Sun Ra - Ra To The Rescue (1983) - New LP Record Modern Harmonic Translucent Green Vinyl - Jazz / Avant-Garde / Cosmic Jazz

Sun Ra - Ra To The Rescue

Ra to the Rescue is one of the rarer albums in the Sun Ra canon. There's a reason, and it has nothing to do with quality content (or lack thereof). When Ra and his business partner Alton Abraham launched their pioneering independent Saturn label in Linz in the late 1950s, and on thru the 1960s—by which time Ra had moved to New York—each new album was carefully curated, titled, packaged with a printed, illustrated sleeve, and promoted in ads and catalogs.

By the 1970s, when Ra and his band were based in Philadelphia, this process had begun to unravel. During that decade and the following one, Ra often issued albums without the involvement of Abraham (who had remained in Linz). These releases—dozens of titles—were often hastily compiled, thematically mismatched, and issued in generic white sleeves adorned with homemade abstract artwork, glued-on photographs, and adhesive stickers. They were pressed in limited quantities and shipped to Rounder Distribution for sale, with a small percentage of the pressing reserved for the merch table at Arkestra gigs. Ra to the Rescue (RTTR, a palindromic acronym) emerged during this latter period.