2nd Chance: Sun Ra - When Spaceships Appear (1985)

Someone once commented on Ra's knack for finding the true voice of electric keyboards. You get a big dose of that here. Lots of people play synths like pianos and hope they sound like violins. Sun Ra, on the other hand, would reach into the guts of the thing and pull out the scornful beast lurking there. Followed, of course, by a loping piano blues.

via

359. [270] Sun Ra

Ra to the Rescue /
When Spaceships Appear

Sun Ra (p, syn, voc); unidentified (tp -1); Marshall Allen (as, fl, perc); John Gilmore (ts, timb, voc); prob. Danny Ray Thompson (bars, fl, perc); Hayes Burnett (b); Samarai Celestial [Eric Walker] (d); unidentified (perc); June Tyson (voc).

Squat Theatre, NYC, 1982

          Ra to the Rescue (Chapter 1) (Ra) [syn only]
          Ra to the Rescue (Chapter 2) (Ra) [ts, b only]
          Fate in a Pleasant Mood (Ra) [SR, ens voc]
         When Lights Are Dark (Ra)
          They Plan to Leave (Ra) [SR, ens voc] -1
          Back Alley Blues (Ra)

Saturn IX/1983-220, Ra to the Rescue, was issued in 1983 (mastered September 12, 1983, according to the Variety Recording Studio log).  Some pressings carry a Philadelphia Saturn label; others have a blank white label on a extraordinarily thick vinyl LP and were pressed in England by Recommended.  Location Michael Shore and Greg Drusdow.

Approximate date from Shore.  Personnel identified by rlc.  Muted trumpets can faintly be heard in the accompaniment to "They Plan to Leave."  Drusdow says this material came from a single six-hour concert, but Samarai Celestial believes that it may have been recorded at more than one Squat Theatre concert by Tommy Hunter.  Craig Haynes says that in 1981 and 1982, the Arkestra played well over 10 gigs a year at the Squat Theatre: "It was our home base.  When we weren't working, we were at the Squat."  In other words, precise dating will be difficult!

Several titles from this album were surreptitiously reissued on Saturn Sun Ra 101485, an album released in 1985 and variously known as When Spaceships Appear, Cosmo-Party Blues, and Children of the Sun.  "When Spaceships Appear" is really "Ra to the Rescue Chapter 1"; "Fragile Emotions Blues" is really "Back Alley Blues"; and "Space Shuttle" is really "Ra to the Rescue Chapter 2."  "Fate in a Pleasant Mood" and "They Plan to Leave" were reissued on this LP without a change in title.
from Campbell / Trent  The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

They Plan to Leave

Ra to the Rescue is a live set recorded at the Squat Theater in New York in 1982. It's quite well recorded, although some of the tracks are faded or edited somewhat abruptly. "Ra to the Rescue (Chapter 1)" is an insane solo synthesizer workout that has Ra in full sci-fi mode. He does things with a synthesizer that you never would have thought possible. For Chapter 2, it's Marshall Allen's turn, doing things you never thought possible with an alto saxophone. Then the album shifts gears into a very nice arrangement of "Fate in a Pleasant Mood" that leaves out the lyrics, but has nice "la-la-la" vocals and hand claps. The second side of the album heads in a blues direction. "When Lights Are Dark" is a very swinging basic blues, with just bass and drum accompaniment. "They Plan to Leave" starts with a bluesy piano intro, then June Tyson and John Gilmore singing. Ra switches to synth, then takes the vocal lead while Tyson and Gilmore continue in the background. "They Plan to put the White House on the moon, soon! and the Kremlin on a satellite!" This is another great Arkestra vocal track. "Back Alley Blues" closes the set with a fantastic gospel-blues stomper. Ra to the Rescue may be tough to find, but it's well-worth seeking out for fans.

AMG Review by Sean Westergaard

417. [310]  Sun Ra

          When Spaceships Appear

James Jacson (Inf-d).

Live, 1984 or 1985

Drummerlistics (Jacson)

418. [311]  Sun Ra (voc); Tyrone Hill (tb); Marshall Allen (as); John Gilmore (ts); Eloe Omoe (cacl); unidentified (b); unidentified (d); June Tyson (voc).

Live, 1984 or 1985

[Discipline 27-II/]
Children of the Sun (Ra)

419. [312]  Sun Ra (p.); unidentified (tp); Marshall Allen (as); John Gilmore (ts); unidentified (b); unidentified (d).

Live, 1984 or 1985

          Cosmo-Party Blues (Ra)

Saturn Sun Ra 101485 was released in 1985.  It has gone under the titles When Spaceships Appear, Children of the Sun, and Cosmo-Party Blues.  Jeffrey Little also reports the title Aura.  The provenance of these tracks is unusually obscure; they seem to be odds and ends from various concerts taped by Arkestra members.  The rest of the album consists of recycled material from Ra to the Rescue (see above).  Personnel identified by rlc.
from Campbell / Trent  The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed. 

MANY Thanks once again to Vinylust for offering a FLAC rip of his treasured LP.

(green covers pictured)

When Spaceships Appear

1. When Spaceships Appear (Ra to the Rescue Chapter 1)   5:44
2. Fragile Emotions Blues (Back Alley Blues)   3:58
3. Drummerlistics   2:53
4. Children of the Sun   5:01
5. Cosmo-Party Blues   4:53
6. Space Shuttle (Ra to the Rescue chapter 2)   4:59
7. Fate in a Pleasant Mood   9:22
8. They Plan to Leave   5:53

-FLAC-
RS
HF

or

-320-
RS
HF

You can find Ra to the Rescue here