Day 23 Sun Ra - Other Planes of There

This is going to be one of those entries that's more about me than about Sun Ra or Other Planes of There (1964.) I already knew well in advance that this album would be something of a stumbling block because I can't say I care for it that much, but on the other hand it is clearly a significant album and one that deserves serious attention. Meanwhile, my already busy week turned into a nightmare as I came down with some horrible flu that had me struggling to keep down food, and barely able to stay up for more than 8 hours at a stretch before feeling utterly exhausted.

Other Planes of there is NOT the album you want as your sick-bed soundtrack, and to be certain, I listened to plenty of other things much more pleasant (a lot of Monk actually) while trying to ignore this whopper! It features one of Ra's first huge numbers (the title track is 22 min), something like a drunken Ascension, but not as good. It's an interesting first take, but I just don't feel the piece as a whole sustains itself. There are some good performances throughout, but not anywhere on par with Gods on Safari from the same year. As a postscript, the first dissonant chord of Other Planes of There is phenomenal, right out of something from Ligeti. I just don't feel the rest of the track lives up to it.

The shorter tracks fare better, perhaps because they are shorter. All the pieces here are entirely acoustic (no electric keyboards, echo effects, etc.) The second track is an interesting piano/percussion duet that is as unworldly/surreal as any later electronic efforts, managing a simultaneous frantic/subdued vibe. The phone starts ringing sometime around four and a half minutes, but someone thankfully takes the phone off the hook.

I rather like the piece Pleasure, which once again has that beautiful, sunken, destroyed thing going on. Music for some place long past midnight when music just starts bending in on itself enough for you to notice it isn't right anymore. Perhaps this is a better soundtrack for my sickness?

Spiral Galaxy is probably the best track here, and at 10 minutes it isn't a lightweight. With a marching-band rythym section, layers of reeds and horns are slowly built upon this driving beat; denser and denser. At last this breaks for individual solos, but still the drums keep pounding away. The prospect of a Sun Ra marching band might seem pretty outlandish, but the possibilities suggesting here are inviting.

My final take isn't the most positive. Are there good tracks on this album? yes, there are. Are there good moments throughout? yes to that as well. In fact there's nothing wrong with this album in anyway other than it just not particularly clicking with me until the latter half, and even then it isn't out and beyond any of Ra's other work from this period. It IS significant because he is experimenting with longer pieces and ever increasing abstractness, but we might find better examples elsewhere. Personally I'd give this one a pass until you've heard the other major works from this period (including the recently reissued 'featuring Pharaoh Sanders' CD on ESP. Then it will no doubt be a good time to hear this album. It isn't the best music for when your suffering from the flu.