Cosmo Sun Connection

by Richie UnterbergerRecorded in concert in the U.S. in 1984 (no other details given), this rather odd entry in the Sun Ra discography came about when the musician, unable to deliver pressings of Saturn Records albums that the Recommended label had already paid for, instead gave the company a master tape. Nothing could be said to be a typical Sun Ra show, yet this does cover the range you could probably expect to hear had you attended one of his big-band gigs at the time. "Fate in a Pleasant Mood" is a joy, a jovial, hummable, swinging number with playful synthesizer swoops and faint vocal scats. Nothing else on the disc is nearly as accessible, as the synthesizer soon takes over proceedings with a Frankensteinian vengeance; the title track, in fact, is something that Hollywood horror film producers would probably reject as too creepy. Don't wait expectantly for the out-there synth jams to end and the band to return to more ingratiating tunes; the CD is only 31 minutes long.