Customer Reviews

Outer Space Employment Agency

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Not for every listener, this live recording from the Ann Arbor Jazz and Blues Festival of 1973 preserves the unique dimensions of Sun Ra and Arkestra's theater and sound. The sound quality will disappoint many but diverting focus to the content and message of the performance may allow for an enhanced appreciation for the "otherworldliness" and secular gospel aspects of this recording. Probably not a good introduction to Sun Ra but it is an amazing, creative and philosophical document of Arkestra's jazz theater.

Recorded at the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival on September 9, 1973, the CD is part of an ongoing series of rough tape mixes from a variety of sources that are being officially released.

Sun Ra sparkles on the Farfisa organ and Minimoog on Discipline 99 and Love in Outer Space. The Intergalactic Arkestra stretches out on a series of five selections - starting with, At First There Was Nothing - with a groove that swings and the bolstered by the wonderful lyrical interpretations from vocalist June Tyson.

Live is where Sun Ra employed new dimensions to his intriguing explorations into sound and the 52:11 on this CD again shows why the concert experience was so special for the band members and fans.

Listening to the version of Watusi here just made me appreciate more the studio version on Angels & Demons At Play. OSEA is noisy, too much outside free for alls... ok, maybe there is a lot of discipline and technique involved, fine, so simply calling it noise would not be fair, but the effect, regardless, is that it sounds like a bunch of noise. And the recording quality on this album is quite spotty.

Well, this is my initial impression, maybe the album will grow on me. But I have a number of other Sun Ra albums, all of which I'd rank much higher than this one. Get this one only if you're such a Sun Ra completist and you already have all his other stuff. Otherwise, I recommend skipping it...