Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy

Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy is an album by the American Jazz musician Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra. Recorded in 1963, but not released until 1967 on Sun Ra's own Saturn label, the record has become one of the most discussed of Ra's New York recordings.[3] The record was reissued on compact disc by Evidence in 2000.

'Cosmic Tones functions as a kind of blueprint for the sort of large-scale jazz weirdness that would inform much of Sun-Ra's subsequent works, featuring the woozy reeds of And Otherness and the afro-jazz experiments of Thither And Yon. On Adventure Equation a space echo treatment on the recording which is reprised for the sax flurries on Voice Of Space making the whole experience even more disorientating than it already would be.' [4]

Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy
Studio album by
Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra
Released1967 [1]
Recorded1963, New York [1]
GenreJazz
Length31.53
LabelSaturn
Evidence
ProducerAlton Abraham
Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra chronology
When Sun Comes Out Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy
(1967)		 When Angels Speak of Love
(1963)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]

Originally released in a sleeve with a Sun Ra doodle, the better known cover, designed by Richard Pedreguera, was in place by 1969.[1] Pedreguera also designed the sleeve for The Nubians of Plutonia at around the same time.

Reception and legacy

The album has increasingly been discussed within the context of anticipating psychedelia [5][6] or pointing towards the funk of George Clinton;

'Clinton's astral ritual seems as inspired by the Nation of Islam as it is by Sun Ra, and when asked about the Ra in 1979, Clinton said, "This boy was definitely out to lunch - the same place I eat at." [7]

When reissued on CD, Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow was added to the disc.

The singer Bilal names it among his 25 favorite albums, citing Sun Ra's use of space, various noises, and African drums.[8]

Track listing

12" Vinyl

All songs by Sun Ra
Side A:

  1. "And Otherness" - (5.10)
  2. "Thither and Yon" - (4.01)
  3. "Adventure-Equation" - (8.26)

Side B:

  1. "Moon Dance" - (6.34)
  2. "Voice of Space" - (7.42)

Musicians [1]

First two tracks recorded at the Choreographer's Workshop, New York (the Arkestra's rehearsal space) in 1963.[1] Adventure-Equation, Moon Dance and Voice of Space were recorded at the Tip Top club, Brooklyn, in the same year, at 10 in the morning whilst Tommy Hunter was playing nights there with Sarah McLawler's trio, since the club provided access to a Hammond B-3 organ gratis.[5] Hunter remembers some neighbourhood kids running in during the recording and shouting, "These guys don't know how to play!".[5]

Notes
  1. Sun Ra's Discography, R Campbell
  2. CD Allmusic review
  3. All Music Guide
  4. Boomkat.com
  5. Space is the Place, John F Szwed, Mojo, 2000, p200
  6. Rolling Stone Overview
  7. George Clinton quoted in Space is the Place, John F Szwed, Mojo, 2000, p264
  8. Simmons, Ted (February 26, 2013). "Bilal's 25 Favorite Albums". Complex. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
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