A1 Shadows Of Infinity 7:58A2 Pleiades 4:52A3 Discipline 27 5:42A4 Bluebird Set #2 Piano Solo 2:40B1 Equation Of The Myth 8:53B2 Neptune / The Voice Of Ebah 5:32B3 Yesterdays 6:03C1 St. Louis Blues 6:28C2 The Mystery Of Two 7:32C3 We Live To Be 4:47D1 Amen Meni Many Amens 7:38D2 Saturn Speaks 2:56D3 Images In A Mirror 10:15E1 Take The 'A' Train 11:14E2 Make Another Mistake 3:43E3 Bluebird Shuffle 5:55F1 Outer Reach Intensity Energy / Cosmos Rendezvous 8:15F2 Next Stop Mars 0:23F3 Over The Rainbow 7:08F4 I'll Wait For You 3:33 Strut Records proudly presents the first definitive expanded reissue of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, Sun Ra’s 1977 session recorded at the Bluebird in Bloomington, Indiana, presented across three Vinyl LPs.The Arkestra were at the peak of their powers in 1977, releasing revered albums like The Soul Vibration Of Man and My Favorite Things with Arkestra regulars Marshall Allen, Danny Ray Thompson, Michael Ray and Luqman Ali among the core musicians. Ra also continued his touring in Europe with historic gigs in Italy. During this period, Arkestra live performances were often loosely structured into thematic blocks that moved from reflections on jazz history to cosmic “space narrative” sections featuring collective chants, extended Africa/Egypt-inspired grooves and selections from the Great American Songbook. This recording brings in all of these features with re imagined versions of standards like ‘Take The “A” Train’, ‘St. Louis Blues’ and title track ‘Over The Rainbow’ alongside rarely recorded Ra compositions like ‘Make Another Mistake’ and ‘Amen Meni Many Amens’. Ra conducted improvisations to guide the listener seamlessly from one musical scene to the next. As Sun Ra himself described it: “It’s like a party—we enjoy ourselves and everybody’s invited to enjoy it with us.”The original version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow assembled a handful of clearly delineated tracks drawn from the flow of two complete concert recordings, re-arranged out of sequence. Strut’s new edition restores previously excised material and preserves more of the natural transitions between pieces, offering a fuller glimpse into the distinctive aesthetic of Sun Ra and his Arkestra.This definitive reissue is pressed across three vinyl LPs housed in a triple gatefold sleeve, newly remastered by Technology Works from the original source tapes and features extensive new liner notes by Chris Cutler alongside video stills from the original concert.
