Friday, April 5, 2013

Sun Ra - The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra (USA 1961)

Sun Ra Album Of The Week




I have been trying to review My Sun Ra albums in the order they were originally released and I believe this album was the next one to come out after "Jazz In Silhouette", but as I have already mentioned previously the discographies I refer to list the releases by earliest recording date on that particular album. After this, his fourth album, things get a little more confusing as a considerable number of releases in the sixties after this one were of recordings pre-dating  the recordings on this album. This particular release came to me in the Box set I recently purchased. This album has taken a while to seep into my consciousness but I am enjoying it now more than when I first heard it. On casual listens it tends it sound like it is meandering a bit but on closer inspection there is plenty here of interest and Ra is still developing his sound as we get the usual mix of big band swing but with a more bop and even more of his Egyptian sounding compositions such as the percussion dominated "New Day" . The vocal tracks are more mellow and are my least favourite numbers although Mrs. Roddus prefers them. Not a set that captures me immediately but another worthwhile addition to my Sun Ra Collection. Rating 3.5/5 

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