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The Space Age is Here to Stay

by Sun Ra & His Interplanetary Vocal Arkestra

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Enlightment 02:36
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1984 07:01
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Nuclear War 05:40
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about

This first-ever collection of Sun Ra Arkestra vocal recordings was issued by Modern Harmonic in 2017. The collection offers 75 minutes of Sun Ra songcraft, many sung by longtime Arkestra singer-dancer June Tyson. (The album was also issued on vinyl and CD, but the CD is currently out of stock.)

Known primarily for his keyboard improv and freewheeling orchestral arrangements, Sun Ra could also write such great songs as "Space Is The Place," "Nuclear War," and "Interplanetary Music." Ra would sometimes use eerie chanting and call & response to create hypnotic moods. "Enlightenment" and "Moorish Nights" are gorgeous tunes, as pretty as anything from Tin Pan Alley. Of course, it wouldn't be Sun Ra without space age lyrics — "Take your first step out to outer space/You're like a little baby who never walked before" commands the future-predicting "Walking On The Moon."

Ra was also a big fan of great songs from the past, and here offers soulful cover versions of "Sometimes I'm Happy," the Thelonious Monk classic "Round Midnight," "Back in Your Own Back Yard," and the Disney tune "Forest of No Return."

credits

released May 21, 2023

All compositions by Sun Ra
© Enterplanetary Koncepts (BMI)
except:
"Back in Your Own Back Yard" by Jolson-Rose-Dreyer (Bourne/Larry Spier Music)
"Round Midnight" by Monk-Hanighen (Thelonious Music Corp.)
"Sometimes I'm Happy" by Caesar-Youmans-Grey (Irving Caesar/Jerry Lieber/Range Road/Silver Seahorse/Warner Bros)
"The Forest of No Return" by Geo. Bruns-Melville Leven (Warner Bros. Music)

Curated by Jay Millar for Modern Harmonic
All tracks licensed from Sun Ra LLC
Mastered by Bob Irwin in Nashville TN
Art direction by John Sellers Design
Original cover artwork reproduced courtesy Bonestell LLC

Cover art: "Exploration of Mars" by Chesley Bonestell, as interpreted by John Sellards

Tape transfers by Michael D. Anderson of the Sun Ra Music Archive
Digital audio restoration by Irwin Chusid

Production coordination: Stephanie Kennedy

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all rights reserved

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about

Sun Ra New York, New York

A Helpful Guide to the Many Sun Ra Albums on Bandcamp: daily.bandcamp.com/2017/10/13/sun-ra-album-guide
The foremost figure in musical Afro-futurism and space-jazz. Keyboardist, composer, Arkestra leader, arranger, philosopher-jester, fashion icon, cosmic guide. Born Herman Blount in Alabama, 1914, left the planet in 1993, giving Earthlings a monumental catalog of recordings that transcend genre. ... more

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