2nd Chance: Sun Ra - Lanquidity (Acetate, LP, & CD) (1978)

Original LP Artwork (sold at Arkestra concerts)

For years Lanquidity (1978) was practically a myth - a thing of legends that Sun Ra collectors could only dream of one day hearing.  This changed when Evidence issued their HDCD-Remastered edition in 2000.  Since that time it has become recognized as one of Ra's most accessible and unique albums in a catalog of music that is seldom easily accessible but always unique.  This amazing album has found its way around the www more than a few times so to bring something special to you, I decided to offer 3 rips from three unique sources:  The Lanquidity Acetate, an LP rip from the 180g reissue, and the CD.  I hope you enjoy the opportunity to compare and contrast the sonic delights that each offers.

277. [223]  Sun Ra

Sun Ra (ARP, Fender Rhodes ep, Yamaha org, Hammond B3 org, Mini-Moog syn, p, orchestral bells, Crumar Mainman, voc); Eddie Gale (tp); Michael Ray (tp, flg); Marshall Allen (as, ob, fl); Danny Davis (as, fl); John Gilmore (ts); Danny Ray Thompson (bars, fl); Julian Pressley (bars); James Jacson (bsn, fl, ob, ethnic voice); Eloe Omoe (bcl, fl); Dale Williams (eg); Disco Kid (eg); Richard Williams (b, eb); Luqman Ali (d, perc); Atakatune (cga, tymp); Michael Anderson (perc); June Tyson (ethnic voice); Edde Tahmahs [Eddie Thomas] (ethnic voice).

Blank Tapes, NYC, July 17, 1978

Philly Jazz PJ 666, Lanquidity, was released in 1978.  All information from the album jacket.  Much overdubbing was used on this album.  According to Rick Barry of Philly Jazz, Ra requested that Omoe's name be listed as "Ego Omoe" on the jacket.  Dale Williams says that Disco Kid's first name was Greg; Disco Kid was responsible for the "straight" guitar playing, while Williams handled the wa-wa and other effects.

A test pressing for this LP was recently discovered by Gilbert Hsiao.  The matrix numbers are PJ1006A/B, and the date incised in the vinyl is 9/14/78.  Two tracks are somewhat different on the test pressing.   "Twin Stars of Thence" has another 10 seconds of guitar introduction with horns.  "That's How I Feel" contains another four minutes of music beyond the issued version, which fades after Ra's solo -- there is a baritone sax solo, perhaps by Danny Ray Thompson, and a return of the head.

According to Armin Büttner and Peter Roberts, "When Pathways Meet" was re-released in 1994 on Swiss Luv'n'Haight LH-010, a 12" 33-rpm maxi single.  A track by Viva Brazil is on the other side.  The same Ra track also appeared on a sampler LP/CD on the same label titled Brotherhood, LHLP/LHCD-018.

from The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

Unfortunately, I have virtually no other info whatsoever on the Acetate (the 'test pressing').  Our generous Anonymous reader offered this to me and of course I jumped at the chance to hear and share it.  He believes this rip is a generation or two removed from the original.  Perhaps it is actually the 'test pressing' mentioned above?  "Where Pathways Meet" was released on a 2010 compilation titled The Blank Generation: Blank Tapes NYC 1975-1987.

When Pathways Meet (Acetate Mix) from

The Blank Generation

Original Foil Cover

While one can't quite call it the Sun Ra dance album, this 1978 recording, made for a tiny Philadelphia record label, finds the Sun Ra Arkestra's rhythm section settling into a steady groove on each of the lengthy tracks, while horns, reeds, guitars, and Sun Ra's keyboards solo in overlapping patterns on top. The title number recalls Charles Mingus' "Goodbye Porkpie Hat" in its slow pace and elegiac tone, while the middle three tracks have livelier beats with playing that often answers to the style of fusion played by many jazz groups in the late '70s. "There Are Other Worlds (They Have Not Told You Of)," the nearly 11-minute concluding tune, is the closest to more familiar 1960s and early-'70s Sun Ra, with its less cohesive lead work and the "ethnic voices" that speak, sing, and whisper about outer space. Lanquidity was extremely rare in its original vinyl pressing. It was reissued by Evidence Music on September 26, 2000, with liner notes in which John Dilberto discussed Sun Ra's 25-year residence in Philadelphia and Tom Buchler, who organized the recording session, discussed the making of the album.

AMG review by William Ruhlmann

This 1978 session, coming relatively late in Sun Ra's creative history, is another extraordinary venture into uncharted musical terrain. As the name suggests, it's a liquid and languid musical state, from the lounge area of Ra's cosmos, but it can also be resiliently funky and subtly dissonant in ways unheard outside the orchestra's precincts. The rhythm section of electric bass, two guitars, and three drummers creates deep pulsing grooves for Sun Ra's assortment of ethereal organs and synthesizers and a horn complement of two trumpets and five reeds that are used sparingly for maximal effect. There are some elements of commercial crossover funk and even Miles Davis's electric period, but this is highly original music, an acid jazz prototype in which groove and electronica intersect with muted brass and a heady assortment of reeds and percussion. Sudden squiggles of funk guitar mix with strong improvisation from Sun Ra and his regular soloists, like saxophonists John Gilmore and Marshall Allen, who are always ready to bend the music into some new pitch zone. The lyrical title track bears a resemblance to Mingus's "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat," and "There Are Other Worlds" is supplemented by overdubbed "Ethnic Voices" and additional percussion and electronics, creating an eerily engaging tapestry. Recorded in a New York studio with the sound further improved by Evidence, this is unusually well recorded for Sun Ra music of the period, a warm bath in music both lush and exotic. Amazon Review by --Stuart Broomer

1978’s Lanquidity (now re-issued by Evidence) features a silver and purple cover image of Ra that begs the question: Has Sun Ra made a fusion album? This thought at first seems merely ridiculous, then after further consideration becomes a bit surreal, and then upon hearing becomes downright disturbing. As with any Ra project, a simple description such as “Ra does fusion” serves no justice in truly describing the actual music. Ra was a master at twisting known musical idioms into his idiosyncratic vision, and Lanquidity proves to be a stirring, mesmerizing example of this vision.

All of the tunes generally follow the same basic structure: the Arkestra riffs on dark, bluesy motifs; the bass and percussion create an interlocking, unchanging groove; and behind it all Ra, on piano and synthesizers, and the two guitarists (a rarely used instrument in Ra’s music), fill in the space with ethereal chords and disembodied riffs.

On the title track the Arkestra pieces together a creeping, mournful melody with shifting combinations of the two-trumpet and five-reed horn section. Against this, Ra plays wistful fragments on his Rhodes, while Richard Williams provides the glue with a sparse electric bass line. This funk-stuck-in-slow-motion points to an uncomfortable dread waiting below the surface.

The rhythm section opens “Twin Stars of Thence”, setting up a hypnotic, dragging pulse. Acoustic bass, guitar, traps and tympani lock in while Ra muses methodically on organ. The horns materialize out of nothingness and Gilmore weaves abstract blues lines into the mixture. A guitar solo, then the baritone saxophone takes a spare turn that lags behind the beat, while behind Ra incorporates lines from the guitarist’s solo into the background. Combined, these elements disorient and displace the listener. You feel as if this music should go down easy, but the candy coating turns out to be a sticky, unescapable molasses.

The Arkestra finally drags you where they want you on “There Are Other Worlds (they have not told you of)” A sleepy, barely noticeable hi-hat beats perpetually, soon joined by a low-register chorus of humming. Ra’s synthesizer and piano textures threaten to overtake the other instruments, pushing the piece toward disintegration. Towards the end the atmosphere ge s downright spooky, with breathy, whispering voices materializing, chanting the title over and over again. All the while flutes, then synthesizer, then dissonant piano chords, then saxophone swirl about, until they all dissipate like some phantom, leaving you wondering if what you just heard was really there at all.

On Lanquidity Ra turns the idea of disco and funk on its head: the repetitive beats, which usually make one feel like they know where the next step will land, instead leave one warily hanging on every moment. The music leads us in an unsettling direction, to a secret world where the lumbering grooves at first seduce with their simplicity, then intoxicate with their richness, until finally the darker sound textures overtake you and drop you in a place you had not imagined before.

 All About Jazz review by Matthew Wuethrich

Another foil cover

Sun Ra is one of the most challenging and innovative composers of the 20th century. He has a stupefyingly enormous discography, he espoused an enigmatic philosophy of cosmic proportions, and his music is often full of dense and unconventional sounds. Knowing where to start can be difficult, digesting his more experimental recordings even more so. For these reasons, and because of its once rare status, 1978's Lanquidity has long been among the most coveted Sun Ra records. It blends the Arkestra's characteristically obtuse performances and noisy tendencies with strong melodies, fat bass lines, and relatively straightforward rhythms. It's an excellent record for beginners and maybe the most accessible Sun Ra album ever recorded.

Because of previous encounters with Sun Ra's music, I was surprised by what I heard in the opening moments of Lanquidity. The title song features a plodding rhythm beat out by percussionist Michael Anderson, horn solos cool enough for an early Miles Davis record, and space enough to identify the many fractured tones that materialize around Richard Williams' weighty bass line. It is impressive that, with more than 14 Arkestra members on board, nearly every one of them gets the chance to speak up before the first song is out. Keyboards, synthesizer noise, oboe, flute, bassoon, and various horns (one of them played by Eddie Gale) take turns chattering or singing over the foundation of Anderson and Williams' somnambulistic rhythm section. The Arkestra's ingenious blending of simple rhythms and melodies with angular bursts of noise and interwoven phrases makes concentrating on the music's many complexities easier. The sometimes jarring juxtapositions of sax honking and squealing woodwinds are transformed into colorful, ecstatic, and pleasing expressions, like fireworks exploding over a familiar scene. And the often vibrant, strongly melodic solos are made that much more attractive by the atonal harmonies and contrasting elements that swirl throughout the song. Each musician plays off the other musician in such an effortless and easy-sounding way that I'm tempted to think Sun Ra notated each and every last note of the song, right down to the most nuanced dynamics. "Lanquidity" is a masterwork of arrangement and performance, and one of the best opening songs to an album that I've ever heard.

But things only get better from there. "Where Pathways Meet" is brisk and far more upbeat, almost danceable. Williams' bass, Sun Ra's piano, and a baritone sax combine to form a basic melodic pattern with a boastful, heavy swagger while a trio saxophones bluster a melody over it that swings so hard it rocks. Michael Anderson and second percussionist Artaukatune slam out a sample-worthy backbeat that is met by more blaring horns, a pair of dueling electric guitars, and a from-the-gut trumpet solo so emotive it outshines everything the Arkestra and both guitarists can pump out together. On each of the following songs, the same basic idea is employed: Sun Ra combines attractive and catchy melodies and rhythms with spaced out, often impressionistic instrumental voices that are more painterly than they are musical. It is astonishing that the Arkestra keeps this same basic formula compelling throughout the entire album. The rhythms, melodies, solos, and tapestry-like arrangements on each song are all memorable, layered, and exciting, and they've yet to get old, though I've played this record countless times in the last couple of months. Whether or not anyone could dance to this stuff, the music commands the body just as well as it commands the imagination, and I think that is one of the reasons it is so enduring.

"There Are Other Worlds (They Have Not Told You Of)" concludes the album in a more abstract and disjointed way. A constant rhythm section still leads the song, at least at first. But, Sun Ra adds more synthesizer, wandering piano, and atonality to the proceedings. Eventually, whispering voices are added to the mix, which speak of space, music, secret knowledge, and mysterious worlds beyond our own. From start to finish, the music becomes increasingly fractured, until it is broken down into primal piano and synthesizer utterances, like a radio communication received from afar. These final moments lead naturally into Sun Ra's more abstract and difficult music, as if the album were made to prepare listeners for what comes next, whether it be a record like Interstellar Low Ways or Heliocentric Worlds Vol. 2. My natural inclination once the album has finished is to put more Ra on and follow him further into the outer reaches of music.

For those curious about the man's music Lanquidity is an excellent place to begin. More than that, it's a stupendous album that marries Sun Ra's more adventurous ideas with a soulful and catchy sound anyone can appreciate.

Brainwashed.com review

Lanquidity (Acetate)

01 - Lanquidity   8:25
02 - Where Pathways Meet   6:36
03 - That's How I Feel   12:22
04 - Twin Stars of Thence   10:01
05 - There Are Other Worlds (They Have Not Told You Of)   9:29

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Lanquidity LP

01 - Lanquidity   8:19
02 - Where Pathways Meet   6:31
03 - That's How I Feel   8:01
04 - Twin Stars of Thence   9:32
05 - There Are Other Worlds (They Have Not Told You Of)   10:40

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RS
HF


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Lanquidity CD

01 - Lanquidity   8:22
02 - Where Pathways Meet   6:33
03 - That's How I Feel   8:06
04 - Twin Stars of Thence   9:34
05 - There Are Other Worlds (They Have Not Told You Of)   10:57

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RS
HF


or


-320-
RS
HF

  

Original Post