The Sun Ra Album-by-Album Thread (Second Sun)

http://sunraarkive.blogspot.com/2014/08/mastering-comparison-and-review-of-2014_9.html

Mastering comparison and review of 2014 Sun Ra Mastered for iTunes Remasters Part 3

Sun Ra Arkive continues its review and mastering comparison of the new 2014 "Mastered for iTunes" releases via iTunes, with our next installment of 4 titles. Michael "The Good Doctor" Anderson (http://sunraarchive.webstarts.com/), Irwin Chusid (http://irwin.wfmu.org/), and Sun Ra LLC utilized new hi-res transfers from the master tapes where available and, as you can hear, the results are a uniformly excellent improvement from previous releases of this music.

Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and stay tuned for Sun Ra Arkive's upcoming interview with Irwin Chusid about this fantastic reissue series and what we have to look forward to.

Buy the Official Sun Ra iTunes Remasters at https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/sun-ra/id72824

http://www.mixcloud.com/SunRaArkive...tro-black-from-astro-black-19720507-rlc2-192/
Sun Ra Mastering comparison for Astro Black from Astro Black (19720507 RLC2 192 El Saturn Studios; Chicago, IL)
00:00:00 - 04:46:00 ABC/Impulse LP
04:46:00 - 10:54:00 Mastered for iTunes Remaster 2014

http://www.mixcloud.com/SunRaArkive/sun-ra-mastering-comparison-for-black-man-from-universe-in-blue/
Sun Ra Mastering comparison for Black Man from Universe In Blue [19710800 RLC2 179 El Saturn Records ESR 200 Probably recorded at Slugs Saloon; New York, NY]
00:00:00 - 00:47:00 Original Saturn LP
00:47:00 - 01:21:40 Scorpio LP
01:21:40 - 02:24:50 Mastered for iTunes Remaster 2014

http://www.mixcloud.com/SunRaArkive...imbo-time-from-roz-croney-how-low-can-you-go/
Sun Ra Mastering comparison for It's Limbo Time from Roz Croney "How Low Can You Go?" [19630100 RLC2 105 Mastertone Studios on 42nd Street between 6th and 7th Avenue; New York, NY]
00:00:00 - 01:00:60 Original Dauntless DS 6309 Stereo LP
01:00:60 - 02:01:60 iTunes Remaster from Original Dauntless LP 2014

http://www.mixcloud.com/SunRaArkive...planet-earth-from-sun-ra-visits-planet-earth/
Sun Ra Mastering comparison for Planet Earth from Sun Ra Visits Planet Earth [19561101-19580000 RLC2 38, 43, 33, 45 Chicago, IL]
00:00:00 - 01:11:60 Original Saturn LP
01:11:60 - 02:08:10 Evidence CD
02:08:10 - 03:36:60 Scorpio Reissue LP
03:36:60 - 04:57:20 Mastered for iTunes Remaster 2014

 

Are these remasterings only available via iTunes?

Because I'd prefer to have lossless.

 

There's yet another live album which has just turned up apparently and out on Leo.

Sun Ra - Live in Ulm 1992 (reviewed here)

This seems to have been recorded on the same tour of Europe in March 92 which gave us Destination Unknown (recorded in Aarburg 29th March).

 

Exclusive Complete Interview with Irwin Chusid, Administrator for Sun Ra LLC
http://sunraarkive.blogspot.com/

 

Can somebody with the Delmark pressings of Sun Song and Sound of Joy post the matrix codes? Thank you for your help.

 

anyone have this ?

 

Not yet, there are a few Ra releases from the last year I haven't picked up yet. Looks interesting though, unreleased studio stuff from the early 70's.

I do hope some of the remastered for iTunes Sun Ra material gets a physical release. I don't love collecting mp3s.

 

Adding this list of the Sun Ra LPs that have yet to see a cd reissue. Titles marked with * indicate a recent LP reissue (uncertain of their legitimacy). Titles marked with # indicate a remastered for iTunes version. Year is of the recording, not the release date.

62-70 The Invisible Shield (reissued as 'Janus' and 'Standards' from 1201 Music, except missing two tracks)#
66 Monorails and Satellites Vol. 2#
70 My Brother The Wind*#
71/72 Universe in Blue*#
72 Astro Black#
72 Discipline 27-II*
74 Out Beyond the Kingdom Of
76 Song of the Stargazers
77 Somewhere Over The Rainbow
77 Taking A Chance On Chances
77 The Soul Vibrations of Man*
77 Unity*
78 New Steps*#
78 Other Voices, Other Blues*
78 Sound Mirror (half released on Media Dreams 2cd from Art Yard)
79 God Is More Than Love Can Ever Be
79 Omniverse
80 I, Pharaoh
80 Voice of the Eternal Tomorrow
80 Aurora Borealis
80 Dance of Innocent Passion
80 Of Mythic Worlds*
82 A Fireside Chat With Lucifer#
82 Celestial Love
82 Ra to the Rescue
82 Just Friends
83-84 Outer Reach Intensity Energy
84-85 When Spaceships Appear
86 John Cage Meets Sun Ra
88 Hidden Fire 1
88 Hidden Fire 2

If the recent iTunes masters would see a physical release, we would be closer to having them all reissued. Also, I still haven't had a clear answer as to what source these Saturn LP reissues are from. Discipline 27-II just came out.

 

This looks quite exciting as it appears to come from the same session that produced Pathways to Unknown Worlds.

http://roaratorio.com/uncategorized/sun-ra-his-astro-infinity-arkestra-sign-of-the-myth/

In the 2nd volume of the Earthly Recordings it says that Impulse rejected Across the Border of Time, Friendly Love, Flight to Mars, and Tone Poem. Quite which one this is isn't clear yet.

 

Great album. Sounds like the second half of Astro Black, or Friendly Love (guided improvisation, but not too noisy). Fantastic work from Gilmore & co, imo.

 

Marshall Allen presents Sun Ra and His Arkestra - In the Orbit of Ra (2014)

I don't know if this album has been discussed in the first thread, but it's fantastic. A great introduction to Sun Ra and really good sound quality. One of the best compilations I've heard.

 

Yeah I have that Orbit of ra in my 3-changer at the moment so I hear it when I'm in the bedroom if it comes around. Haven't looked at dates of tracks recently but it does sound pretty consistent and very spacey. i do love the riff from Spontaneous Simplicity & wish I could play something to work with it.

Have hoped that a book that was an annotated discography with reviews would turn up. Might be that this thread would serve the same purpose.
I especially like the late 70s/early 80s space funk era including Lanquidity and Strange Celestial Road etc.

 

Thanks for the heads-up on this. This looks like a nice option for someone who already has a few of their albums but doesn't want to go hog wild collecting everything the put out.

 

I purchased ten of the iTunes remasters and one of them, "Jazz by Sun Ra," is in Apple's protected .m4p format. What's up with that? Does this one LP still have some kind of copyright issues?

 

Anyone knows if the iTunes remasters are planned for CD release? Sorry if the question has already been asked.

 

It's a definite maybe someday. I think slowly, Art Yard will be doing these, but time will tell.

 

Art Yard are real heroes.

 

I finally picked up the CD of Continuation the other day (thank you Cafe Oto!).

It doesn't surprise me in the least given the chaotic nature of the Ra catalogue that the dating was changed from 1968-69 to the same sessions in '63 that brought us Other Planes of There, When Sun Comes Out, and When Angels Speak of Love...but I'm not sure whether all of it should be re-dated.

In the 2nd volume of Earthly Recordings, side 2 which was "Continuation To/Jupiter Festival" was reckoned to be a live recording from 1969 at The East, Brooklyn. Given how different sides 1 and 2 sound I wouldn't mind betting the original dating of '69 was correct.

It wouldn't be the first time that tracks from wildly different years were put on the same album - Deep Purple being the glaring example having 1948, 1055-57, and 1973 all on the same album.

 

http://m.billboard.com/entry/view/id/126417

New Sun Ra Recordings to be Released in the Fall

The article doesn't outright say how much unreleased recordings will see release, however, if the enormous back catalogue sees a decent reissue, it might expose some new fans to his mighty legacy, much like the Evidence CDs (and a review in Rolling Stone) led the 16 year old me to a 20+ year trip to outer space!

 

https://beatpatrol.wordpress.com/20...ra-images-of-tomorrow-disguised-as-jazz-1993/

To muse on that memory, it was actually this particular article when I had first heard of Sun Ra, and this exact line which made me seek out his music, as I had been a Doors fan for a few years at the time:

"On 'India,' the opening track, Ra’s piano intro is the clear inspiration for the Doors’ 'Riders on the Storm.'"

I must have read it sometime in 93, but pre-www, and living in a remote town in northern BC, could only dream of what it sounded like, until an older friend had bought "Supersonic Jazz" via mail order, and my world changed when I heard the electric piano sound of "India". Moved to Calgary after graduation, and our public library had a large cd collection, and all the Sun Ra Evidence CDs.

Now, I own every Sun Ra cd ever made (plus many lps), yet I still remember the excitement of discovery, and hope another can get the same enjoyment from his amazing music.

 

Are you going to see the Arkestra's residency at Cafe Oto in June?

 

I'm there for one of the nights...

 

Any comments on the live album, "It's After the End of the World"? I see it's on ProStudioMasters right now:
http://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/2753

I also noticed that HDTracks has 16/44.1 editions of various albums. I just assume they are the same as the Evidence CDs, but has anybody heard them? Man, I wish those Mastered for iTunes versions were made available in lossless high res.

 

I was there in April, to see Gnod. Great venue, would have loved to see Marshall play live, never had the chance.