To Those of Earth… And Other Worlds

Sun Ra was one of the most prolific musicians of all time, releasing over 100 LPs under a plethora of guises: all weird, all wonderful. It takes a brave soul to condense his expansive oeuvre to a two-disc compilation, yet Gilles Peterson passed this test with aplomb. Peterson spoke in a recent interview of formative years spent at Sun Ra's Ronnie Scott's summer residency in total rapture at the material on show. This love for the music shines through, capturing Ra's prowess as a bandleader and arranger . The fragile ‘Dreaming’ is a real standout alongside the doomy-yet-enchanting swing of ‘Sleeping Beauty’, while powerful versions of the anthemic ‘Blackman’ and ‘Space is the Place’ close out each side. It's also pleasing to see June Tyson's dextrous vocal contributions – which added great depth to the Arkestra – throughout, but most notably on a stunning live version of ‘Somebody Else's Idea’.

Peterson moulds each track into another through bold musical segues, evocative astral collages, and disjointed, obfuscated soundscapes that Sun Ra became infamous for. This has resulted in a truly great introduction to a cosmic genius, whose talents knew no (terrestrial) bounds.