Track Listing

1. And Otherness
2. Thither and Yon
3. Adventure-Equation
4. Moon Dance
5. Voice of Space
6. Cluster of Galaxies
7. Ankh
8. Solar Drums
9. Outer Heavens
10. Infinity of the Universe
11. Lights on a Satellite
12. Kosmos in Blue

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #60361 in Music
• Brand: Sun Microsystems
• Released on: 1992-11-20
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Nebulous noises from the Omni-verse�
This CD brings together two of Sun Ra's landmark albums from the early 60's. Tracks 1-5 comprise `Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy' (Dated 1963) & tracks 6-12 make up `Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow' (Dated 1961-1962). As with all the Sun Ra reissues on Evidence the `scene setting' sleeve notes are extensive, well researched and really help you to understand how the music was created and what it's all about.

And as you listen to this music it's easy to imagine that the Arkestra are playing along to some surreal sci-fi movie, maybe a film that only existed in Sun Ra's mind? Who knows? What I do know is this album has a timeless quality and I'll never grow tired of listening to it. Tracks 1-3 are all in a similar vein, each with slightly differing arrangements and varying amounts of delay. In fact the use of an echo box throughout the album is awesome. Check out Track 2 (Thither and Yon), Track 5 (Voice of Space) with its haunting sax solos and beautiful bass, and Track 8 (Solar Drums) a complete delay-fest extravaganza! I can't think of another artist who was creating similar `sound-scapes' at the beginning of the sixties, with the exception of early sci-fi films such as `Forbidden Planet'. Sun Ra doesn't make his presence felt (other than as producer, arranger and mixer) until Track 4 (Moon Dance). This is my favourite track, featuring some awesome organ playing from the leader and a bass riff that wouldn't sound out of place on a funk/jazz album released today. Track 6 (Cluster of Galaxies) is another excellent sound experiment, and the louder you have the volume set during Track 10 (Infinity of the Universe) the better! All in all... this is classic Sun Ra. You can even hear a telephone ringing half way through Track 3 (Adventure-Equation) and then again at the end of that track! Perhaps it was the Mother ship calling....

One thing that always strikes me when listening to this CD is how far ahead of its time it was. It anticipates the psychedelic movement of the late 60's and the fusion of the 70's, while simultaneously reaffirming Sun Ra's position as a heavyweight player in the Avant-Garde jazz scene. Trust me... You cannot overlook this album!

The Rosetta Stone Of Avante Garde Jazz
Why you should buy this album: 1.It sounds like a transmission from the hippest radio station in outer space. 2.It contains fully successful examples of futurist and minimalist compositions, written by a man who most likely had never before encountered either term. 3.It will make you more intelligent and hip. 4.It makes the psychedelic music of the hippie era sound tame. It was also recorded four years before the first acid test. 5.It's damned funky. Find out what you're missing.

Beyond Definition
Sun Ra was in tune with cosmic energies, and was influenced by heliocentric sound waves.
Whether or not this is taken literally, I have no doubt, after listening to this cd, that Sun Ra heard things his own way, and succeeded in transmitting what he heard to his Arkestra.
The music here is simultaneously primitive and ultra modern. John gilmore's solo on the third track, for example, reminds alot of Ethiopian music and even Sudanese music. The liner notes say it is the call of a Muezin. The rhythms move from sounding African to sounding solar, with surprising fluency. Some of the interplay between the horns, on a few tracks, are so creative and effective, that their effect on me is hard to describe.
I see the influence of Ra's music on so many things, such as energy music, the AACM (the way he uses space and silence), and on other styles, outside of jazz. All this while defying commercialism, staying true to his artistic vision, and maintaining wonderful orchestra's for so many years.
It is a rare priviledge for us mere mortals to listen to the music of Sun Ra, enjoy it and even write about it.