Sun worshippers are having a great time of it of late: following last month’s triple helping of previously unissued Ra, comes this lavishly-packaged and very welcome re-release of some classic early 1970s sounds. As is so often the case with Mr Ra however, the origins of what we’re actually listening to are a little hazy, as Jazzwise’s Kevin Le Gendre points out in his excellent sleeve notes (for example – did some of these recordings actually originate back in the 1960s, and are the lineup details accurate?).

No matter, whatever its origin, this is stellar(!) music, and these two albums, originally released separately and reissued many times in versions of varying quality, are now fully restored and presented in a gorgeous double CD or LP package; they were important in bringing the magic of Ra to a wider international audience and also featured extensive use of the then new-fangled synthesizer, bringing new tones and textures to an already vast sonic palette.

What we have here is a kind of wild, teetering-on-the-edge-of-chaos musical mosaic, a statement of intent, rather than a record of a particular time or event; and as such it makes for an ideal introduction to, and text for the understanding of, the otherworldy universe of the man born Herman Blount 110 years ago.

What’s striking about listening to The Solar-Myth Approach is just how ahead of his time Sun Ra was, both musically and politically – his ‘Afro-futurist’ approach – envinced by epics such as ‘In The Realm of Lighning’, ‘The Utter Nots’ and ‘Legend’ (all innovative, ripe with energy and possibility) – was bold, even in an era when the black consciousness movement was gaining traction. But it’s also out of time – as Le Gendre says in his liner note, “the music bundled on these discs has achieved the enviable feat of transcending whatever era in which it was laid to tape.” Essential for newbies and committed collectors.