Reviews by markjazz

This is my first listen from this artist and I must say I think it's an awesome disc and a great debut. I will also say that it's ahead of it's time too because there are artists, like Throbbing Gistle and Merzbow, that used the same type of tape and guitar elements in their experimental music. I haven't heard music like this and this was recorded in 1977! Steve plays a great guitar but he mixes in odd soundscapes and ambient keys as well. The last track, How Do You Like My Buddha?, reminded me a lot of how Merzbow would use the electric guitar and reversed sampling that he did with his earlier noise works. Not sure why I'm comparing the two artists here but I'm a hugh noise fan and this album is a great listen for anyone interested in that genre, though the noise is very subtle at times. I like the ambient keys mostly on this disc. It's a bit similar to some of Brian Eno's works as well. It's hard to find but if you see it buy it. My only negative is that it's so short, under 34 minutes.

Even though it's a bootleg this is still one of my favorite TG disc's. There's a good mix of tracks and most of them are of the heavy kind, unlike tracks such as United and Adrenaline which appear on other comps. The final track, Leeds Ripper is great. It features a news broadcast of the Yorkshire Ripper and I think a sample of Discipline appears here too. You can tell some of this was ripped from vinyl because that lovely crackle sound is in some of the tracks. All-in-all this is a good example of what TG is about. What a Day!

My introduction to tribal/techno/ebm/whatever was this disc and I was blown away. The hard hitting drums and fast paced tribal beats kicked through the lashing energetic ambient sounds. The shorter tracks are a good addition but I honestly just skip them. The idea of the Drake Equation is brilliant as well and got me interested in doing a bit of research as to why the band was motivated to do a release about 'math'. I found out a lot and I still listen to this disc when I feel like I need to move towards the stars.

I've yet been able to completely love an album by this group but that's not to say I don't like them. There's some awesome Symphonic tracks on this album and it contains one of my favourites from any band, that being To Mega Therion. Another track I absolutely love on here is the long The Siren of the Woods. Such a beautiful piece that changes directions a few times and the vocals give me chills up my spine too. Overall it has some very good moments but it also has moments that don't really get me into the album at all, like the choral track Opus Eclipse. It just seems to be "there" and doesn't stand out at all. Again, not a perfect album but one to own for sure for any fan of this type of metal.

I'm probably rating this higher than I normally would but when this album came out I was 9 and loved it so I'm giving it an extra star for that. There are actually some tracks I kind of still like on this album, like Tough and Raw. I mostly think the main problem with this album, besides being dated, is the raping. I hate the raping and if this was an all instrumental album I'd probably like it more. So yeah, a classic album I finally bought for the first time, just over 21 years after it's release date....ha!

I love the original versions that appear on the actual CD's for this release but seeing these two ladies live is not something I'd pay for, if they were still around. The problem is Tina Root just stands there and sings while marching on the spot for nearly every song and Susan Wallace plays the keyboard with her head down most of the time. Even the drummer is pretty boring to watch. The lighting effects are minimal and tame. The "live" bootleg footage quality is 'handy-cam' at best.
The extra features in this disc are ok. They feature quality pictures and some audio bonus tracks. I prefer listening to these chic's on CD, but I'd only see them live just to check out their hair, which was so colorful at the time.

This is a great release but I do prefer the last half of the album a lot better. It's a great mix of bop jazz and free jazz all in one disc. I don't own this but I wouldn't mind owning it if I had the chance to buy it, even though it's not a 4/5 album for me. The liner notes are neat and I've listed the mixing diagram below, which I don't think I've ever seen in a jazz album. If the whole album was like Of Invisible Them this would have been an easy 5/5 rating for me. I loved that track!

Mix Diagram

......(4)................(20)....(21).....................
......(17)...................(18).....................(19)
...............................(23)..........................
...............................(22)..........................
L.(24).(16).(15).(14).(13).(12)...(9).(8).(7).(6).(5). R
................................(3)..........................
..........................(10)....(11).....................
..........................(1)......(2)......................

Personnel:
1. Piano, Voice - Sun Ra
2. Synthesizer - Sun Ra
3. Trumpet [Pocket] - Don Cherry
4. Violin, Voice - June Tyson
5. Trumpet - Fred Adams
6. Trumpet, Voice - Michael Ray
7. Trumpet - Ahmed Abdullah
8. Trumpet - Jothan Collins
9. Trumpet, Flugelhorn - Al Evans
10. Trombone - Tyrone Hill
11. Trombone - Julian Priester
12. Saxophone [Baritone], Flute - Reynold Scott
13. Saxophone [Alto] - James Spaulding
14. Saxophone [Alto], Flute, Persussion - Marshall Allen
15. Saxophone [Tenor], Percussion, Voice - John Gilmore
16. Basson - James Jackson
17. Drums - Earl C. Smith
18. Drums - Eric Walker
19. Drums - Thomas Henderson
20. Surdo, Percussion - Elson Nascimento
21. Repinique, Percussion - Jorge Silva
22. Bass - Rollo Radford
23. Bass - John Ore
24. Drum [African] - James Johnson

This is one of those Free-Jazz albums I can only listen to when I'm in a certain mood. I don't 100% like it but I listen to it mainly because it's Sun Ra and it represents a good point in Impulse's history. Some times I'll get half way through the title track and will actually have to skip because I just get sick of it.
The title track is a great 21+ minute piece featuring a large barrage of different instruments happening at once. It settles for a bit and then kicks up again. This occurs about 3 times during the track. The thing I like most about is Sun Ra's own organ play, making the high pitched "Space Laser" sounds. It just puts you more into the mood. The other 4 tracks are fairly different. Images could have been pulled off a Coltrane album and most wouldn't have notice. I personally love how this album ends with the track Rocket Number Nine. An awesome short piece that can take you back home. It sounds a bit comical too.
I am very picky when it comes to free-jazz and although I don't like this album as much as some others on Impulse it always gets played simply cause it was a personal turning point in my jazz collection.

This is a very hard bop'n sounding release by Sun Ra and it's one of his better releases. I wouldn't say it's an outstanding release but I listen to it often and it is different. Plutonian Nights is a classic hard bop number with a cool improv cello solo past the half way point. It's a good mix and keeps the track from being boring. The Lady With the Golden Stockings (The Golden Lady) is a bit slower than the first track but it keeps the same sound and sounds like it was recorded in a cafe. It totally has that cafe qaulity sound to it and that's not a bad thing. I love this track personally because there's a lot going on in it. The flute solo is very nice. There's even a cowbell! Who hates the cowbell? Right, no one. Star Time is another great fast paced tune. Pretty much what you'd expect to hear from anyone during the 60's. Nothing special added hear but it's still a good number.

Side B starts off with Nubia with it's great organ opening. It's fast paced but it's kind of dull as it's mostly a soft sounding drum solo for half the track. It would have made a great track had it been 4 minutes instead of 8 I think. It's good to have these drum solos on an album too but this tracks solo is just too long and the drums just aren't hard enough I guess for my liking. Africa is a fairly soft track with some, well, african style drums playing and a flute for the most part. It's not overly great as well. Watusa is a short fast paced number and it's very latin sounding. The LP ends with Aiethopia, and is probably the best track on this side. It's another relaxing piece with some good piano in it. Love it.

All in all if it was for the few week points on side B I would rate this much higher but this is a good starting point for Sun Ra so I'd highly recommend it.

Here is some extra info:

Piano, Organ - Sun Ra
Saxophone (Baritone) - Charles Davis
Flute, Saxophone (Alto) - Marshall Allen
Bass - Ronnie Boykins
Timbales - James Herndon
Saxophone (Tenor), Bells - John Gilmore

This album is a great free jazz listen and most of it is fairly soft. I would say it's almost more of an orchestral piece as well, the title track mostly. The title track is a great piece. It starts off very slow moving and light and then starts to pick up finally at the 15 minute mark and hardky gives you time to rest and collect your thoughts. I really like the piano in it too and wish there was more of it.

The Shadow World starts off softly again with rolling type thunder jazz. It almost has a hard-bop feel to it for a while. This track suits its title very well and I consider it pretty dark, for free-jazz. At 3 minutes various instruments slowly creep in, horns and piano, until a certain mess starts to form. A very well done track and probably my favorite on the album.

Abstract Eye, being under 3 minutes, is a nice little set with bleeding cello strokes and low horn sounds hidden in the background. It ends with some light flute play and rolling tom drums. Not a great piece but it does the trick.

Abstract "I" is kind of a part II from the last track. The same type of style but with more sounds added. Overall it ends the album very nicely.