BOOKLET
Here is the NFO file from Indietorrents
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Sun Ra – Cosmos Earth Fantasy Sub Underground Vol 1 & 2
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Artist……………: Sun Ra
Album…………….: Cosmos Earth Fantasy Sub Underground Vol 1 & 2
Genre…………….: Jazz
Source……………: NMR
Year……………..: 2012
Ripper……………: NMR
Codec…………….: LAME 3.99
Version…………..: MPEG 1 Layer III
Quality…………..: Extreme, (avg. bitrate: 244kbps)
Channels………….: Joint Stereo / 44100 hz
Tags……………..: ID3 v1.1, ID3 v2.3
Information……….:
Ripped by…………: NMR
Posted by…………: p-zombie@dev.null on 07/05/2013
News Server……….:
News Group(s)……..:
Included………….: NFO, LOG
Covers……………: Front Back CD
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Tracklisting
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1. Sun Ra – Cosmo-Earth Fantasy [21:02]
2. Sun Ra – Love Is for Always [06:48]
3. Sun Ra – The Song of Drums [06:07]
4. Sun Ra – The World of Africa [03:03]
5. Sun Ra – What’s New [06:56]
6. Sun Ra – Wanderlust [05:52]
7. Sun Ra – Jukin’ [02:26]
8. Sun Ra – Autumn in New York [07:00]
9. Sun Ra – Spaace Is the Place – We Roam the Cosmos [10:11]
Playing Time………: 01:09:29
Total Size………..: 126.47 MB
NFO generated on…..: 07/05/2013 05:12:29
:: Generated by Music NFO Builder v1.21b – www.nfobuilder.com ::
Album info
Art Yard Records presents Sun Ra & His Astro Infinity Arkestra ìCosmo Earth Fantasy: Sub Underground Series Vol 1 & 2? | Music News
December 28, 2012Sound Colour VibrationLeave a commentGo to comments
To size up the importance of composer and multi-talented musician Sun Ra requires many discussions into the ethos of 20th century music culture. Independent ventures in bookings ones own shows, an avid intake of world knowledge, a calling change to the current social standards, bridging the legacy of African music with futuristic forms of new genres, releasing materials on private pressed sources and a voyage into the unknown worlds of cosmic music are but a few reminders of the trail left behind by the living myth Sun Ra.
Easily one of the most controversial musicians of the 20th century, the reissue campaign on his works has become a seasoned tradition passed down from label to label and has been this way since Ra was releasing all of the music himself. The reissues keep coming in and more releases are still being unearthed from the most private of collections. It feels endless to the amount of material that has been released in his name officially and the potential for more that has not.
2013 begins with a release of a very rare and adventurous presentation called Cosmo Earth Fantasy: Sub-Underground Series Vol 1 & 2, a collections of materials released over two volumes in the mid 70’s on very small prints with the Saturn label. Like many other Ra titles, these albums appeared on various other labels under different titles, so this new pressing serves as the definitive version of all the material from the originals and reissues. To trace the heritage line of Ra releases has never been easy and this is one of the more confusing items in the Ra catalog.
Live material compiled together with studio pieces creates a snap shot glimpse of the evolution of Sun Raís style of jazz music from the early 60’s into the mid 70’s. The beginning stages of Raís time in New York and the avant-garde movement that directly influenced Coltrane and others is felt on these releases along with the futuristic and prophetic mysticism Ra tapped into in the 70’s. These are two of my favorite periods from the Arkestra, something I love about the contents presented on this new reissue as one.
Our good friends at the reissue label Art Yard Records have sent us the full news on the upcoming Sun Ra album Cosmo Earth Fantasy: Sub Underground Vol 1 & 2 to be presented in their ongoing coverage of the legendary composer Sun Ra. After reading the notes, I am really excited to finally have all this rare music in one collections. This should be another vital reissue in the Sun Ra catalog and one of the best releases from Art Yard yet. Full details and track listing from Art Yard Records below.
-Erik Otis
From Art Yard Records | http://www.facebook.com/ArtYardRecords
Track 1 – Studio/Rehearsal recording 1967/68.
Tracks 2 & 3 – Live recordings Temple University, Philadelphia September 20th 1974.
Track 4 – Studio/Rehearsal recording 1968.
Tracks 5 to 8 – Rehearsal recordings Choreographer’s Workshop, NYC 1962.
Track 9 – Live recording possibly May 23rd 1975 unknown venue.
SUN RA And His Astro Infinity Arkestra
Cosmo Earth Fantasy
Sub-Underground
Series Vol 1&2.
Distribution by ReR Mega Corp.
Distributed by ReR MEGACORP. 79 Beulah Rd. Thornton Heath.
Surrey. CR7 8JG. UK
FAX 44 (0)208-771-3138. e-mail:
rermegacorp@dial.pipex.com
www.rermegacorp.com/
Distributed in USA by ReR USA,
www.rerusa.com
SUB UNDERGROUND
1: Cosmo-Earth Fantasy (Ra) (Studio/Rehearsal recording 1967/68).
2: Love is for Always (Ra)
3: The Song of Drums (Ra) (Live recordings Temple University, Philadelphia September 20th 1974).
4: The World of Africa (Ra) (Studio/ Rehearsal recording 1968).
5: Whatís New (Burke-Haggart)
6: Wanderlust (Calvin Newborn)
7: Jukiní (Al Evans)
8: Autumn in New York (Duke) (Rehearsal recordings Choreographerís Workshop NYC 1962).
9: Space is the Place/ We Roam the Cosmos (Ra) (Live recording possibly May 23rd 1975 unknown venue).
PERSONNEL
1: Cosmo Earth Fantasy
Sun Ra – Hohner Clavinet, Piano Strings.
Marshall Allen – Oboe, Flute, Strings.
Danny Davis – Flute, Strings.
John Gilmore – Strings.
Pat Patrick – Strings.
Ronnie Boykins – Bass.
Unidentified – Xylophone
2: Love Is For Always
Sun Ra – Piano
John Gilmore – Tenor Saxophone
Thomas Hunter – Drums
Danny Ray Thompson – Bongos
Atakatune – Congas
3: The Song of Drums
Sun Ra – Rocksichord
Akh Tal Ebah – Vocals
Eddie Thomas – Vocals
Danny Ray Thompson – Bongos
Atakatune – Congas
4: The World of Africa
Sun Ra – Hohner Clavinet
June Tyson – Vocals
John Gilmore – Percussion, Vocals
Marshall Allen – Percussion, Vocals
Nimrod Hunt – Percussion, Vocals
Others Arkestrans may be present.
5: Whatís New
6: Wanderlust
7: Jukiní
Sun Ra – Piano
Al Evans – Flugelhorn
Danny Davis – Alto Saxophone
Marshall Allen – Flute
John Gilmore – Tenor Saxophone
Calvin Newborn – Electric Guitar
Ronnie Boykins – Bass
Thomas Hunter – Drums
8: Autumn in New York
Sun Ra – Piano
John Gilmore – Tenor Saxophone
Ronnie Boykins – Bass
Thomas Hunter – Drums
9: Space is the Place / We Roam the Cosmos
Sun Ra – Declamation
June Tyson – Vocals
Akh Tal Ebah – Vocals
Cheryl Banks – Vocals
Judith Holton – Vocals
Unidentified – Trombone
Ronnie Boykins – Bass
Atakatune – Congas
Unidentified – Drums
COLLECTIVE PERSONNEL
Sun Ra – Hohner Clavinet, Rocksichord,
Piano, Piano Strings, Vocal Declamation
Al Evans – Flugelhorn
Unidentified – Trombone
Marshall Allen – Oboe, Flute, Strings.
Danny Davis – Alto Saxophone, Flute, Strings.
John Gilmore – Tenor Saxophone Strings.
Pat Patrick – Strings.
Ronnie Boykins – Bass.
Calvin Newborn – Electric Guitar
Thomas Hunter – Drums
Danny Ray Thompson – Bongos
Atakatune – Congas
Nimrod Hunt – Percussion, Vocals
Thomas Hunter – Drums
Unidentified – Xylophone / Unidentified -Drums
June Tyson – Vocals
Cheryl Banks – Vocals
Judith Holton – Vocals
Akh Tal Ebah – Vocals
Eddie Thomas – Vocals
At some point in the early to mid 1970’s and perhaps pondering the ongoing marginalization and misunderstanding of his work, Sun Ra declared himself to be “King of the Sub Underground”, depicting the gulf that he felt existed in terms of visibility and acceptance between himself and other musicians of the contemporaneous ‘jazz underground’ of the post Coltrane era. Two of the several Saturn lp’s produced in this period were given the title ‘Sub Underground’ and which were also, in true Ra style, known by other names.
The first of these, Saturn 92074 from 1974 is also known as ‘Cosmo Earth Fantasy’, the title of the side long Ra composition on side A of the lp and also as ‘Temple-U’ referring to Temple University, Philadelphia which was the recording location of the live tracks on side B. The second lp, Saturn 752, was released in 1975 in a version which bore no track titles but simply ‘Sub Underground Series’ written on the labels. A second version of this lp was given the catalogue number Saturn 539 and titled ‘What’s New’ as it featured Ra’s arrangement of the Haggart / Burke perennial. To further the discographical complexity a hybrid version of the lp exists which replaces the single track from the original side B with side B of ‘The Invisible Shield’. This cd brings together all the music from these two albums on one disc and taken as a whole, creates a patchwork of wildly contrasting Arkestral tropes covering a fourteen year period and giving a fractured yet idiosyncratic portrayal of Sun Ra’s artistry.
The earliest tracks are from rehearsals at the Choreographers Workshop in 1962 during the early years of Ra and the Arkestras’ time in New York. Here Ra includes two compositions by other band members; guitarist Calvin Newborns’ wistful waltz ‘Wanderlust’ and Al Evans’ R&B workout ‘Jukin’ played by an eight piece Arkestra. ‘What’s New’ gets a vibrant, upbeat reading with choruses from Gilmore, Evans and Newborn. Alto saxophonist Danny Davis, in his earliest known Arkestra appearance, improvises in a relatively ‘inside’ manner compared to his later style but sits out of the themes on the session. Marshall Allen is heard on flute throughout the octet session although does not solo. ‘Autumn in New York’ is a sublime quartet of Ra, Gilmore, Boykins and Hunter. Here Gilmore demonstrates his early mature style; beautiful, spacious phrasing, a sonorous dark tone and a deep sense of yearning.
The track Cosmo Earth Fantasy is perhaps the centrepiece of this collection. While the master tapes for the rest of the material on this cd remain lost, a reel to reel tape of this lp side, formerly in the possession of the late James Bryant, (co founder of Saturn Research with Alton Abraham and Ra), was discovered in 2011 and it is the Re-mastered version of that tape which appears here for the first time. Information on the reel itself is scant but the two words that do appear written on it by hand; ‘strings bandura’, are most intriguing. In Hal Rammell’s essay included in the Atavistic cd re-issue of ‘Strange Strings’, he states that the track ‘Interpretation’ from ‘Solar Myth Approach vol 2′ is the only other existing recording from the mid 1960‘s to use the original collection of strange string instruments. ‘Cosmo Earth Fantasy’ has until now been assumed to date from around 1974 on account of the ‘Sub Underground’ lp’s release date. However, this piece also features an opening section of music using the strange strings including the bandura as mentioned on the tape box. As several of the string instruments were destroyed in a car accident in 1969 and the bandura itself (known as the ‘Space Harp’), was left in the possession of Hartmut Geerken in 1971 after the Arkestra’s legendary first Egyptian visit, this music cannot postdate these events and a revision of the recording date is needed.
Ra plays Hohner Clavinet exclusively on this recording in close stylistic proximity to that on the lp’s ‘Atlantis’, the ‘Solar Myth Approach vols 1 and 2’ and some tracks from ‘Continuation’. The feel of the whole piece is very much in the style of the exploratory work undertaken by the Arkestra in the later New York period between 1966 and early ’68. It is very likely that this music was recorded in 1967 or possibly early 1968 before the Arkestra moved to Philadelphia. This gentle composition unveils a unique dimension of Ra’s exploration of space, intuition and tone science. As the initial string textures disappear, Ra duets with Allen on oboe and later on flute in a duet with Danny Davis. Ronnie Boykins’ sporadic bass parts are played through some kind of a tremolo unit and someone from the band also plays some very free, high energy xylophone. When Ra’s clavinet, flutes, xylophone and bass conjoin in the concluding section the resulting cumulative texture is both affecting and appropriately otherworldly.
The tracks ‘Love is for Always’ and ‘The Song of the Drums’ are certainly edited from the now seemingly lost tapes of the 1974 Temple University concert. Both Ra and John Gilmore are rhapsodic on the former song, a lovely improvised ballad while Akh Tal Ebah and Eddie Thomas trade vocal lines over sparse drums and Ra’s Rocksichord on the latter. These tracks share the same reverberant acoustic and slightly distant sound. The concluding song from this lp, ‘The World of Africa’ is clearly not from the same concert as it’s predecessors and takes us back to 1968 when vocalist June Tyson first joined the band. Ra is again featured on Hohner Clavinet playing very much in the style of the small group ‘Atlantis’ sessions from the previous year and with a host of Arkestra members on percussion.
The last track ‘We Roam the Cosmos’ is a live recording and was untitled when it first appeared on vinyl in 1975. The title, given by discographer Robert L Campbell was taken from a line near the beginning of the cosmo drama recitation. The last strains of ‘Space is the Place’ can be heard at the beginning and as that fades, the volatile and highly charged cosmo drama from Ra and the Space Ethnic Voices begins. It grows in intensity with an undertone of bass interjections until suddenly fading amidst a melee of urgent voices .
If Sun Ra felt that he was ‘King of the Sub Underground’ in 1975, he clearly refused to be confined and made it his most urgent duty to continue to rail and to shake planet Earth with sound and words and force it’s inhabitants to look upwards and outwards to the sky and far beyond.
Liner Notes and Research by Paul Griffiths, 2012.