ribonucleic
05-18-2013, 05:30 PM
In 1974 Sun Ra made his only film, Space is the Place, directed by John Coney, who also never made another movie. It is an odd artifact, a hybrid of science fiction, blaxploitation and (too little) avant-garde jazz.
In the film, as in life, Sun Ra is the quintessential outsider and space is a metaphorical Eden for this much put upon black man. The plot is threadbare, involving villainous pimps and dealers, Black Panther avenger protagonists, local nightclubs, pool halls, cat houses, and, of course, an Outer Space Employment Agency that Sun Ra sets up after coming to Earth from a faraway planet. To recruit a new colony, he espouses racial freedom through Egyptian epigrams, Stockhausen-like jazz and a spirit filled Rocket Ship. Of course, Ra is challenged by establishment agents and a supreme villain, the Overseer (Ray Johnson), who lures impressionable black men away from Ra�s brand of truth with the vices of sex and money. Ra preaches against decadence and hits a nerve when showing the pimp and his followers that they are no different than the White Man (Nixon, here) they rage against. Ra promises a land of racial harmony and social justice lies within the Milky Way�s stars, and who are we to argue?
The film is as eccentric and inexplicable as Sun Ra himself. Space is the Place demands to be seen by every aficionado of bizarre cinema and equally bizarre jazz. - Alfred Eaker (http://366weirdmovies.com/space-is-the-place-1974/)
... the tunes are among his most ambitious, unorthodox, and compelling compositions. Between June Tyson's declarative vocals, chants, and dialogue and Ra's crashing, flailing synthesizer and organ fills, and with such songs as "Blackman/Love in Outer Space," "It's After the End of the World," and "I Am the Brother of the Wind," this disc offers aggressive, energized, and uncompromising material. Ra's pianistic forays, phrases, and textures were sometimes dismissed as mere noodling when they were part of a well-constructed multimedia package. This comes as close as any of Ra's releases to being not only a concept work but a blueprint for his live shows from the early '70s until the end of his career. - AllMusic (http://www.allmusic.com/album/space-is-the-place-original-soundtrack-mw0000622271)
1. It's After the End of the World � 3:25
2. Under Different Stars � 3:55
3. Discipline 33 � 3:22
4. Watusa � 7:11
5. Calling Planet Earth � 3:04
6. I Am the Alter-Destiny � 1:08
7. Satellites Are Spinning � 2:33
8. Cosmic Forces � 3:09
9. Outer Spaceways Incorporated � 3:00
10. We Travel the Spaceways � 2:28
11. The Overseer � 3:04
12. Blackman/Love in Outer Space � 16:53
13. Mysterious Crystal � 5:53
14. I Am the Brother of the Wind � 5:54
15. We'll Wait for You � 4:11
16. Space Is the Place � 4:23
Sun Ra � piano, Minimoog, Farfisa organ, Clavinet, Rocksichord, declamation
Kwame Hadi � trumpet, conga, vibraphone
Wayne Harris � trumpet
Marshall Allen � alto saxophone, flute, oboe, bassoon, kora, cowbell, percussion
Danny Davis � alto saxophone, flute, alto clarinet, percussion
Larry Northington � alto saxophone, conga, percussion
John Gilmore � tenor saxophone, drums, percussion, vocal
Eloe Omoe � bass clarinet, bongos, percussion
Danny Thompson � baritone saxophone, percussion
Lex Humphries � drums
Ken Moshesh � conga
June Tyson � vocals, bells
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