- Audio CD (12 Jan 2009)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Format: Special Edition
- Label: Abraxas Records
- ASIN: B000HRMEAU
- Other Editions: Audio CD | Vinyl | MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 513,613 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Audio CD
not much else to say: relax, have a drink, turn down the lights, fly with this most perfect of perfect music... and somewhere you will notice how sun ra and his band can turn time backwards, music upside down, its a devil of a ride but just relax and go for it... fantastic!
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I love Sun Ra. Admittedly, this has little to do with anything if you simply want to find a decent album to listen to and forget all the pretentious reviews! However, I do think that if you have stumbled upon this in your daily search for new listening material ( like I did), you should go somewhere else first, because this is like walking on fire: hint, very dangerous indeed!
There is simply too much going on here. For any who have tried Anthony Braxton's Ghost Trance Music and failed ( once again I am sympathetic), in these 8 tracks the sheer volume of material is astounding. There is an 18 minute track, there are blazingly atonal saxophone solos, there is Sun Ra's customary sermonizing about the space age, and there is no acoustic piano or jazz standards to let you off ( like in the majority of Ra's other work) . The whole way through it's just Moog Synthesizer and Rocksichord constantly.
The review is probably seeming cryptic to those few who barely know who Sun Ra is, or what this concert was! In 1974 some veterans may remember the ill-fated comet of the new-agers, Kohoutek! Many, ( the prophet Sun Ra included), took it as a herald of things to come. As we now know, even Ra's telepathic skills were not acute enough to sense the disappointment of an unspectacular spectacle, but at this stage, on the day before the failure, Sun Ra came into New York with a 50-piece band he called the Myth-Science Arkestra. His singer, June Tyson, and four other dancers, saluted the comet in bizarre extra-terrestrial regalia, dancing along to the semi-swing and as-i-said unfortunately mediochre psychedelia the jazz man conjured up.
It's not that the song choice is not good. It's the opposite: so much more (or indeed less) could be made out of it. Every piece, including Space is the Place and Enlightenment, we are bombarded with explosions of synthetic sound. What's more, at times the Arkestra sound tired, as if they cannot cope with the energetic program foisted upon them by the maestro.
Briefly I will return to the Anthony Braxton analogy. The vast majority of Earth-inhabitants will not be able to take it in, or at least, they will have to listen so hard that the joy of relaxation is taken away! In all honesty, I wouldn't buy this again if I had the chance. Is it far-out? BOY, IT IS. There are other albums, though, that fulfil this role better, while at the same time not appearing so amateur and monotonous: try Live at Praxis 1984 or Live from Soundscape. While making your decision please regard the title of this review.
Peace and thank you.
There is simply too much going on here. For any who have tried Anthony Braxton's Ghost Trance Music and failed ( once again I am sympathetic), in these 8 tracks the sheer volume of material is astounding. There is an 18 minute track, there are blazingly atonal saxophone solos, there is Sun Ra's customary sermonizing about the space age, and there is no acoustic piano or jazz standards to let you off ( like in the majority of Ra's other work) . The whole way through it's just Moog Synthesizer and Rocksichord constantly.
The review is probably seeming cryptic to those few who barely know who Sun Ra is, or what this concert was! In 1974 some veterans may remember the ill-fated comet of the new-agers, Kohoutek! Many, ( the prophet Sun Ra included), took it as a herald of things to come. As we now know, even Ra's telepathic skills were not acute enough to sense the disappointment of an unspectacular spectacle, but at this stage, on the day before the failure, Sun Ra came into New York with a 50-piece band he called the Myth-Science Arkestra. His singer, June Tyson, and four other dancers, saluted the comet in bizarre extra-terrestrial regalia, dancing along to the semi-swing and as-i-said unfortunately mediochre psychedelia the jazz man conjured up.
It's not that the song choice is not good. It's the opposite: so much more (or indeed less) could be made out of it. Every piece, including Space is the Place and Enlightenment, we are bombarded with explosions of synthetic sound. What's more, at times the Arkestra sound tired, as if they cannot cope with the energetic program foisted upon them by the maestro.
Briefly I will return to the Anthony Braxton analogy. The vast majority of Earth-inhabitants will not be able to take it in, or at least, they will have to listen so hard that the joy of relaxation is taken away! In all honesty, I wouldn't buy this again if I had the chance. Is it far-out? BOY, IT IS. There are other albums, though, that fulfil this role better, while at the same time not appearing so amateur and monotonous: try Live at Praxis 1984 or Live from Soundscape. While making your decision please regard the title of this review.
Peace and thank you.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
'Tuneful' Ra from the 70's
7 July 2009
Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of space chords throughout this concert, but more than many other live shows from this period this disc features Ra's melodic side during the early 70's which (to me) produced some of his heaviest compositions. Space chants, afro grooves, it's all here in spades. The only thing missing is an extended Gilmore feature, but the band sounds so good, you hardly notice. Lots of Ra solos, though!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Interstellar Overdrive
27 Aug 2008
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
A sonic event in honor of the Comet Kohoutek, the nine compositions are an unbridled energy which takes Sun Ra's amazing vision to grand heights.
Utilizing a synthesizer throughout this December 22, 1973, concert at the Town Hall in NYC, Sun Ra seizes the moment with Kohoutek Intro and leads a journey through jazz, avant-garde, funk and psychedelia. A trio of selections - Journey Through The Outer Darkness, Enlightenment, Unknown Kohoutek - are captivating for the intensity that goes beyond the art of performance.
With a cosmic concept to shape the evening, this is Sun Ra at his most dynamic, as he seemingly sends urgent messages to outer space through the power of music.
Utilizing a synthesizer throughout this December 22, 1973, concert at the Town Hall in NYC, Sun Ra seizes the moment with Kohoutek Intro and leads a journey through jazz, avant-garde, funk and psychedelia. A trio of selections - Journey Through The Outer Darkness, Enlightenment, Unknown Kohoutek - are captivating for the intensity that goes beyond the art of performance.
With a cosmic concept to shape the evening, this is Sun Ra at his most dynamic, as he seemingly sends urgent messages to outer space through the power of music.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
What Planet Is This?
9 April 2011
Format:Audio CD
This album is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I picked it up at a Newbury Comics cautiously, knowing that most of Sun Ra's records in the 70's were free and very experimental. However, while being both of those things, it also one of the most beautiful records I've ever heard. Just listen to the first 30 seconds of "Unknown Kohoutek" to see what I mean. And Ra's space chants usually just annoy me, but listening to "Outer Space E.M." is simply the greatest. Be warned though: this is one of the most intense albums I've ever heard, due mostly to Sun Ra's overdriven Synthesizer. Just listen when he lays down on that low end in "Journey Through The Outer Darkness". That's powerful. If you ever have the chance to get thsi album, pick it up. It may take a little while to get into, but you will not be disappointed.
"We sing this song to a great tomorrow/We sing this song to abolish sorrow ..." - Sun Ra
"We sing this song to a great tomorrow/We sing this song to abolish sorrow ..." - Sun Ra
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