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Sun Ra saturn re-issues

Many of the earliest Sun Ra titles (late 50's to early '60's) on his own Saturn label have been reissued on LP from the original tapes by the original producers, which is a rare and wonderful thing. This is not news, because they have been out for a few years. I just want to mention that these pressings are excellent and the sound is suprisingly good. This is of note because the original tapes are not 'audiophile quality', and the original LP's are hard to listen to for serious audiophiles more often than not, but the material is so monumental that we MUST hear it. Ra is a pivotal figure, and the early saturns are key in his oeuvre.

They have cleaned them up MINIMALLY, which is a good thing, meaning that they only ventured in where absolutely necessary. This, and using master tapes make these reissues a rare pleasure. Often better or as good as the original LP's, and I know, I own almost all of them.

Now I am not a fan of most contemporary pressings, and certainly the '180 gram vinyl' (or whatever they call it) has been a consistent disappointment. Original pressings from the 50's-70's are almost always better. However these are worth buying if you are new to Ra. And know that a $200 original might not sound any better!

I highly recommend the following titles: We Travel the Spaceways, Atlantis, When Sun Comes Out, Interstellar Low Ways, Cosmic Tones For Mental Therapy...and the great "Magic City" (one of my all time favorites).
chashmal
chashmal OP
605 posts
 
Alton Abraham, the original producer, did many of them. From what I have heard crappy digital hijynx were kept to a bare minimum.

They look like bootlegs because they reproduced the original '50's and '60's covers, which were often drawings done by band members without the oversight of professional graphic designers. They are crude, weird, and very 'homemade' looking.

Ra often drew covers himself as well. I own several pieces of his original artwork done on a blank record cover. In the 70's he sold records with original drawings on them at shows. I was lucky enough to seize the opportunity and also get them signed by the entire band.

For those who want to go 'way out there', do get "The Magic City". For those who want Ra's explorations to stay within bop-framed jazz, get "Interstellar Lowways". You will find that both his bop and free jazz are absolutely his own, and nowhere near the conventional modes of these forms.
grimace
624 posts
 
The Saturn reissues are pretty good. I've got 'Super Sonic Jazz' that I'm fond of. The recording isn't great, but the music is compelling. By comparison, I've got a very-mint original 1965 copy of 'The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra Vol.1' and the pressing isn't the best, although I think its on ESP-Disk not Saturn.

BTW,If anyone has a decent original vinyl copy of "The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra" on Savoy that you'd consider parting with I'd like to hear from you.
chashmal OP
605 posts
 
Grimace: of course the original saturns sounded bad. So what. If we were so obsessed with sound quality that we couldn't listen to a record, we would indeed have a problem. Not that I am saying that you are guilty of this, far from it.

I also have a poor sounding Heliocentric Worlds LP's on ESP, including one that looks mint but sounds so-so. Even the Base records reissues sound better.

Sorry, I am holding on to my original Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra on saturn. You should try the Jazz Record Center, and speak to Fred Cohen. It will probably run about $40.
grimace
624 posts
 
I didn't say I don't listen to it, just that it isn't a great pressing. In fact side A is worse than side B for some reason. I'm guessing QC wasn't a high priority at the pressing plant.
chashmal OP
605 posts
 
Those ESP's were wacky. I have some that are sonically spectacular. Others seem like a monkey on acid pressed them.

My best ESP record (sonically): a mint original of "Spiritual Unity" by Albert Ayler in mono. My worst: Marion Brown's first album, whose name I forgot (indicative of it's non-played status).

Seriously, check out Jazz Record Center here in NYC. Fred Cohen can get anything for a price.
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