Daddy's Gonna Tell You No Lie [Demo Version] - Sun Ra, Barron, Calvin
Dreaming - Sun Ra, Barron, Calvin
Daddy's Gonna Tell You No Lie - Sun Ra, Barron, Calvin
Bye Bye - Sun Ra, Swift, Matt
Somebody's in Love - Sun Ra, Dancer, Raymond
Medicine for a Nightmare [Alternate Take][#]
Saturn
Supersonic Jazz
Happy New Year to You! - Sun Ra, Abraham, Alton
It's Christmas Time - Sun Ra, Abraham, Alton
Muck Muck (Matt Matt) - Sun Ra, Abraham, Alton
Hot Skillet Mama - Sun Ra, Abraham, Alton
Great Balls of Fire
Hours After
Teenager's Letter of Promises - Sun Ra, Hollings, Lynn
I'm So Glad You Love Me - Sun Ra, Hollings, Lynn
The Sun One - Sun Ra, Yochanan
The Sun Man Speaks
The Sun Man Speaks [Alternate Take][#]
October
Adventure in Space
Message to Earthman - Sun Ra, McCarey
Message to Earthman [Alternate Take][#] - Sun Ra, McCarey
State Street
Track Listings (24) - Disc #2
The Blue Set
Big City Blues
Tell Her to Come on Home - Sun Ra, Lee, Robert Jr.
I'm Making Believe - Sun Ra, Gordon, Mack
The Bridge
Rocket Number Nine
Blues on Planet Mars
Saturn Moon
The Sky Is Crying - Sun Ra, James, Elmore [1]
She's My Baby - Sun Ra, Gibson, Lacy
I Am Gonna Unmask the Batman - Sun Ra, Abraham, Alton
I Want an Easy Woman - Sun Ra, Gibson, Lacy
I'm Gonna Unmask the Batman - Sun Ra, Abraham, Alton
The Perfect Man
Journey to Saturn [Live]
Enlightenment [Live] - Sun Ra, Dotson, Hobart
Love in Outer Space
Mayan Temples
Disco 2100
Sky Blues [Live]
Rough House Blues
Cosmo-Extensions
Quest
Outer Space Plateau
Sun Ra maintained a big band from 1955 until his death in 1993, even though he was even further out on the fringe of the music industry than Charles Mingus, who only held onto smaller groups. Sun Ra consistently maintained... more » he came from another planet-and his taste in clothes and harmonies lent some credence to the claim-but he also felt he could connect with a broad terrestrial audience, which is why he continually released singles on his Saturn label. Some of these singles were his trademark space-jazz, but most of them were more down-to-earth-doo-wop, blues, R&B vocals, swing standards, novelty songs and big-band dance numbers. Yet they all had the Sun Ra touch, which made them weird and worldly all at once. --Geoffrey Himes« less
Sun Ra maintained a big band from 1955 until his death in 1993, even though he was even further out on the fringe of the music industry than Charles Mingus, who only held onto smaller groups. Sun Ra consistently maintained he came from another planet-and his taste in clothes and harmonies lent some credence to the claim-but he also felt he could connect with a broad terrestrial audience, which is why he continually released singles on his Saturn label. Some of these singles were his trademark space-jazz, but most of them were more down-to-earth-doo-wop, blues, R&B vocals, swing standards, novelty songs and big-band dance numbers. Yet they all had the Sun Ra touch, which made them weird and worldly all at once. --Geoffrey Himes
"This is a treasure-trove of some of the most unexpected and fascinating music from Sun Ra. As a lot of the descriptions point out, this is mostly R&B style pop music - it was all literally made as 45' singles, meant for juke-box play. The surprising part, of course, is that one of the great avant-garde jazz musicians would make these records, but on reflection it's really not so strange. The avant-garde in jazz, with Sun Ra and the Art Ensemble as great examples, have always had their roots deep in blues, R&B and other African-American pop music, not necessarily out of necessity but out of love. Just listen to the blues in Ornette Coleman's playing, or read Lester Bowie's stories about playing in funk bands. Even Coltrane paid his dues by 'walkin' the bar' in R&B bands.Unlike other comments, I think this music is perfect for a Sun Ra fan, as I am, because as a true lover of his music, you have to let the man do what he wants and not pigeon-hole your own listening with your expectations. Expect that unexpected with this set, which is by turns charming, funny and bizarre, but always true and sincere. A must, a real must for any true Sun Ran fan."
An Amazing Achievement!!But DONT Start Here
George Grella | 08/19/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I am relatively new to the world of Sun Ra (started 7/99). Someone mentioned him to me and I decided to start my Sun Ra collection the way I started my collection with most rock groups and that is with a compilation of hits or singles. I bought this and was immediately put off by what I heard. I later tried "Other Planes of There" after hearing a extraordinary Sun Ra song on a college radio station, and that was the real start of my Sun Ra collection of nearly 70 cds. This singles compilation remains a high point in my collection.
The reason this isnt the place to start is although it is a singles compilation, which I still cannot believe they were able to compile considering how obscure a great deal of them are, but alot of what is on here is Sun Ra in a support role to another act. The other act being a Rhythm and Blues act with performances I have grown to love, even though they are not typical Sun Ra by any stretch of the imagination.
If you are a seasoned veteran of Sun Ra from any period the 50s, 60s,70s, 80s, buy this album and let it grow on you. If you are interested in Sun Ra and wonder where to start I would ask yourself Big Band?? or Free Jazz?? If the answer is just swing and a good time start with "Jazz in Silhouette". But if you want free jazz taken further than John Coltranes deepest dreams. Try "Atlantis" and the peek of the genre "Magic City"."
Great for Fans, Not for Beginners
Scott McFarland | Manassas, VA United States | 10/23/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The music on here is not typical Sun Ra. Evidence have done a wonderful job of collecting rare material into an informative, well-presented package. Unfortunately many potential fans may try to start an investigation of Ra's music here, when much of the content here is not reflective of Ra's jazzier, more arranged LPs. What is here is interesting, but it is by no means Ra's best stuff - though there are some real pearls of beauty in here.Here's to the unmasking of the Batman."
For confirmed Sun Ra fans
bukhtan | Chicago, Illinois, USA | 11/03/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I got a kick out these two CD's but I am:
A) a Sun Ra fan of long standing, and
B) interested in where music really comes from, and not just the high points.
These recordings, some of them anyway, are odd even within Sun Ra's idiosyncratic world. Sun Ra is one of those jazz musicians who usually think in terms of the total composition, integrating a number of soloists into that framework. Jelly Roll Morton, Ellington, and, sometimes, Miles, Mingus & Monk work this way. Some of these "singles" are one-dimensional novelty numbers. Some are cute, like the "doo-wop" songs, e.g. "Dreaming". Valuable if you find this kind of music charming but otherwise wouldn't come in (voluntary) contact with it. Others are just raucous, like the Yochanan pieces, though even these have a kind of urban rustic charm, especially "Hot Skillet Mama". (The liner notes indicate that the fine tenor player John Gilmore called Yochanan, billed as the "space age vocalist" in the day, a "no-talent hanger-on" and swore he'd never recorded with him.)
Other pieces connect more directly with Sun Ra's oeuvre. Some, like "Saturn", are similar to more familiar recorded versions of the era or later. Many of these recordings are rough in comparison to Sun Ra's other work, with a rehearsal or impromptu feel, e.g. "Love in outer space" with June Tyson & John Gilmore singing. The liner notes are very good, placing the guy who said variously that he "came from nowhere here" or "Saturn" very firmly in the grimy contexts of Birmingham, Chicago and Philadelphia. Includes some interesting photos."
Amazing Package
Mr. Mark | Canada | 01/19/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This cd release is a stunning glimpse into Sun Ra and his celebration of Black Music. I was floored at the first listen and continue to be so when I put it on. To think of what this man did for black music in general, this CD package should be heard (perhaps even purchased) by ALL who think of themselves as music enthusuiasts. It is very important stuff! Sun Ra was producing and selling his own records YEARS before anyone else had done this. I am a big Sun Ra fan, and have a very good cross-representative collection of his material, and Singles is perfect to fill it out and to force one's self to really think about what it is that Sun Ra was all about.All of this said, it likely is not the First thing someone should by, more likely the 5th or more. Start with The Futuristic Sounds, or Angels and Demons at Play or Outerspaceways INC, if you like wilder music. Most of his work is pretty hot in my book."
Track Listings (25) - Disc #1
