Digitally remastered edition. One of the rarer albums in the Sun Ra canon, RTTR originally entered our orbit in 1983, mystifying listeners and confounding Ra fanatics with the minimal info on the Saturn pressing. Recorded at several locations over several years (including legendary avant-garde arts enclave, the Squat Theater in NYC), the tracks here include everything from Ra's sci-fi synthesizer insanity, Marshall Allen's skronking sax, an excellent Arkestra vocal track 'They Plan To Leave,' and so much more.

Digitally remastered edition. An F-bomb saturated hip-hop call and response club cut... from Sun Ra?! While the most renown track in this omniversal opus is the atomic expletive-filled repartee Nuclear War, there is so much more to this dark mysterious journey through the mind of Sun Ra. The sprawling, suite-like 20-minute title track sustains a lyrical edge in spite of an open framework and textures, which encourage sonorities to surface and emerge from the band as if there was no human intention behind them. In opposition to 'Nuclear War,' Ra's organ playing here was built less on bombast and sonic terror than it is on whispers, stutters, shivers, and swells. Fireside Chat offers a wide stylistic array, as was the artist's intent, reflecting his eclectic, seemingly irreconcilable approach to compositional extremes. With Sun Ra you get everything... except predictability. First ever reissue of this iconic album!

The outsized sounds emerging from the Excelsior Mill organ captured here constitute a unique chapter in the Sun Ra story, a dizzying phantasmagoria that offers a whole new view on what Ra could do. It might thrill you; it might unnerve you; it might strum your heartstrings; it might spook the living daylights out of you. Most likely you'll experience all of the above before the jolting musical jeremiad is done. The CD includes the full uncut show with music not featured on the LP version! When you're Sun Ra, you don't need synthesizers to evoke apocalyptic visions and interstellar excursions. You don't even need a band. Ra is most widely known for working with various iterations of his Arkestra, but he was no stranger to unaccompanied keyboard expeditions. His discography contains solo piano albums, solo Fender Rhodes records, and solo recordings on conventional organ, the latter going as far back as his home recordings from the 1940s. But none of those instruments ever offered Sun Ra the kind of sonic artillery that waited beneath his fingers and feet when he sat before the keyboards, pedals, and multicolored constellation of tabs controlling the Wurlitzer pipe organ. Mystic and magisterial, Ra comes off here like a cross between a demonically riffing '50s horror movie villain and a futuristic congregation leader delivering the interplanetary gospel. Brassy stabs provide the kind of punctuation that could be graphically rendered as an endless string of exclamation marks in 500-point font. String-like swoops and swirls dance across the top of the carnage, cooling the flames just enough to keep the whole thing from combusting (for a while at least) but never dousing the fiery fury that Ra draws forth from the instrument.

Enlightenment is... our tomorrow... It has no plane... of sorrow. Hereby, our invitation... We do invite you... Be of our Space World Sun Ra And His Intergalactic Research Arkestra 'Enlightenment' Within their 1973 European tour, Sun Ra and his Arkestra had just completed a residency at the legendary Gibus in Paris in October before travelling to Amiens for a Sunday afternoon concert. Those filing into the city's Maison de la Culture that day would have little idea of the intense, visceral experience that awaited them. "Sun Ra's use of the Arkestra as his instrument in an onslaught of sound, colour and movement stimulated and even shocked the senses and the shakras of audience participants onto a higher plane of spirit consciousness," explains the Arkestra's Knoel Scott. On Side 1, the session kicks off with the theatrical overture, 'Enlightenment' as Sun Ra and vocalist June Tyson invite the audience to "be of our space world". Ra then moves into a rare instrumental version of 'Love In Outer Space', transforming the perennial Arkestra classic into a raw, ritualistic experience: "this was a vehicle for the Arkestra's space dancers. Close your eyes and imagine them writhing across the stage in celestial homage," explains Scott. Side 2 of the album opens with the glistening 'Lights On A Satellite', a feature for the spiritual tenor sax of John Gilmore, playing in unison with trumpeter Kwame Hadi. Closing track, the epic, chaotic, anxious 'Discipline 27-II / What Planet Is This' moves from abstract, freeform keyboard work from Sun Ra to a walking groove as Sun Ra and June Tyson take a thinly veiled psychedelic swipe at life on earth: "If this is a planet of life, why do people die here? " Following 2014's landmark compilation presented by Marshall Allen, 'In the Orbit Of Ra', Strut and Art Yard join forces once more for the first release anywhere of 'Planets Of Life Or Death'. Recorded direct from the sound board and mastered from first generation reel to reel, the title is exclusively available for Record Store Day 2015. The release features rare photos from Sun Ra's 1973 European tour by photographer Jan Persson with sleeve notes by Knoel Scott.

SUN RA Singles the Definitive 45's Collection 1952 - 1991 - Strut presents a new definitive collection of Singles released by jazz maverick Sun Ra during his Earth years, spanning 1952 to 1991. Released prolifically during the 1950s and more sporadically thereafter, primarily on the Saturn label, the 45s offer one-off meteorites from Ra's prolific cosmic journey, tracing the development of his forward-thinking "Space-Bop" and his unique take on jazz and blues traditions which sounded unlike anything else from the period. As with his LPs, most 45s were only pressed in small runs and were sold at gigs and have since become extremely rare and sought after. Only a small handful of copies of "Love In Outer Space" b/w "Mayan Temple" and "The Blue One" b/w "Orbitration In Blue" have ever been seen; some have only been discovered in physical form in recent years; some were planned and penciled in but allegedly never made it to vinyl (including "Saturn" and "Velvet" from the Jazz In Silhouette LP) and some appeared as limited one-off magazine singles and posthumous releases, including "Hell #1" aka "Out There A Minute." The set is the most comprehensive collection of Ra's singles to date. Sleeve note writers Francis Gooding and Paul Griffiths brilliantly illustrate the role of the single within Ra's career and break down each release with detailed track by track notes. Working with Sun Ra LLC and Sun Raarchivist Michael D. Anderson, Strut has also assembled the best possible master sources for each track.

Limited green colored vinyl LP pressing. Digitally remastered edition. One of the rarer albums in the Sun Ra canon, RTTR originally entered our orbit in 1983, mystifying listeners and confounding Ra fanatics with the minimal info on the Saturn pressing. Recorded at several locations over several years (including legendary avant-garde arts enclave, the Squat Theater in NYC), the tracks here include everything from Ra's sci-fi synthesizer insanity, Marshall Allen's skronking sax, an excellent Arkestra vocal track 'They Plan To Leave,' and so much more.

Vinyl LP pressing. "Soothing Sounds for Saturnians! Sun Ra, notorious for his aggressive keyboard attack and seemingly schizophrenic stylings, here offers a unique selection playing the celeste-like Fender Rhodes electric piano, which has a distinct sound (think Doors' "Riders on the Storm") and an interesting history. This is Ra sound at his most relaxed and contemplative state. This Sun Ra 1980 solo set at Haverford College has been kicking around the internet and in the digital libraries of Ra collectors for years, though it has not previously been properly mastered or commercially issued. Like many events in Ra's history, this gig has a story that goes beyond the music. Ra's presence onstage that night came about through an unforeseen chain of events that unfolded up until concert time. This is a very unique performance. Sun Ra is notorious for his aggressive keyboard attack and seemingly schizophrenic stylings-which can musically rocket from A to Z and back without transitional bridges. This set offers a marked contrast. Ra's instrument here is the celeste-like Fender Rhodes electric piano, which has a distinct sound (instantly recognizable in the Doors' "Riders on the Storm") and an interesting history. There are few pyrotechnics in this performance, and much restraint. Ra sounds relaxed and contemplative. It's Soothing Sounds for Saturnians". - Irwin Chusid.

This deluxe package includes three LPs, a Blu-ray disc, and a DVD. The audio portion contains the original music composed for the film, which was eventually released as a soundtrack in 1993. It also features The Mathematics of the Altered Destiny, a third, previously unissued LP recorded in the same soundtrack sessions, which is finally being released half a century after it was recorded. This newly discovered LP is heavy on the prose of Sun Ra, as he and June Tyson bestow countless bits of information and inspiration onto the listener. The film soundtrack is an entirely different journey than the 1973 Blue Thumb LP it shares it's title with. We suggest you take both journeys. These recordings were sourced from the Sun Ra tape vault, then were digitally restored to make an album this special sound the best it possibly could. The Blu-ray contains the entire glorious film complete with film artifacts and was sourced from the restoration prepared by Rapid Eye Movies of Germany. The bonus features on the Blu-ray are composed of Ra and Ra-centric material from the Modern Harmonic archives, including video from the Outer Space Visual Communicator footage.

CD reissue. This is an album of solo piano compositions by the American Jazz musician Sun Ra, (real name Herman Poole Blount) recorded in 1966. The album showcases Ra's skills as a pianist, which are often compared to Cecil Taylor's. Monorails and Satellites, a 1966 solo piano recording, showcases Ra's unique style, which bridges the bluesy architecture of Jelly Roll Morton with the angularity of Monk and Cecil Taylor's ascent beyond traditional structure. According to Ra's biographer, John Szwed, the title might refer to Stanley Kubrick's 2001, featuring a monolith that Ra remembered as a monorail, 'perhaps connecting it to his UFO experience'. Both albums shared the same sleeve of disembodied hands playing a keyboard that seems to be plugged directly into Saturn.

Featuring what may be his only recordings on the Prophet keyboard, these once lost performances expand the omniverse of Ra across a stellar set of lengthy cuts! All recorded in a single day and finally making their terrestrial debut, pressed on red vinyl and packaged with a Prophet keyboard brochure plus notes from Ranthropologist Brother Cleve! What happens when a Prophet meets a Prophet? The answer lies within these grooves. Amongst the hundreds of recordings issued by Sun Ra and his Arkestra, under their various guises, the majority were recorded in concert or in makeshift studios such as their early 1960s set-up at NYC's Choreographer's Workshop. Beyond those, roughly 22 albums were recorded at Variety Recording Studio in New York's Times Square. However, on August 25, 1986, Sun Ra and cohorts entered Mission Control, a state-of-the-art 24-track studio north of Boston, which was teeming with electronic keyboards and otherworldly sound generators. Nestled within that arsenal was a brand-new digital ultra keyboard - the Prophet VS ("Vector Synthesizer"). Of all the keyboards Ra played throughout his half-century career, the Prophet was one of the most sophisticated. There's no evidence that he had played either of the instrument's earlier incarnations, the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 and Prophet-10. Created using microprocessors, a then-new technological advance, under the auspices of engineer Dave Smith in 1978, the Prophet-5 revolutionized electronic music as the first polyphonic and, most importantly, programmable synthesizer. Ra was intrigued by the Prophet (surely by the instrument as well as by the name). Recorded during a single day, it's about time that these once lost performances have now been found.

Sun Ra was a master of misdirection. Tape boxes wrongly labeled-whether by accident or design-are legendary among Ra archivists. One can speculate about the artist's intent or carelessness, but source misinformation abounds on Ra tape cases, album jackets, cassettes, ephemera-as well as in interviews. It's as if Ra, in furtherance of his own mythmaking, wanted to keep historians guessing. This project began as a misidentified tape discovered by Michael D. Anderson of the Sun Ra Music Archive. The 7-inch reel, which contained a live Ra solo piano performance of 11 works-some recognizable, others not-was of stellar quality, and was marked as a 1979 Carnegie Hall date. But the program on the tape did not align with known facts (e.g., titles played, concert duration) which were chronicled in a Newsday review of Ra's appearance at Carnegie in September of that year. With a prod from writer/historian Ted Gioia and further research by myself, the tape was eventually identified as a mostly unreleased July 1977 performance by Ra at a downtown NYC "jazz cafe" called The Axis-in-Soho.

Double yellow colored vinyl LP pressing. Sun Ra was a master of misdirection. Tape boxes wrongly labeled-whether by accident or design-are legendary among Ra archivists. One can speculate about the artist's intent or carelessness, but source misinformation abounds on Ra tape cases, album jackets, cassettes, ephemera-as well as in interviews. It's as if Ra, in furtherance of his own mythmaking, wanted to keep historians guessing. This project began as a misidentified tape discovered by Michael D. Anderson of the Sun Ra Music Archive. The 7-inch reel, which contained a live Ra solo piano performance of 11 works-some recognizable, others not-was of stellar quality, and was marked as a 1979 Carnegie Hall date. But the program on the tape did not align with known facts (e.g., titles played, concert duration) which were chronicled in a Newsday review of Ra's appearance at Carnegie in September of that year. With a prod from writer/historian Ted Gioia and further research by myself, the tape was eventually identified as a mostly unreleased July 1977 performance by Ra at a downtown NYC "jazz cafe" called The Axis-in-Soho.

If you're looking for melodies, structured compositions, pleasant harmonies, songs you can whistle, and serenades for social gatherings - seek elsewhere. This is Triple-A Ra: Audacious, Aggressive, Adventurous. In the collection we've titled Stray Voltage, Ra is not so much composing music as painting soundscapes with electronic keyboards. Ra doesn't simply play these consoles - he attacks, cajoles, and pounds them. Stray Voltage compiles unissued electronic peregrinations during the 1970s and '80s.

Vinyl LP pressing. Omniverse, recorded in New York in 1979 and released that year on Sun Ra's Saturn label, has been gathering dust for too long. It's a fine, overlooked item in the vast Ra catalog. The tracks aren't so much compositions as they are excursions, with only a few memorable themes or recurring motifs.

Strut Records proudly presents the official reissue of Hidden Fire Volumes 1 & 2, the final album released by Sun Ra on his El Saturn label in 1988. The last album on Ra's El Saturn label, ending a 33-year run of radical, DIY, Black-owned music- making. Hidden Fire reissued for the first time across two LPs. Features insert with liner notes from Ra expert Paul Griffiths. Remastered from original tapes

Limited edition gatefold 180-gram vinyl with bonus tracks. This edition presents the complete Sun Ra album Fate in a Pleasant Mood (Saturn-202) featuring the brilliant Arkestra with John Gilmore and Marshall Allen, plus the leader on piano. It was one of the many albums recorded by Sun Ra for the Saturn label from the mid-fifties to the early sixties. Recorded in 1960, it finds the Arkestra at the very end of their Chicago days. The tunes still have that '50s Arkestra sound (great horn arrangements), although there is an increasing use of dissonance and the arrangements are sparser, thanks to a dwindling Arkestra.

Jazz by Sun Ra was Sun Ra's first properly distributed LP. Although some sources state it was his debut, he had previously recorded and released various other sessions dating back to 1949 on his own Saturn label. The LP featured original compositions by Sun Ra along with one by Arkestral bassist Richard Evans. The single non Arkestral composition was "Possession", by Harry Revel, which had been written for Les Baxter's album Perfume Set to Music. "Possession" was arranged for the Arkestra by the Texan pianist and composer Prince Shell. THE COMPLETE ALBUM + 1 BONUS TRACK - 180-GRAM VIRGIN VINYL - Cover printed with special metallic gold ink (PANTONE 871) - LIMITED EDITION