You know what would be really cool? Sun Ra Arkestra Action Figures! I can just picture it: Sonny with a miniature Rocksichord, Allen, Davis and Gilmore with their saxophones and flutes. Collect the whole series! Hadi and Ebah! Pat Patrick, Boykins and Jarvis! Wind him up and he plays a thirty-minute drum solo! They could have an interchangeable wardrobe of space-hats , capes, and space-boots. Maybe they could even ride in a toy spaceship; press a button, June Tyson sings “Space Is The Place.” I think it would be awesome! Imagine an alternate universe where Space Is The Place is the smash hit movie of 1974, spawning a hugely popular Saturday morning cartoon show and generating all kinds of merchandise tie-ins, such as Sun Ra Arkestra Action Figures. Wouldn’t that have been cool alternate universe to live in?
Yeah, OK, I’m dancing in place here and I know it. It has been pointed out to me that I skipped an item in my chronological survey and, well, it’s gotten me slightly discombobulated. It just goes to show: I am no expert on this stuff! As it turns out, this particular album does not appear in Campbell & Trent’s discography (which badly needs a 3rd edition) and, despite my best efforts to organize my collection of Sun Ra recordings, I had completely forgotten about it. Obviously, my organization skills leave something to be desired. So it goes... Sun Ra’s recorded output is truly massive (and seemingly ever-expanding)—which is the very reason I started Sun Ra Sunday: to listen carefully and try to sort it all out in my mind. Not an easy task—and since nobody is paying me to do this, it’s going to take some time.
So please be patient dear readers. We’ll hopefully catch up next week and then keep moving forward, incrementally. In the meantime, here’s a little poem about alternate universes where Sun Ra Arkestra Action Figures are possible:
PARALLELS
If it is not here,
It must be there:
For somewhere and nowhere parallels
In secret versions of each other’s where
Or even before somethings came to be.
--Sun Ra (1980)
4 comments:
I sure appreciate all of your efforts, Rodger. No one else even comes close to offering such thoughtful, detailed reviews of these albums. Without fail, your assessments are interesting, informative, and right on target. After reading, I'm pulled right back to the stereo for another listen. THANK YOU!
Right On!! I have been reading your Ra blog for a few of years now; always thought provoking and always expressive of the great wonder that is Ra's work.
This' parallel universe' entry is a joy.
PG
Thank you both for your kind words. It keeps me going!
where can you get the action figures?
I-)
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