Sun Ra - Art Yard In A Box

[cliffpeterson]

price on amazon.uk went up more than 50%

[Face of the Bass]

To the initial question: the most essential Sun Ra that has been released has been the stuff that Evidence put out. Almost everything that Evidence reissued in the 1990s and early 2000s is classic Sun Ra. The Art Yard stuff is good but tends to come from the mid-to-late 1970s, whereas the Evidence material is mainly from the 1950s and 1960s.

[Head Man]

price on amazon.uk went up more than 50%

Well, I guess that answers my initial question. I won't be paying that price for a set to 'test the water'.

I've decided to start with his recording - 'Live in Montreux' and depending on what I think of that I may decide to move on to some of your other recommendations.

Thanks to everyone for your comments & recommendations on Sun Ra's intimidating (to me) discography.

[sidewinder]

The single CD of 'Disco 3000' would be a good place to 'dip the toes' I think. Crumar Mainman plays nicely on that one.

Edited June 8, 2012 by sidewinder

[David Ayers]

Um, like I say you guys can listen to nearly all that stuff for free on Spotify - no toes, no water required. Disco 3000 is great!

In fact there's masses of Ra on spotters - takes the risk out of buying. And the cost.

[mjzee]

My copy arrived in the mail today. Nice presentation - the 7 individual discs in a sturdy cardboard box. My copy is 132/500.

[jazzbo]

Huh. I thought I got it from amazon.com when it was released, but I may have gotten it from Dusty Groove. Now amazon.com just has a single disc version, and the two disc version via MP3. I'd order from amazon.co.uk in your shoes. I've done that often, no problems, usually a cheaper option as well.

[Late]

Space coffee.

[Hot Ptah]

2 hours ago, Late said:

Space coffee.

I like it!

[Guy Berger]

On 6/5/2012 at 2:30 PM, JSngry said:

Whereas somebody who prefers various strains of "non-straight-ahead-jazz" improvisational musics but doesn't really know Ra's work might find it the other way around, that this might be a good starting point?

 

Just saying...Ra's the type of guy/music who pulls people in from all over, not just from "jazz".

Absolutely agreed with Jim.  We live in a world where Yo La Tengo is covering "Nuclear War".

It's hard to judge what the best starter is for Sun Ra without knowing where the listener is coming from and what they think they're looking for.  When I started listening to him, I was instantly gripped by Atlantis (which strongly resonated with the Floyd fan in me, and which I still enjoy) but was not terribly interested in the wonderful Chicago-era stuff.

Holy shit, I just realized I've been listening to SR for 17 years.  I'm old.

[jeffcrom]

6 hours ago, Guy Berger said:

Absolutely agreed with Jim.  We live in a world where Yo La Tengo is covering "Nuclear War".

It's hard to judge what the best starter is for Sun Ra without knowing where the listener is coming from and what they think they're looking for.  When I started listening to him, I was instantly gripped by Atlantis (which strongly resonated with the Floyd fan in me, and which I still enjoy) but was not terribly interested in the wonderful Chicago-era stuff.

Holy shit, I just realized I've been listening to SR for 17 years.  I'm old.

39 years for me, whippersnapper.

I was already exploring "free jazz" when I picked up a copy of the Impulse The Magic City from the cut-out racks. I instantly knew that I was up against something great and unlike anything else I had ever heard. It was music informed by a different aesthetic than even the other free jazz I had been listening to. This was a different way of organizing music than anyone else had come up with; it seemed almost random, but there was a direction and even inevitability to it which I could feel, but not explain or account for. It was amazing to me.

I love all aspects of Ra's music, but I still think that the extremely abstract music of that mid-60s period is his most profound - The Magic City, Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy, Heliocentric Worlds, etc.

In any case, I'm glad that Ra visited us for awhile.

[Late]

2 hours ago, jeffcrom said:

It was music informed by a different aesthetic than even the other free jazz I had been listening to. This was a different way of organizing music than anyone else had come up with; it seemed almost random, but there was a direction and even inevitability to it ...

Nicely said. I think you'd like/appreciate Gilles Peterson's Ra comp mentioned in the other concurrent Ra thread. I got it fairly cheap and originally thought: "It'll be nice supplemental Ra." I was wrong. It is a very good comp indeed. The remastering is so good that I actually would recommend it as a starter for those wanting to check out Ra.

[sidewinder]

Also available in vinyl I believe as a 2LP set of unmixed tracks, which also includes CDs of the Peterson 'mix'. The full set of notes is only in the CD version though.

[Guy Berger]

On 6/8/2012 at 5:04 PM, Face of the Bass said:

To the initial question: the most essential Sun Ra that has been released has been the stuff that Evidence put out. Almost everything that Evidence reissued in the 1990s and early 2000s is classic Sun Ra. The Art Yard stuff is good but tends to come from the mid-to-late 1970s, whereas the Evidence material is mainly from the 1950s and 1960s.

The Evidence reissues are great, but I would note that Heliocentric Worlds Vols. 1 & 2 are on ESP and I'd put them, especially the first one, up there against anything else I've heard from him.

[JohnS]

Heliocentric World Volume 1 is one of my all time favourites.  It would be on my desert island.  It never fails to amaze..