If you have never heard this album. You need this now.
An astute reader notified me recently that the songs in my existing post of Astro Black were not divided properly. I checked and sure enough the division between Discipline 99 and Hidden Spheres was approx. 1 minute early (no music was lost - the tracks were simply divided incorrectly).
Fortunately, our Supreme Saturn Benefactor, Paul W, was able to provide us with a fresh LP rip of this album. Paul W's new rip includes several new scans of the LP jacket & labels and features Side B as one complete track.
According to the jacket of Astro Black, Sun Ra’s first new recording for ABC/Impulse! was made at “El Saturn Studio” in Chicago on May 7, 1972, but that date is questionable since the Arkestra was just leaving California in May -- and the studio name is “strictly mythic” (Campbell & Trent p.186) Whatever the date or actual location, it was clearly made in a professional recording studio as the sound quality is exceptionally good. Sun Ra was obviously determined to take advantage of the mass exposure a major label could bring, producing one his finest albums. Notably, Ronnie Boykins makes a welcome return on bass after a long absence and he is prominently featured here, driving the band to great heights. The Arkestra is augmented with both Akh Tal Ebah and Kwami Hadi on trumpets, Charles Stephens on trombone, Alzo Wright on violin and viola, along with several conga players, who give much of this record its avant-exotica feel. But Boykins’s clearly inspires Sonny and his fluent explorations on organ and synthesizer throughout the album demonstrate a consummate mastery of electronic instruments. Astro Black is, in my opinion, one of Sun Ra’s crowning recorded achievements.
(continue reading at Rodger Coleman's fantastic NuVoid - Sun Ra Sundays blog)
Impulse AS-9255, Astro Black, was released in 1973. Personnel and date from the Impulse jacket; the location was identified as "El Saturn Studio," but that is strictly mythic. There is some question about the precise date as well, because the Arkestra was just leaving Oakland in May 1972. "The Cosmo-Fire, Part II" also appeared on an Impulse Sampler LP, ASD-9267, titled No Energy Crisis. "Astro Black" also appeared in abridged form on an Impulse sampler called Impulsively!, Impulse 1973 or AS-9266. The "mistro-clarinet" was presumably an alto model.
From The Earthly Recordings of Sun Ra 2nd ed.
Astro Black
(Paul W's LP rip)
1. Astro Black 10:50
2. Discipline 99 4:45
3. Hidden Spheres 7:02
4. The Cosmo-Fire 18:22
1. Astro Black 10:50
2. Discipline 99 4:45
3. Hidden Spheres 7:02
4. The Cosmo-Fire 18:22
or
Sun Ra (Mini-Moog syn, e-vib, org); Akh Tal Ebah (tp); Lamont McClamb [Kwame Hadi] (tp); Charles Stephens (tb); Marshall Allen (as); Danny Davis (as); John Gilmore (ts, perc); Danny Ray Thompson (bars); Eloe Omoe (bcl); Pat Patrick (mistro-cl); Alzo Wright (vln, vla); Ronnie Boykins (b); Tommy Hunter (d); Atakatume [Stanley Morgan] (cga); Odun [Russell Branch] (cga); Chica (cga); Ruth Wright (voc); June Tyson (voc).
Studio Recording, Chicago, May 7, 1972
Astro Black
(Yotte's LP rip)
(Yotte's LP rip)
1. Astro Black 10:53
2. Discipline "99" 3:41
3. Hidden Spheres 8:05
4. The Cosmo-Fire (part 1) 6:57
5. The Cosmo-Fire (part 2) 7:08
6. The Cosmo-Fire (part 3) 4:17
or
The images in this rip were collected from the web (as are most images at this site). I tried my best to take some digital photos of my LP but the results are marginal at best. I've included my pics in the download files.
thank you, paul w. and yotte!!!
ReplyDeleteI-)
Now that I think of it, this never has been reissued on CD...... Funny thing too because the fidelity is pretty astounding to these ears. I believe it was recorded and released in whatever quad (four channel) format that was in vogue in the early 70s. A lot of impossible stuff going on here, technically and musically.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Rev.b
ReplyDeleteIt boggles the brain a bit that both this and Discipline 27 II have never been issued on CD. They both sound fantastic and are filled with creative, well-executed, beautifully recorded performances. What gives? If Impulse! can reissue Space is the Place, why not these?
rev.b is correct - astro black was released in quadrophonic, specifically with the 'sansui standard matrix system' (ssms).
ReplyDeletemaybe impulse (and a&m) are waiting for the arrival centennial and then they will reissue all of their sun ra catalog holdings? okay, wishful thinking, but if someone has their ear, maybe they can whisper that to them?
I-)
the quad-released sun ra albums are:
ReplyDeleteAstro Black - Impulse AS-9255 (QS)
Magic City - Impulse AS-9243 (QS)
Pathways to Unknown Worlds - Impulse ASD-9298 (QS)
Space is the Place - Blue Thumb BTS-41 (QS), BTE-M-841 (QS8)
these titles were released only in quad, no stereo versions are known.
I-)
Quad... I'm curious, if you cover one ear do you hear it in stereo? ;-)
ReplyDeletegreat idea, yotte... by the way - has anybody seen the quad equipment ? i was interested in it when i came to canada in 1987 but was told that it was gone for years. in europe on my questions regarding quad i heard only laugh from salesmen...
ReplyDeletemaybe somebody in usa used this equipment - what were the sound results ?
paul w.
i have all four sun ra quad recordings in vinyl but couldn't listen to them in quad - no equipment available anywhere. but the sound quality in stereo and stereo effects were very good - high quality sound !!!
ReplyDeleteregards.
paul w.
I remember being 10 or 11 years old and a kid in the neighborhood (older than I) had a quad receiver. It had a joystick controller on the front panel that allowed him to steer the sound balance between the 4 speakers. I was VERY impressed - but of course that was over 35 years ago... and I was only 10.
ReplyDeleteyou can get some idea of what quad sounded like by playing stereo recordings (ones that have very distinct stereo images) through a receiver that has surround sound and four (or five) speakers - the receiver surround sound will synthesize the four channels. this probably will also work on your PC, provided you have surround sound capability and four or five speakers hooked up to your computer.
ReplyDeleteI-)
to I-)
ReplyDeletei can easily check my surround sound receiver + my five good speakers attached to my stereo equipment. i'll try. usually i don't use surround sound for listening to the music - i use it for dvd's/video/tv programme. thanks for the reminder of surround sound.
regards.
paul w.
I am enjoying this and do hope it will be reissued on CD sometime. Just did a Sun Ra search on Amazon and their sure is plenty available to keep one occupied for some time. Lots of the really early stuff from the 50s and early 60s, which I am more familiar with, but plenty of the Transparency releases which I hope to try and obtain some of before they go out of print and I see some of the Leo releases are still available too. Looks like a big shop up on Ra next time I cash in my scrap copper pile.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely LOVE this album. I've been listening to it in my car for the last couple of weeks.
ReplyDeleteI hope that's a BIG scrap pile! There's a LOT of Ra out there! On the Transparency stuff, I'd recommend you email them directly - Michael normally offers a bit of a discount and some of the prices I've seen online are pretty outrageous.