I thought I would share some thoughts on the recent Strut reissue of Sun Ra – Lanquidity.
I went for the 4LP 45rpm box set that contains the 1978 Philly Jazz Commercial Pressing (2LP's), the 1978 Philly Jazz Alternate Version (2LP's) and an additional booklet of interviews, photos, and track info.
First of all, I had never listened to the full album before so I was basically going into this blind. The music itself is fantastic and a great melding of straight-ahead jazz, funk, soul, and free approaches that create a really great set of tracks. From the different Sun Ra albums that I have heard, I get the impression that these are the building blocks to his music and depending on how he is feeling he sways more into different areas. For example, last years Egypt 1971 box set has a much more avant-garde/free approach to the music heard in the Lanquidity set. Another confirmation of this is that my fiancee managed to sit in the same room with Lanquidity playing (maybe even a subtle hint of foot-tapping?) whereas I would never dream of playing Egypt 1971 without risk of tuts, sighs, eye-rolls and exclamations of "How is this even considered music?"
The Alternate Version is the differently remixed album by New York producer Bob Blank that was originally pressed in a super limited quantity and sold at a Sun Ra gig at Georgia Tech in 1978. The mix is different enough that it's worth hearing but still obviously the same music/tracks. It's more that an emphasis has been placed on different instruments which is a really interesting approach (to me anyway).
The quality of the set itself is really solid. The box is sturdy and the mirror effect doesn't feel like it will scratch easily. The 'Commercial Pressing' is housed in a wide spined jacket with matching mirror effect and the 'Alternate Version' is in a wide spined white jacket with paste-on yellow-tinted graphics/track-listing. The Alternate Version also uses plain black labels which, along with the paste on, is likely a nod to its original DIY release.
There are some negatives to it though. The main one by far is the use of paper inners. For the love of God, I wish that companies would stop using these. They have clearly put so much effort into this set, with an emphasis on quality, but it means nothing if the LP's are covered in surface marks and debris from these shitty inners. I had a look on Discogs and several copies have surface noise as a result. My copy of the Commercial Pressing is fine but the first LP in the Alternative Version has pops and ticks throughout the A/B-side - I have taken a video and will be sending it to Strut to get that LP replaced (hopefully). The booklet IS good but I think I was spoilt with the one that was created for the Egypt 1971 set (which is essentially a detailed biography from that period). The booklet in the Lanquidity box has fewer pages and is made up of 4 short interviews (one page each) and a few photos. Finally, whilst the Commercial Pressing LP's are nice and flat, the first LP in the Alternative Version does have a warp which is annoying. Not bad enough to jump the needle but not far off.
As long as I am able to get the A/B Alternative Version replaced I will be really happy with it and certainly glad that I went for this over the standard release.
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