Search - Sun Ra :: Angels & Demons / Nubians of Plutonia

Varied Sessions, Consistently Adventurous

Scott McFarland | Manassas, VA United States | 10/23/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Angels and Demons" is a short 8-song collection (more an "EP" than an "LP") that shows Ra's Chicago-era Arkestra doing some of their best work, moving from colorful big-band music (tracks 5-8) to more idiosynchratic music that reflected Ra's belief is cosmology (tracks 1-4)."Nubians" is a heavily percussive LP that influenced Coltrane among others. The recording quality on it varies from good to so-so. There are some wonderful compositions on it and many lengthy moments of drum-fueled ambience - "global trance" - that sound contemporary today, and were extraordinary for the late 1950's."

On the cusp of transition

Andrew R. Golden | Redwood City, CA United States | 01/11/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I love albums by performers who are in the midst of transitions. Think about the Beatles albums: Rubber Soul and Revolver. They were in the midst of the transiton that freed up their playing, yet they were still remained connected to their roots. That is what Angels and Nubians is like in the Sun Ra catalogue. It is suspended in the middle of a big change of direction from a tighter big band sound to free jazz. It is very complex in mood and is really groovy to boot. A great intro to Sun Ra."

A great place to start your Sun Ra collection!

Ryan Wepler | 12/29/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This release covers various sessions from the late 50's and 1960 and shows the Arkestra in transition from their strange version of swing to the even stranger sound explorations of mid to late sixties sessions."