Sun Ra - Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy/Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow
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Free Music Notes for Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy/Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow
Free Music Review: Space is the place!
Hit: 5 Stars
"Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy" tops the list for all-time greatest album title (tied with "Weasels Ripped My Flesh"). The thought of these sonic vibrations from outer space reconfiguring your neural synapses is actually quite appealing. This stuff really does sound like it's from "out there"! The echo and reverb drenched and somewhat low-budget sound actually gives it extra charm.
The music on "Cosmic Tones" is very abstract. It sounds quite bizzare in 2007, so I can only image what it must have sounded to people in 1961 - not even Ornette Coleman or Cecil Taylor we doing stuff this far out in 1961.
"Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow" is a transitional work between straight jazz and the free space music of "Cosmic Tones". It's certainly enjoyable music, but for me it's less interesting.
I was lucky to see Sun Ra Live in 1988 and 1990, and actually had a few words with him in 1990. Despite being wheelchair-ridden he still had tremendous presence and a projected a very joyful vibe. This joyfulness comes across in all of his music, which is one of the things that most appeals to me.
This album is as good a place to start as any, if you are interested in exploring Sun Ra's universe.
Free Music Review: Truth In Advertising
Hit: 5 Stars
Cosmic Tones For Mental Therapy and Art Forms Of Dimensions Tomorrow by Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra is quite a formidable title by any measure - and yet - when you actually listen to this astonishing piece of work you will find yourself thoroughly convinced - indeed - it is the only possible name for it.
They say that for an alcoholic, one drink is too many and one thousand aren't enough. I have discovered the same to be true of Sun Ra CDs, which seem to be breeding on my wall. Hearing one is too much because once you've listened it's too late to pretend you haven't heard what you've heard. One thousand aren't enough because each is different, the product of a man who explored constantly, driven by an inspired and fearless abandon.
Sun Ra CDs seem to break down into two categories, the really sharp old school jazz CDs and the intergalactic travel CDs. While I have praised Heliocentric Worlds Volume 1 in the past, I now think this is the indispensable Sun Ra CD - the one you simply MUST own. More than any other I've heard it bridges the gap between the two worlds of Sun Ra, in fact, listening to this CD it's difficult to tell which world you're in. At times it might be Morocco, other times it might be a spaceship rounding Venus, then again, some moments feel like a Cuban nightclub in the 1950's.
Maybe that's the real poetry of Sun Ra, you can never be really sure of anything. I may be back soon to revise my opinion again, after probing deeper into the enchanted world of Sun Ra. I wouldn't be at all surprised if I were again surprised.
Free Music Review: Not his best
Hit: 2 Stars
This CD is really for the completest among avid fans of Sun Ra. If that describes you, then this release is a treat: two of Sun Ra's early albums that were not easy to come by on vinyl even back then, unless you lived in New York City.
The music, however, is of questionable quality, even when considered within the proper context of genre and period. Don't get me wrong: I'm all for the avant garde, but these recordings grated even on my nerves and I'm no stranger to dissonance. My favorite orchestral composers are Penderecki and Carl Stalling, some of my favorite jazz records are by Ornette Coleman, I own several CDs by the likes of Captain Beefheart and Xenakis, my favorite rock record is by Mr. Bungle, I've enjoyed concerts by Rene Lussier and Andre Duchesne...but this purchase was a disappointment to me, regardless of price.
The dissonance in this recording was just not at all musical to my ears. I'm not exactly sure what Sun Ra intended with these pieces but they had no emotional impact on me, nor did they even have any kind of rhythmic or hypnotic effect say like `Fire' by the Third Ear Band from their elements album. The interest here is purely intellectual and not worth repeated listening, in my opinion.
I agree that Sun Ra was a great musician and composer who made an important contribution to the avant guard in general, but these particular recordings are not among his finest achievements.
Free Music Review: nothing else like it
Hit: 5 Stars
free jazz with form...or something like that. The composer in question is, Sun Ra, one of the most forward looking musical talents of the 20th century. This is one of his first truly 'out there' albums. In the 50's he was an innovator in a sort of big band style that incorporated some of the most strange and beautiful compositions with truly futuristic solos from the likes of John Gilmore (who pioneered the 'sheets of sound' style that John Coltrane would become famous for). 'Cosmic Tones/Art Forms' is something else completely. As other reviewers have said - you cannot define it. It is free - yet so different from what artists like Ornette Coleman were doing at the time. It has an organic almost folk like quality - it sounds almost ancient. It is closer to classical chamber music than to most jazz records. You can't even really compare it to Mingus - this is something else... Just listen and meditate on this one - so strange and beautiful. Free Music Review: Don't start here to get acquainted with Sun Ra
Hit: 4 Stars
This is great Sun Ra, but by all means don't start here. Its crazy, surreal, and inaccesible, more so than "Space Is the Place" or "Easy Listening for Intergalatic Travel". However, if you are familiar with Sun Ra, but considor yourself a casual fan than this is an album to buy. It will help you delve into the world of the greatest Jazz artist who ever lived. Back in 8th grade I took a general music class, which was all about learning the history of jazz to attempt to make all the kid's taste in music better (it, for the most part, alienated them ever further). One of the albums our teacher played was this one, and the reaction of the class was pretty much the same. "Is this music?" As my tastes have matured, I grew to appreciate avant-garde music, the deconstruction and often times lack of a central rhythm. The music here isn't catchy, and it may appear to many as unlistenable. However, if you have a taste for weird and unusual music, you will fall in love with this album. This is more for fans of The Shaggs and Captain Beefheart than it is for fans of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. Don't get the impression that Sun Ra and his band is merely jamming here however - its all part of a great artistic vision.