You must listen to Sun Ra, they said, so I picked this up in HMV on a punt. I was aware of the album, but had never heard it and had no idea what I was letting myself in for.
I got it home, popped it into the CD drawer, sat back and I'd never heard anything like it
Boing, boing, then the low sax theme, followed by the main theme. Then the Space Is The Place vocals come in, followed by the second set of vocals, a high sax break and it's chaos with all the parts on top of one another, as the ear focuses in and out of different parts, to the extent that it's a different listen every time. And out of the chaos an order emerges, then vanishes with an astonishing beauty.
Just when you've forgotten one of the parts, it comes back to the fore and reminds you. The title track and main course is 21 minutes of absolute mayhem, total wonder and beauty.
So, how to follow that? Images does just that, a much more laidback, orthodox jazz big band tune, but with just enough discord underlying to make it unmistakeably Sun Ra. A real "we can do melody if we want to, but often we choose not to".
Discipline 33 is slower and more brooding, a piece very much in the Sun Ra style, but just when you're settling back into your comfy chair, Sea Of Sounds arrives, exactly what you'd expect of free jazz, chaos, but to my untrained ear lacking the soul of the longer title track, and probably outstaying its welcome by the five minute mark. And to end the album, Rocket Number Nine, in which Sun Ra continues the space theme (he was an alien from Saturn on a mission to preach peace, apparently), a continuation of the Space Is The Place mayhem, but sounding a little more playful to wrap things up.
This is an album which blew me away, and continues to do so, every listen. I can't recommend it highly enough!
5* - an absolute classic free jazz album. Just wonderful, Sun Ra at his peak!
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