I visited Dead Dog Records in Toronto this afternoon while Kelly was having some tests done at Mount Sinai, and this is what I ended up coming home with, more Sun Ra ... this time the Live in Egypt Vol.1 album.
I went down the Sun Ra rabbit hole a long time ago, and seemingly it is a hole that I'm never going to finish ... like, ever. This album just happens to be a Live recording of the musician and his Astro-Intergalactic-Infinity Arkestra, documenting their first visit to Egypt.
1971 marked the Arkestra's first trip to Egypt, and is documented on both Live in Egypt, Vol. 1 and Nidhamu. Live in Egypt, Vol. 1 consists of performances from a Cairo television broadcast as well as a few tunes recorded at the home of Harmut Geerken, who arranged the tour. The broadcast portions suffer a bit from poor sound quality, but are quite entertaining, especially the brief interview portion.
The highlights of this album are the (well-recorded) tracks recorded at Geerken's house. Friendly Galaxy No. 2 is one of those Sun Ra tunes where he takes the simplest of vamps and makes it such a delight it could go on forever. To Nature's God is a feel-good singalong celebration of nature and Why Go to the Moon? ends the album on a gospel-flavored high note. Live in Egypt, Vol. 1 won't be easy to find, but Ra fans will be pleased if they do.
And I was, believe me!
Back to my hole digging then ...
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