2nd Chance: Sun Ra - The Invisible Shield (1974)

Most of The Invisible Shield was reissued on the 1201Music label and divided between the CDs Janus and Standards.  Two tracks, however, "State Street" and "Time After Time 1" were not reissued and are only found on this 1974 LP.

Saturn LP 529, The Invisible Shield, was first issued in 1974.  At various times, it has also been titled A Tonal View of Times Tomorrow volume 2, Janus, and Satellites are Outerspace... (the last is a Saturn re-pressing from Blast First, available in 1989 and 1990).  The band was identified as "Sun Ra and his Intergalactic Research Arkestra."  There are many hybrid pressings in which this Side A replaces the original Side B of Saturn 539, What's New?

97. [84]  Sun Ra and his Intergalactic Research Arkestra

The Invisible Shield

Sun Ra (p.); Walter Miller (tp); Al Evans (flg); Ali Hassan (tb); Marshall Allen (as, fl); John Gilmore (ts); Pat Patrick (bars); Michael White (vln); Ronnie Boykins (b); Clifford Jarvis (d).

Choreographers Workshop,
NYC, late 1962

State Street (Ra)

This track appeared on Side A (matrix 144000A, 14400A on some labels) which has also appeared as side B on most copies of What's New?  The violinist has been mistakenly identified as Stuff Smith; Richard Wilkinson says Michael White.  Al Evans identified on then label as soloist; Boykins, Miller, and Jarvis also mentioned on the label.  Date given by Saturn merely as "'60s."

102. [89]  Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra

The Invisible Shield

Sun Ra (p.); Walter Miller (tp); John Gilmore (ts); Ronnie Boykins (b); Clifford Jarvis (d).

Time after Time 1 (Cahn-Styne)
Time after Time 2 (cahn-Styne) [no ts]
Easy to Love (Porter)
Sunnyside Up (DeSylva-Brown)

According to [Julian] Vein, a batch of tracks including "Sometimes I'm Happy" (from another session) and "Time after Time" through "But Not for Me" were sold to Black Lion in 1971 but not issued at that time.


102a. Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra

Sun Ra (p.); John Gilmore (ts); Ronnie Boykins (b); Lex Humphries (d).

Choreographers Workshop, NYC,
late 1962 or early 1963

Sometimes I'm Happy (Caesar-Youmans)

Careful listening to this track indicates that the drummer is not Clifford Jarvis as previously thought (Jarvis had a heavy and characteristic emphasis on the bass drum at this point in his career, and it is absent on this track).  The drummer appears to be Lex Humphries…

Invisible Shield - Side B

165. [147]  Sun Ra and his Intergalactic Research Arkestra

The Invisible Shield

Sun Ra (p.); Marshall Allen (fl); Danny Davis (acl); prob. Ronnie Boykins (b); John Gilmore (perc); poss. Pat Patrick (perc).

Variety Recording Studio, NYC,
1968-1970

Island in the Sun (Ra)

The date for this session is not firm.  The Saturn jacket merely says "1970s" and gives Philadelphia as the location.  The instrumentation is also compatible with a 1968-1969 date.  This composition is also known as "Islands in Space," and has been recorded under that name by Michael Ray and the Cosmic Krewe.

166. [148]  Sun Ra (org, Mini-Moog, syn); Marshall Allen (as); poss. Danny Davis (as); Danny Ray Thompson (libf); prob. Clifford Jarvis (d).

Live recording, 1970

The Invisible Shield (Ra)

This one can be more confidently dated because of the synthesizer.

167. [149]  Sun Ra (Clavinet or gong -- intro only; dir); John Gilmore (ts, bells); Danny Davis (as, perc); Marshall Allen (picc, perc); poss. Robert Cummings (bcl, perc); Ronnie Boykins (b); Art Jenkins (voc, space voice); Tommy Hunter (perc, reverb); prob. Pat Patrick (bgo, perc).

Choreographers Workshop, NYC, 1963/
Sun Studios, NYC, 1967-1968

Janus (Ra)

1970 was given as the date for all three tracks by Tilman Stahl (and it is listed on the labels of some copies of The Invisible Shield.  We have recently obtained indisputable evidence that "Janus" was done earlier.

In fact, careful listening to the CD remastering of "Janus" indicates two recordings from different dates that were spliced together by Ra later on.  The 35 seconds of loud low banging sounds that open the piece were produced by Ra on his Hohner Clavinet or perhaps on a gong (with deliberately distorted recording); the recording location was the Sun Studios, New York City, and the probable date 1967-1968.  The main body of "Janus" (over 6 minutes of music) were recorded in Sunny's psychedelic year, 1963.

"Island in the Sun," "The Invisible Shield," and "Janus" were sold to Alan Bates of Black Lion in December 1971, along with two tracks, "Velvet" and "Joy," which stem from an early 1968 concert.  Black Lion never released them (Julian Vein).  They were first issued (without "Velvet" and "Joy") as  Side B of the LP The Invisible Shield, Saturn LP 529 or 144000/144000B, which was initially released in 1974 (some labels misrender the matrix number as 14400.  Urs Berger's copy has yellow Philadelphia labels on both sides (with a 1973 date) and was sold in white porthole sleeves, but many other varieties exist.

These tracks also appear on a hybrid Invisible Shield on which Side A is replaced by 14200B from Space Probe.

Still another hybrid Invisible Shield carries 144000B as Side A and 143000B (from Outer Spaceways Incorporated) as Side B.  Urs Berger's copy has bluish labels from Philadelphia (with a 1973 release date) on both sides and was sold in a plain white porthole sleeve.  This hybrid was sold at concerts in Britain in 1990 and 1991; copies had a blue-purple Chicago-style El Saturn label and a plain white sleeve.

The complete package that was sold to Alan Bates was finally brought together in October 1999 as Janus, 1201 Music CD 90122.
from The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

Remarks that Art Jenkins made when "Janus" was played over radio station WKCR-FM, New York City, on April 17, 1987 - Sun Ra had challenged Jenkins to "sing about Africa." Among other things Jenkins said, "So after several rehearsals, we were ready... This time, my spirit took me back to Africa. And it was like in a dreamworld sense, but I was back in an African village, with African musicians, singers, and dancers. It was like, 'It's your time to sing.' One singer moves to the next singer, and so forth, just like the (universal) voice moves."

The Invisible Shield

1. State Street   3:45
2. Sometimes I'm Happy   6:42
3. Time after Time 1   2:18
4. Time after Time 2   3:30
5. Easy to Love   3:27
6. Sunnyside Up   3:36

7. Island in the Sun   5:41
8. The Invisible Shield   5:37
9. Janus   7:09

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Many Thanks to Marc E of Philly for his LP rip and to I-) for his patience & clean-up capabilities!