Cymbals has finally landed… and brought a 2nd saucer with it!
Originally recorded for the Impulse! jazz label in ’73, Cymbals makes its first legitimate release on vinyl, paired with a second LP of unheard material from the same sessions. Hear Ra’s Baroque soundscapes, electrolytic clusters and dithering Moogs catalyze images of monoliths, space stations, computers malfunctioning and galaxies imploding on pristine red and green vinyl with liner notes by known Ra-fficianado Brother Cleve!
Making its debut here, the second LP is culled from a mysterious tape recorded during the same time frame and with many of the same musicians (though no Ronnie Boykins; Ra provides keyboard bass). Could this be one of the unissued Impulse! LPs? Quite probable. The tape box only lists the song titles.
Symbols, the 2nd LP, opens with some “Space Age Cocktail Music” as only Sun Ra could conjure in his intergalactic lounge. Continuing the Sci-Fi film references, side one could well be post-last call cantina music from a galaxy far, far away. Side two, comprising Ra’s keyboards and accompanying drums/percussion, feels like an alternate soundtrack to 2001: A Space Odyssey, a film still playing in theaters in 1973.
The Cymbals / Symbols Sessions New York City 1973 is yet another piece of the puzzle, the Mr. Re of Mr. Ra. On pristine red and green vinyl with liner notes by known Ra-fficianado Brother Cleve!