The SUN RA album-by album thread!

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by 93curr, Nov 13, 2007.

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  1. jostber

    jostber Forum Resident

    Location:
    Skien, Norway
  2. 93curr

    93curr Senior Member Thread Starter

    LADY WITH THE GOLDEN STOCKINGS (Saturn, 1966)

    1. Plutonian Nights
    2. Lady With The Golden Stockings
    3. Star Time
    4. Nubia
    5. Africa
    6. Watusa
    7. Aiethopia

    More late 50s Chicago stuff. And what tasty stuff it is. For me, this is a far more satisfying album than the last few. A percussion-heavy set of pieces, but still very melodic (i.e. no free jazz precursors). It's no accident that so many of the titles refer to Africa. And with nice keyboard lines and a screeching violin that would make The Raincoats proud! Most of this is keenly understated, presumably assuming an attentive listener; this is NOT Ra in entertainer mode. There's a central melodic line to follow, but most of these pieces seem to direct the attention away from that in favor of odd metric patterns. These are three-dimensional arrangements. In King Crimson terms; not so much 'Talking Drum' as 'Sailor's Tale.' In Fela terms, it's 'Na Poi', not 'Zombie.' He'd record 'Watsua' many, many, many times again, but this rendition is distinctively unique. It's almost unnaturally fast, like a marching band that forgot to take its Ritalin. And the whole shebang ends with an odd re-working of 'Ancient Ethipoia' (from 'Jazz In Silhouette') that sounds almost like a Disney cartoon marching soundtrack.

    This one gets five stars and a bonus gold sticker for extra effort. It's probably my favorite set of all his 65/66 albums (and there are a lot.)

    Reissued on CD by Evidence (paired with 'Angels And Demons At Play') but under the title 'The Nubians Of Plutonia', and with a different cover. Also, track 2's title has now been changed to 'The Golden Lady.'
     
  3. rcdupre

    rcdupre Flying is Trying is Dying

    wierd, I've never even heard of this, it just went to the top of my want list!
     
  4. matthew58

    matthew58 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Napa Valley, CA
    Awesome story from Von Freeman that appears in the book Pathways To Unknown Worlds: Sun Ra, El Saturn and Chicago's Afro-Futurist Underground 1954-68.

    Sun Ra was one mighty cool cat.:cool:
     
  5. matthew58

    matthew58 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Napa Valley, CA
    I was just listening to this one today, and it is a great one. I really liked what Robert Barry was doing on drums, very creative rhythms that added great power to the music. Nubiais a great piece of music, love how Ra & Barry are locked in together, with Jim Herndon doing great work.
     
  6. jostber

    jostber Forum Resident

    Location:
    Skien, Norway
  7. Steve E.

    Steve E. Doc Wurly and Chief Lathe Troll

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY, USA
    yeah, I like this one a lot, though it took a few listens to realize that some apparent "mess ups" are entirely intentional. On one of the pieces there's a nutty cowbell that deliberately falls behind, a half beat at a time, over the course of the piece. It's terribly disconcerting, but it's a conscious idea similar to one of those later Steve Reich phase shifting pieces.

    I get to claim one piece of "I got there first" scholarship with this album. The piece "Africa" seems to have a couple of skipped beats. These are, in fact, edits, and sloppy ones at that. On the recent "Spaceship Lullaby" album there is a track that some claim is a deliberate avant-garde cutting together of several chunks of music. To me it sounded like a reel where Sun Ra was leaving his leftovers as he was assembling various albums.

    Sure enough, if you take the two sections from that track which are fragments of "Africa" with words, combine the stereo signals into mono, and splice them at the precise points of the skipped beats.....Voila! They fit perfectly! This exact performance of "Africa" had lyrics, which Sun Ra removed later. I like 'em included, but they are a bit distracting. The vocals may be by one of Sun Ra's vocal groups, if the "Spaceship Lullaby" CD notes are to be believed.
     
  8. Steve E.

    Steve E. Doc Wurly and Chief Lathe Troll

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY, USA
    And "Plutonian Nights" is an AWESOME dance tune. Funky!
     
  9. jostber

    jostber Forum Resident

    Location:
    Skien, Norway
    This was one of the later recordings done in Ra's Chicago period, before he and the Arkestra moved to New York about 1960 to explore space music. A very good and comprehensive article on Ra's Chicago period is here, from the Red Saunders Foundation:


    http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~campber/sunra.html
     
  10. ceddy10165

    ceddy10165 My life was saved by rock n roll

    Location:
    Avon, CT
    that is/was an excellent and important observation. someday i'll have to splice it together to hear it:righton:

    Golden Stockings/Nubians is an all-time Ra fave record of mine.
     
  11. matthew58

    matthew58 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Napa Valley, CA
    How long was James Spaulding with Sun Ra? This is the first time I've noticed his name on the credits. Man, I must be getting old..:help:

    PS: Well, to answer my own question:

    1953: Sound Sun Pleasure
    1954: Singles
    1956: Angels & Demons at Play/The Nubians of Plutonia
    1956: Visits Planet Earth/Interstellar Low Ways
    1956: We Travel the Spaceways/Bad and Beautiful
    1958: Jazz in Silhouette
    1959: Nubians of Plutonia

    Well, learn something new everyday.
     
  12. Steve E.

    Steve E. Doc Wurly and Chief Lathe Troll

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY, USA

    Err...that ain't completely accurate. Understand, these are twofer collections and often the two albums are separated by a number of years. AND....importantly, even the original LPs sometimes had two sides that were separated by years.

    That article is interesting! I'm not sure it's all correct regarding the early singles--always sounded like a single session to me, but I'll re-listen to them. The BIG revelation is that Jazz in Silhouette and Sound Sun Pleasure are from a 1959 session! later than we'd thought all this time.

    Here's an incomplete, gist-of-it recording chronology:

    late 40's, early 50's: Sound Sound Pleasure bonus tracks (aka Deep Purple LP side 1)
    Feb-June 1956: Early Singles session(s) (as found on Singles, Angels & Demons at Play tracks 5-8, 4 tracks from Super-Sonic Jazz, and 1 track from We Travel the Spaceways)

    July 12, 1956: Jazz by Sun Ra [aka Sun Song]
    Sept-Oct 1956: Super-Sonic Jazz (remainder of it)
    Nov 1956: Sound of Joy [overlapping w 4 cuts from Visits Planet Earth]
    early 1957: More Sound Sound Pleasure/Deep Purple bonus tracks (the ones with Hattie Randolph)

    "James Spaulding joined the Arkestra soon after his arrival in Chicago in August 1957"

    late 1957 or early 1958: The other side of Visits Planet Earth [tracks 5-7 on the CD.]
    1958-9: Lady with the Golden Stockings [AKA Nubians of Plutonia] Also, most of the doo wop singles.

    March 6, 1959: massive Jazz in Silhouette and Sound Sun Pleasure session, plus "Interstellar Low Ways".

    June 16, 1960: The bulk of:
    Angels and Demons at Play, Side 1
    We Travel the Spaceways
    Rocket Number Nine Take off for the Planet Venus [aka Interstelllar Low Ways]
    Fate In a Pleasant Mood
    Holiday for Soul Dance

    1960-July 13, 1961 a few other tracks from the last four of these albums.

    I'm leaving out all the "Spaceship Lullabye" and "Tomorrow's World" stuff.
     
  13. Steve E.

    Steve E. Doc Wurly and Chief Lathe Troll

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY, USA
    While I'm at it....correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is the recording order of the early 60's, New York era albums:


    Oct 10, 1961: Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra
    Nov 1961: Bad and Beautiful
    Nov 1961-early 1962: Art Forms from Dimensions Tomorrow
    1962: Secrets of the Sun
    Late 1962-Early 1963: When Sun Comes Out

    Around this time there are a couple of strangely "trad" sessions:
    1962: What's New Side 1
    1962 or 3: Invisible Shield Side 1 (might be from When Sun Comes Out) side 2 session.
    (side 2 of each of these is 70's stuff.)

    1963: When Angels Speak of Love
    1963: Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy
    1964: Other Planes of There
    June 15, 1964: Featuring Pharoah Sanders and Black Harold
    April 20, 1965: The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra vol 1
    September 24, 1965: The Magic City
    November 16, 1965: The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra vol 2

    May, 1966: Nothing Is
    1966: Strange Strings


    and so on....
     
  14. matthew58

    matthew58 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Napa Valley, CA
    Steve E: Thanks for the discography information. Sun Ra's discography is a crazy quilt that hard to piece together.
     
  15. Steve E.

    Steve E. Doc Wurly and Chief Lathe Troll

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY, USA
    You are welcome! And thank you for those cool quotes on the last page. I printed them out. Much appreciated!

    I just caught this little bit of info from that article: A test LP was pressed in Aug or Sept 1961 called "Music of the Future" by Sun Ra Arkestra. Plans to release it were scuttled. It contained:

    Side 1
    “Space Mates,” [Fate in a Pleasant Mood]
    “But Not for Me,” [Holiday for Soul Dance]
    "The Others in There [sic] World.” [Fate in a Pleasant Mood]
    Side 2:
    “Lights on the [sic] Satellite,” [Fate in a Pleasant Mood]
    “Day by Day,” [Fate in a Pleasant Mood]
    “Ankhnaton,” [Fate in a Pleasant Mood]
    “Holiday for Strings.” [Holiday for Soul Dance]
     
  16. jostber

    jostber Forum Resident

    Location:
    Skien, Norway
  17. jostber

    jostber Forum Resident

    Location:
    Skien, Norway
    According to the Sun Ra discography this is the recording order:

    The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra
    Bad & Beautiful
    Art Forms for Dimensions Tomorrow
    Secrets of the Sun
    The Invisible Shield
    What's new?
    When Sun Comes Out
    When Angels Speak of Love
    Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy
    Other Planes of There
    Strange Strings
    Featuring Pharaoh Sanders & Black Harold
    The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, v. 1
    The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, v. 2
    The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, v. 3
    The Magic City
    Impressions of a Patch of Blue
    Nothing Is
     
  18. matthew58

    matthew58 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Napa Valley, CA
    And if I understand correctly, these are the Chicago recordings:

    Spaceship Lullaby
    Deep Purple
    Dreams Come True (alternate title)
    Standards
    Sun Song
    Jazz by Sun Ra (alternate title)
    Jazz in Transition
    Angels & Demons at Play
    Super Sonic Jazz
    Super Sonic Sounds (alternate title)
    Sound of Joy
    Jazz in Silhouette
    Sound Sun Pleasure!!
    Visits Planet Earth
    We Travel the Spaceways
    The Nubians of Plutonia
    Lady with the Golden Stockings (alternate title)
    Interstellar Low Ways
    Rocket Number Nine (alternate title)
    Fate in a Pleasant Mood
    Music from Tomorrow's World
    Holiday for Soul Dance


    The guy did make a lot of music.
     
  19. jostber

    jostber Forum Resident

    Location:
    Skien, Norway
  20. matthew58

    matthew58 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Napa Valley, CA
    You know what would be great? If Down Beat would do the same thing as The New Yorker & Rolling Stone, releasing all their magazines on DVD. I would buy that in a second.
     
  21. jostber

    jostber Forum Resident

    Location:
    Skien, Norway
  22. Steve E.

    Steve E. Doc Wurly and Chief Lathe Troll

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY, USA

    That's the order of item listings in the online discography here:

    http://www.dpo.uab.edu/~moudry/disc_a.htm
    http://www.dpo.uab.edu/~moudry/disc_b.htm
    with a couple of additions. That discography usually goes by first recording date, but sometimes it's just slightly random. If you go by completion date it's different. Unless new info has come to light (which certainly does happen), Magic City's session was between the two Heliocentric sessions.

    I've sometimes been tempted to buy the book version of the discography....but it's like, $85!
     
  23. Steve E.

    Steve E. Doc Wurly and Chief Lathe Troll

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY, USA
    Don't spend a lot of time trying to hunt down the Sun Ra album Jazz in Transition! It's actually a multi-artist compilation with "Swing a Little Taste" on it, which is the track that didn't fit on "Sun Song." Actualy, for all I know it may be a fun comp.
     
  24. Sam B.

    Sam B. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Richmond, VA, US
    Earthly Recordings of Sun Ra, 2nd ed.

    "I've sometimes been tempted to buy the book version of the discography....but it's like, $85!"

    Yes, but worth its weight in gold! It's by far the most accurate, most detailed discography going. Many, many questions that pop up from time to time on this and other threads are answered in the 2nd ed. A must-have.

    Also, the best supplement to this is the site "Earthly Extension", at http://zxzy.narod.ru/extension.html (although I see it hasn't been updated since July 2006).
     
  25. 93curr

    93curr Senior Member Thread Starter

    ROCKET NUMBER NINE TAKE OFF FOR THE PLANET VENUS (Saturn, 1966)

    1. Onward
    2. Somewhere In Space
    3. Interplanetary Music
    4. Interstellar Low Ways
    5. Space Loneliness
    6. Space Aura
    7. Rocket Number Nine Take Off For The Planet Venus

    Venus??? So, like, is this supposed to be Ra's 'feminine" album? It's certainly a softer (dig that jazz flute on 'Low Ways'!) more calm, relaxed set of pieces (1960 Chicago archive recordings) than we're used to. Probably even more mainstream than 'Visits Planet Earth.' There's even vocals! (#3 and 7, natch) 'Space Loneliness' gets my vote as one of the least Ra-like pieces ever issued under his name. It's a fun album but a little hard to pin down. Honestly, I really don't know what to say about it. It's not lacking in personality, but there just doesn't seem like there's much of the stuff I admire about Ra's much to focus on. It's like he was experimenting with a different style. It's not a bad style, but clearly by the time the LP was issued, he had moved on. I assume these albums were pretty much just being bought by people who had already seen his (current) live shows, and I can't help but wonder what they must have made of this one.

    Issued on CD by Evidence, paired with 'Visits Planet Earth' and under the title 'Interstellar Low Ways.' The original cover (Sun Ra logo with a flaming candle) was not used.
     
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