Search - Sun Ra :: Calling Planet Earth

Calling Planet Earth
Sun Ra
Calling Planet Earth
Genres: Jazz, Pop
 
  •  Track Listings (6) - Disc #1
  •  Track Listings (5) - Disc #2
  •  Track Listings (9) - Disc #3

By now, Sun Ra's exceptional band is a well-documented musi-cultural phenomenon. Unfortunately, this wasn't always the case. Calling Planet Earth is a marvelous three-CD collection of Sun Ra that includes "Spaceways" (two ...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Sun Ra
Title: Calling Planet Earth
Members Wishing: 4
Total Copies: 0
Label: Freedon/Da Music/Ka
Release Date: 4/21/1998
Album Type: Box set
Genres: Jazz, Pop
Style: Avant Garde & Free Jazz
Number of Discs: 3
SwapaCD Credits: 3
UPCs: 031397761229, 4002587761226

Synopsis

Amazon.com
By now, Sun Ra's exceptional band is a well-documented musi-cultural phenomenon. Unfortunately, this wasn't always the case. Calling Planet Earth is a marvelous three-CD collection of Sun Ra that includes "Spaceways" (two concerts, recorded in 1966 and 1968), "Calling Planet Earth" (a live show from 1971), and "Outer Spaceways Incorporated" (a studio collection). On all three discs, Sun Ra's spacey, avant-garde jazz orchestrations are exhorted by a willing and musically fanatical big band. A traditional rhythm section, African percussion, June Tyson's expressive singing, and Ra's imaginative work on piano and keyboard electronics augment brass and reed sections. Featuring outrageous soloists like tenor giant John Gilmore, this retrospective is essential. --Mitch Myers
 

CD Reviews

Great Albums-Horrible Package
Richie Garcia (richie@sirius.com) | San Francisco | 11/20/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Terrible sound quality? Part of Sun Ra's quixotic charm was that he never had the proper facilities to perform with a big band. The Arkestra always had to crowd in to small clubs and record with less than adequate equipment. Believe me, I've heard much less discernible Sun Ra records. The drawbacks of this box set are the Duran Duran cover art and the superfluous liner notes. Why not give us the original cover art? Great albums though. All three are essential for Sun Ra fans."
Sun Ra--The Soulful Madman Genius
Richie Garcia (richie@sirius.com) | 06/22/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)

"We all know that Sun Ra was a visionary of the caliber of Charles Mingus or Mozart. He considered himself not a creator of music, but a medium trough which eternal sounds and feelings flowed. High points of his fumbling but enlightening experiments abound on this box set, and I consider it the most accessible collection released to date for the uninitiated listener."