God Is More Than Love Will Ever Be

I have to give this five "stars" because it's both a surprise as far as Ra's other recordings from this period, but mostly because the music is so good. While there's been an album of Ra's solo piano, and a 2 CD set recorded in Rome, Italy in '77, in a trio of Ra-keyboards/vocals, a drummer, and another vocalist, both good examples which give some idea of Ra's piano sound, this is the first time we can hear a cohesive set of tunes recorded in one studio session. Hayes Burnett-bass, and Samarai Celestial-drums make up the rest of the trio, both members of Ra's Arkestra.The sound, taken from a clean original LP (the studio tapes can't be found) has been digitally mastered with any audio imperfections inherent on the LP minimized. But don't let that put you off this great recording which is crisp and clean sounding. The six page booklet has an informative essay on the music and recording information, plus a repro of an original album jacket cover (very cool) and other ephemera. The disc snaps into a tray inside the wallet style cardboard package.Recorded in one day in 1979, this is actually closer to a more conventional jazz trio sound than you might think. There's no flights of fancy with Ra going into outer space, or long passages of discordant notes. While this is spontaneous music, the trio holds everything together but still with that Ra sound, with the drummer propelling the music along nicely while the bassist fills in any openings in the music. Together this is a cohesive statement from Ra showing that he can play closer to more accepted jazz styles while simultaneously injecting his own approach to the music. Ra's inventiveness as he plays is always exciting and the fact that he strays closer to conventional jazz will surprise some Ra fans who haven't heard his earlier work before he went into orbit in his later periods. In some ways I'm reminded of Monk's piano recordings in similar settings--the sometimes not "right" notes, the incorporation of different genres in one tune, the spaces between the notes--together make for a fine listening experience.All the tracks have a lot to recommend them, but to my ears, "Blithe Spirit Dance" (at 10 + minutes) is a real standout among the other four great tunes. But everything here is on the same level of musicality. As I write this I'm listening to the title track and that too is simply another great example of Ra in this type of setting. A true rarity in Ra's discography, this is well worthwhile for any Ra fan, or actually anyone who enjoys taking a step just off the beaten path of conventional jazz piano in a trio setting.

This was 1970’s Sun Ra but him returning to a traditional piano based trio and quartet. In the complexity and density of his usual material, you sometimes forget he was a decent pianist. I really enjoy this album a lot. Some tunes are more traditional and some avant- garde, dissonant. It is a highly interesting piece to enjoy.

There is so much to awe at here. Never truly released before, here you get Sun Ra in trio setting with very focused music. Very dynamic and angular takes, largely given the trio setting. Great sound quality and passionate performances.Separate from this, the cd reissue looks so good! Like a mini vinyl, absolutely gorgeous cover art and also art printings found in liner notes. Marked also with nice, informative liner notes. This is a stellar purchase.

Fantastic.

This remaster is really good. The album sounds similar to Lanquidity, and has material I've not heard before, which is a treat because he tended to release different versions of the same songs often. The mastering of the percussion especially sounds dynamite. Often his records don't sound especially good for a variety of reasons but this one is pure beauty. I have around 50 Sun Ra albums and this is definitely one of the better sounding ones.

Cinq titres (peu ou pas repris dans ses autres albums) en trio, le seul album de Sun Ra sous cette forme dans sa discographie pléthorique. Sun Ra y développe sous une forme originale ses thèmes habituels allant du piano boogie, aux envolées façon "sarabande extraterrestre" en passant par des passages oniriques et du piano jazz plus classique.Les fans de Sun Ra ne devraient pas être déçus, pas forcément recommandé pour découvrir Sun Ra (choisir plutôt live at the Pit-Inn Tokyo, par exemple)

Disco pressoche introvabile in stampa originale ottimamente ristampato. Ascolto pulito e dinamico. Bella stampa!Musica da avere nonostante non sia il disco piu importante della discografia di Sun Ra a me piace molto.

Spedizione puntuale.Unico piano trio di Sun Ra, del tutto originale e molto interessante.