CD (Space Probe).

2. Dusty Groove stocks new Art Yard Sun Ra release.

3. I order it.

It's automatic.