Customer Reviews

Singles

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a treasure-trove of some of the most unexpected and fascinating music from Sun Ra. As a lot of the descriptions point out, this is mostly R&B style pop music - it was all literally made as 45' singles, meant for juke-box play. The surprising part, of course, is that one of the great avant-garde jazz musicians would make these records, but on reflection it's really not so strange. The avant-garde in jazz, with Sun Ra and the Art Ensemble as great examples, have always had their roots deep in blues, R&B and other African-American pop music, not necessarily out of necessity but out of love. Just listen to the blues in Ornette Coleman's playing, or read Lester Bowie's stories about playing in funk bands. Even Coltrane paid his dues by 'walkin' the bar' in R&B bands.

Unlike other comments, I think this music is perfect for a Sun Ra fan, as I am, because as a true lover of his music, you have to let the man do what he wants and not pigeon-hole your own listening with your expectations. Expect that unexpected with this set, which is by turns charming, funny and bizarre, but always true and sincere. A must, a real must for any true Sun Ran fan.

I am relatively new to the world of Sun Ra (started 7/99). Someone mentioned him to me and I decided to start my Sun Ra collection the way I started my collection with most rock groups and that is with a compilation of hits or singles. I bought this and was immediately put off by what I heard. I later tried "Other Planes of There" after hearing a extraordinary Sun Ra song on a college radio station, and that was the real start of my Sun Ra collection of nearly 70 cds. This singles compilation remains a high point in my collection.
The reason this isnt the place to start is although it is a singles compilation, which I still cannot believe they were able to compile considering how obscure a great deal of them are, but alot of what is on here is Sun Ra in a support role to another act. The other act being a Rhythm and Blues act with performances I have grown to love, even though they are not typical Sun Ra by any stretch of the imagination.
If you are a seasoned veteran of Sun Ra from any period the 50s, 60s,70s, 80s, buy this album and let it grow on you. If you are interested in Sun Ra and wonder where to start I would ask yourself Big Band?? or Free Jazz?? If the answer is just swing and a good time start with "Jazz in Silhouette". But if you want free jazz taken further than John Coltranes deepest dreams. Try "Atlantis" and the peek of the genre "Magic City".

The music on here is not typical Sun Ra. Evidence have done a wonderful job of collecting rare material into an informative, well-presented package. Unfortunately many potential fans may try to start an investigation of Ra's music here, when much of the content here is not reflective of Ra's jazzier, more arranged LPs. What is here is interesting, but it is by no means Ra's best stuff - though there are some real pearls of beauty in here.

Here's to the unmasking of the Batman.

This cd release is a stunning glimpse into Sun Ra and his celebration of Black Music. I was floored at the first listen and continue to be so when I put it on. To think of what this man did for black music in general, this CD package should be heard (perhaps even purchased) by ALL who think of themselves as music enthusuiasts. It is very important stuff! Sun Ra was producing and selling his own records YEARS before anyone else had done this. I am a big Sun Ra fan, and have a very good cross-representative collection of his material, and Singles is perfect to fill it out and to force one's self to really think about what it is that Sun Ra was all about.

All of this said, it likely is not the First thing someone should by, more likely the 5th or more. Start with The Futuristic Sounds, or Angels and Demons at Play or Outerspaceways INC, if you like wilder music. Most of his work is pretty hot in my book.

I got a kick out these two CD's but I am:
A) a Sun Ra fan of long standing, and
B) interested in where music really comes from, and not just the high points.
These recordings, some of them anyway, are odd even within Sun Ra's idiosyncratic world. Sun Ra is one of those jazz musicians who usually think in terms of the total composition, integrating a number of soloists into that framework. Jelly Roll Morton, Ellington, and, sometimes, Miles, Mingus & Monk work this way. Some of these "singles" are one-dimensional novelty numbers. Some are cute, like the "doo-wop" songs, e.g. "Dreaming". Valuable if you find this kind of music charming but otherwise wouldn't come in (voluntary) contact with it. Others are just raucous, like the Yochanan pieces, though even these have a kind of urban rustic charm, especially "Hot Skillet Mama". (The liner notes indicate that the fine tenor player John Gilmore called Yochanan, billed as the "space age vocalist" in the day, a "no-talent hanger-on" and swore he'd never recorded with him.)
Other pieces connect more directly with Sun Ra's oeuvre. Some, like "Saturn", are similar to more familiar recorded versions of the era or later. Many of these recordings are rough in comparison to Sun Ra's other work, with a rehearsal or impromptu feel, e.g. "Love in outer space" with June Tyson & John Gilmore singing. The liner notes are very good, placing the guy who said variously that he "came from nowhere here" or "Saturn" very firmly in the grimy contexts of Birmingham, Chicago and Philadelphia. Includes some interesting photos.

I'm not really a jazz fan, but this wonderful collection of obscure singles is quite an enjoyable listening experience. Describing the music is no easy task, but it veers from what sounds to me like standard jazz into real avant-garde cosmic experimentalism, with some flashes of calypso, über-funk and delightful soul in between. Perhaps George Clinton with his ParliaFunkadelicment-thang was inspired by Sun Ra? My favorite tracks include Great Balls Of Fire (it's not the rock `n roll song), two brilliant and very catchy renditions of I'm Gonna Unmask The Batman, Disco 2100, Cosmo Extensions and Outer Space Plateau. I can just imagine someone like Prince doing a great cover of "Batman" and one of those "intelligent techno" bands like Autechre or Aphex Twin doing post-modernist versions of Disco 2100 or Mayan Temple. Weird, wonderful and quirky music infused with humor and joy. Sun Ra was a marvel, a very prolific genius whose influence will continue to grow in the 21st century.

Sun Ra's music is often traditional and radical at the same time and this compilation of all the known 45s put out by Sun Ra follows the simultaneous traditional/radical concept. According to the cd liner notes some of these 45s were pressed in batches of 50, so good luck ever finding a copy. This set took 3 years to produce and is essentially an archeological dig blowing dust off of buried vinyl relics. The 32 page booklet is informative and scholarly. I wish I had bought this sooner, because the music is pretty cool from an R&B perspective: hearing Sun Ra's conceptual finger prints smeared all over African American pop music.

An aspect of Sun Ra's amazing career which spanned five decades was not chronicled well.....until this special release.

The 45 RPM records collected in this volume were for juke boxes and mostly focus on the pop music sounds of the time period. There is specific focus on R&B, the blues and vocal performances, though there are a few jazz pieces in the mix.

Artists have to eat and have the funds to proceed with projects, but this is not music reluctantly cut for all the right reasons, but with apathy in sound. Sun Ra made the most of what many may consider a B-side of his art and each track is an audio sign of the times.

I believe the enjoyment of this two disc set really depends on what your expectations are going into it, which is why I hope to clarify a few things with this review that have not been fully divulged in the others.

While Sun Ra is often thought of (and thought of himself as) futuristic, this set is more akin to his exploration of African American musical history. All of the music is unmistakably imbued with Ra's quirky futuristic imprints, but he branches out to explore such seemingly divergent styles as doo wop, blues, jazz, soul, rhythm and blues and more.

For those who think of Sun Ra as jazz and jazz only (though I'm sure he'd be the last person to paint himself into that box), this set may be a bit of a let down. Which is not to say this set doesn't include Ra's space-age jazz stylings; there's plenty of that here, including some fascinating interpretations of what could be called Ra "standards". There's just much more besides, which makes for a somewhat eclectic listening experience. But then again, that's really part of the fun of this set: You don't know what style is coming up next, but each song is exciting and unique, and all the tunes somehow remain cohesive thanks to Ra's musical sensibilities.

I came to this set prepared: I am a Sun Ra fan (with 5 or 6 other discs of his), and a fan of many different musical genres. I value originality of vision and execution, and this collection did not disappoint my expectations. It is at times fun, funky, ethereal, kitschy, futuristic, obtuse, catchy, funny, beautiful and chaotic. Not everyone will appreciate such variety within one album, but for those that will there's an embarrassment of riches here.

Sun Ra may be the outest of outliers in free jazz: can you argue my point about a guy named Herman who dressed in a turban and said he was from Saturn.

But like any jazzman worth a grain of salt--interplanetary salt--Ra kicked off in R&B. Others did the blues, point being the schooling bottom to top of the pyrmaid.

This set runs through smaller pieces from said 1950s R&B through brilliant electronic experiments like Ra's Disco 000s series, with their shimmering, dream-spacedust electric piano work

Major works of Ra. No. Music so fantastic you can't go without. Yes.