During his brief time on this puny little planet, I presume that experimental jazz overlord Sun Ra had numerous mystical insights into the future, both of music media platforms and of non-recyclable waste disposal. These insights undoubtedly led him to two working predictions: 1) The Compact Disc is going to come back in a HUGE way in 2012. 2) In the future, rather than clutter our bloated landfills, we will simply blast all of our plastic waste products (such as those that result from mass production of physical media) into the heart of the sun on pollution-free rockets powered by “positive vibes.”
Well, hopefully those predictions play out well, because according to a recent post by The Wire, this summer will witness the ponderous release of a THIRTY-DISC CD box set (or perhaps a “crate set”?) of the jazz legend’s music. Details are a little sketchy at the moment, but the collection has been compiled by Michael D. Anderson, current director of the Sun Ra Music Archive, is currently slated for a July release, and is titled (get this) The Eternal Myth Revealed Vol. 1. That’s right: VOLUME ONE, people. Thirty discs is apparently not nearly enough room for you when the whole dang universe is your muse.
The set covers the period 1924-1956, during which time he did everything from playing the piano sideman role to producing and coaching vocal groups to composing, arranging, and conducting his own stuff. In addition to all the music, the set will also contain interviews, audio excerpts, extensive (duh) liner notes, and rare recordings by bands that don’t even contain Sun Ra but that simply influenced the man in his own work. Man, who else is so crazy/influential that they get their favorite songs by other people included on their own career-spanning retrospectives? And again, if you’re worried about having like a thousand CDs cluttering up your life in 2011 like I am, keep in mind that there’s plenty of room for all of our refuse in outer fucking space, a.k.a. Sun’s place.
• Sun Ra Archive: http://sunraarchive.webstarts.com
• Sun Ra Arkestra: http://www.elrarecords.com
