The Sun Ra back catalogue is immense, partly due to the lack of control many musicians had of their own music, and Sun Ra's prodigious output. This means that quality control can sometimes be a little lacking.
This album, released as a 2CD set in 2005, is in fact a re-release of 1971's The Solar Myth Approach Volumes 1 & 2, recorded in New York the previous year.
I don't know if this is viewed as a stinker or a triumph in the Sun Ra catalogue, but the one thing is isn't, is boring. CD1 opens with Ancient Ethiopia, a riot of flutes and horns over a low string theme, which despite a brief drum solo gets better with each listen. Pyramids is a short harpsichord theme, again a grower, although I'm not so sure how much Scene One Take One will grow - it's eight minutes of electronic noodling, which at times brings The Clangers to mind. But as Sun Ra often does, he follows the chaos with something more downbeat - Outer Spaceways Inc, is a gentle little chorus hidden under an overpowering keyboard.
The first CD contains three longer pieces. Interpretation sounds angry but without really delivering much, Strange Worlds is a battle of horns and drums, which might benefit from being called a draw at the three minute mark while The Utter Nots starts in the same vein, but somehow feels to have more soul until the drum solo in the third minute. After a minute or two other instruments join the percussion, firstly piano, then horns, leading to a frantic few minutes - it's certainly the most interesting of the three longer pieces.
Legend kicks off CD2, the solo horn leading into a free electric piano / saxes piece, which concludes with some electronica, leading straight into Seen Three Took Four, an electric organ noodle, then the vocal track The Satellites Are Spinning, with an almost baroque harpsichord intro leading to a lovely song.
The longest piece on this disc, weighing in at twelve minutes plus is Realm Of Lightning, opening with a long African drum and horn style intro before the percussion takes over and works over a subtle bassline, with the horns blaring through the final third. They'll Come Back follows the Sun Ra pattern of 'a quiet wind down after the chaotic', a gentle piece which darkens in the second half. Adventures Of Bugs Hunter is very relaxed - electric piano over pounding drums, and the finale is Spectrum, a slow theme with some free saxes over it.
After first listen I had this down as a dud, a reissue to test the patience of Sun Ra fans, but after a couple more plays, I'm warming to it. Some pieces work better than others but there's so much which repays persistence.
3* - an album which may be revisited and VAR is likely to upgrade as it grows on me.
Comments