2nd Chance: Sun Ra - The Night of the Purple Moon (1970)

In mid-1970, Sun Ra reentered Variety Recording Studio, this time with a bare-bone Arkestra and yet another new electronic keyboard in tow, the RMI Rocksichord. In his perceptive liner notes to this CD, John Corbett describes the sound of the Rocksichord as an “unforgettable nasal quack,” and that’s a pretty accurate description of this primitive, transistorized electric piano. In another person’s hands, this would sound cheesy and (now) hopelessly out of date. But Ra builds solid, evocative compositions around the instrument and it is, inexplicably, just exactly perfect. Unfortunately, the original tapes were unsalvageable, so this reissue had to be sourced from a clean LP. There’s plenty of surface noise present, so at least we can be thankful the producers didn’t get carried away with the noise reduction and de-clicking, which can often just make things worse. Although Impulse! was prepared to reissue this album in late-seventies, it has remained an ultra-rare artifact until Atavistic released this CD in 2007. Despite the less-than-perfect sound-quality, The Night of the Purple Moon is one of the great Sun Ra albums – and one of my favorite albums of all time.

Gilmore plays mostly drums throughout, only pulling out the tenor saxophone for “Impromptu Festival,” where Danny Davis sits in on the drum stool. While neither were virtuoso drummers, they were more than adequate and, most importantly, well understood the unique rhythmic feel of Ra’s music. Stafford James produces a beautiful, rounded tone on the electric bass, at times almost sounding like an upright acoustic. Sadly, this was James’s only recorded appearance with the Arkestra. “Sun Earth Rock” sets the tone with the quacking Rocksichord changes over a medium groove and a simple, bluesy head. After a bouncy keyboard interlude, Davis peals off a brief, but astonishingly fluent alto sax solo. “The All of Everything” is a pretty ballad with Davis adding some mellifluous flute to Ra’s gently rippling chords. Gilmore’s tenor solo on “Impromptu Festival” is another example of his sheer genius: opening with a sort of fanfare, he bends and twists the two-note melody and massages the stiff, pre-bop rhythms to construct a trenchant, incisive statement.

(continue reading at the always wonderful NuVoid - Sun Ra Sunday blog)

This one is quirky, even in the Sun Ra catalog. Ra fronts a quartet playing nothing but miniMoog and Rocksichord, along with Stafford James on electric bass, Danny Davis on alto, clarinet, flute, and bongos, and John Gilmore on drums! Gilmore has a skittering approach to the drums, which are curiously mic'ed with the hi-hat being especially prominent. Ra's playing doesn't get too far out, although the tones of the Rocksichord and miniMoog are rather humorous, and most of the tunes are quite playful. Davis provides some fine alto, clarinet, and a number of freak-outs, with James anchoring the proceedings. Davis and Gilmore switch roles for "Impromptu Festival" for a taste of Gilmore's tenor while "Dance of the Living Image" has Gilmore on drums and Davis on bongos. The best point of reference for this album is "The Perfect Man" off the Singles compilation, except "The Perfect Man" uses miniMoog exclusively, and Gilmore is a more solid drummer than Danny Davis. Lots of fun and slightly goofy, Night of the Purple Moon is an entertaining curiosity within a singularly unique discography. [The 2007 Atavistic reissue includes four bonus cuts. The first is simply an alternate take of "Love in Outer Space." The others are home recordings with Ra on Wurlitzer. They aren't especially revelatory, but it's great to simply have this LP widely available. Since the master tapes were damaged, the Atavistic release was mastered from an unplayed vinyl copy.]

AMG Review by Sean Westergaard

163. [145] Sun Ra and his Intergalactic Astro-Solar Infinity Arkestra

The Night of the Purple Moon

Sun Ra (Rocksochord -1; two Mini-Moogs, Rocksichord -2); John Gilmore (ts -3; d -4); Danny Davis (d -3; as -5; fl -6; acl -7; bgo -8); Stafford James (eb except -2).

Variety Recording Studio, NYC, mid-1970

Sun-Earth Rock (Ra) -1, 4, 5
The All of Everything (Ra) -1, 4, 6
Impromptu Festival (Ra) -1, 3
Blue Soul (Ra) -2
Narrative (Ra) -2
Outside the Time Zone (Ra) -2
The Night of the Purple Moon (Ra) -1, 4, 7
A Birds-Eye View of Man's World (Ra) -1, 4, 7
21st Century Romance (Ra) -1, 4, 6
Dance of the Living Image (Ra) -1, 4, 8
Love in Outer Space (Ra) -1, 4, 7, 8
Love in Outer Space [alt.] (Ra) -1, 4, 7, 8

From The Earthly Recordings of Sun Ra 2nd ed.

Sun Ra & His Intergalactic Infinity Arkestra

The Night of the Purple Moon

(Atavistic CD)

 1.    Sun-Earth Rock    4:45

 2.    The All Of Everything    4:26

 3.    Impromptu Festival    4:05

 4.    Blue Soul    3:50

 5.    Narrative    2:59

 6.    Outside The Time Zone    5:05

 7.    The Night Of The Purple Moon    3:50

 8.    A Bird's Eye View Of Man's World    3:07

 9.    21st Century Romance    4:11

10.  Dance Of The Living Image    4:43

11.  Love In Outer Space    3:53

12.  Love In Outer Space (Alternate Take)    5:06

13.  Wurlitzer And Celeste    1:56

14.  Wurlitzer Solo 1    2:04

15.  Wurlitzer Solo 2    2:09

-FLAC-
RS
HF

or

-320-
RS
HF

1970 was certainly an auspicious year in Sun Ra’s recorded legacy. Not only were the two volumes of My Brother the Wind recorded, so too was this little gem. My original El Saturn vinyl, along with every copy I encountered back in the day sounded like they had been mastered from a playback machine with dirty heads. On both The All of Everything and 21st Century Romance, about a third of the way in, the audio fog lifts and suddenly John Gilmore’s hi hat kicks in. Sonny’s keyboard sounds clearer as well. The problem lasts all the way through Impromptu Festival, to the point that, until I came across the 180g reissue, I really couldn’t make out much of Danny Davis’ drum work at all. The CD reissue on Atavistic says it comes from an original El Saturn issue. Since it doesn’t have these drop outs, I guess the ones I’ve come across were from a later pressing. The vinyl they used for the CD had a fair amount of surface noise, so as far as I know, the 180g vinyl reissue is the best quality version around. Hope you’ll agree and enjoy. It’s certainly one of the many albums that sealed the deal for me with Sun Ra!

-rev.b

Sun Ra & His Intergalactic Infinity Arkestra
The Night of the Purple Moon
(LP Reissue)
Many Thanks to Rev.b for this rip!

1.  Sun-Earth Rock   4:38
2.  The All Of Everything   4:23
3.  Impromptu Festival   4:02
4.  Blue Soul   3:49
5.  Narrative   2:56
6.  Outside The Time Zone   5:01
7.  The Night Of The Purple Moon   3:46
8.  A Bird's Eye View Of Man's World   3:06
9.  21st Century Romance   4:08
10. Dance Of The Living Image   4:38
11. Love In Outer Space   3:58

-FLAC-
RS
HF

or

-320-
RS
HF