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\u00a0 Amiens for a Sunday afternoon concert. Those filing into the city\u2019s Maison de la Culture that day would have little idea of the intense, visceral experience\u00a0 that awaited them. \u201cSun Ra\u2019s 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,\u201c explains the Arkestra\u2019s Knoel Scott.<\/p>\n
On Side 1, the session kicks off with the theatrical overture, \u2019Enlightenment\u2019 as Sun Ra and vocalist June Tyson invite the audience to \u201cbe of our space world\u201c. Ra then moves into a rare instrumental version of \u2019Love In Outer Space\u2019, transforming the perennial Arkestra classic into a raw, ritualistic experience: \u201cthis was a vehicle for the Arkestra\u2019s space dancers. Close your eyes and imagine them writhing across the stage in celestial homage,\u201c explains Scott.<\/p>\n
On Side 2 of the album opens with the glistening \u2019Lights On A Satellite\u2019, a feature for the spiritual tenor sax of John Gilmore, playing in unison with trumpeter Kwame Hadi. Closing track, the epic, chaotic, anxious \u2019Discipline 27-II \/ What Planet Is This\u2019 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: \u201cIf this is a planet of life, why do people die here? \u201c Strut<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0Strut<\/strong><\/p>\n Strut<\/strong> and Art Yard<\/strong> join forces once more for the first release\u00a0 anywhere of “Planets Of Life Or Death”<\/strong>. Recorded direct from the sound board and mastered from first generation reel to reel, the title is exclusively available for Record Store Day 2015<\/strong>. The release features rare photos from Sun Ra\u2019s<\/strong> 1973 European tour by photographer Jan Persson with sleeve notes by Knoel Scott.<\/p>\n
\nFollowing 2014\u2019s landmark compilation presented by Marshall Allen, \u2019In the Orbit Of Ra\u2019, Strut and Art Yard join forces once more for the first release anywhere of \u2019Planets Of Life Or Death\u2019. Recorded direct from the soundboard and mastered from first generation reel to reel, the title is exclusively available for Record Store Day 2015<\/strong>. The release features rare photos from Sun Ra\u2019s 1973 European tour by photographer Jan Persson with sleeve notes by Knoel Scott.<\/p>\n
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