Is »Lanquidity« Sun Ra’s best album? Against a yes as an answer speaks probably that Herman »Sonny« Poole Blount, as Sun Ra was called in real life, has simply left behind too many good and in general too many records, including Afrofuturistic classics like »The Magic City«, »Atlantis«, »Disco 3000« or »Space Is the Place«. But a special Sun Ra album is »Lanquidity« from 1978 for sure. As the title suggests, a composition of »languid” and »liquid«, the record is deliberate by Sun Ra standards. The tracks flow in a quiet groove, earning the album the reputation of being Sun Ra’s fusion record. Notable rock influences, aside from a distorted guitar solo in »Where Pathways Meet,« are absent, funk coming into play most prominently on the double bass run of »That’s How I Feel«. Otherwise, there is Sun Ra’s typical mix of idiosyncratic elements, most notably the cosmic synthesizer sounds, even if they are often mixed into the background and restrained in dosage. His space jazz on »Lanquidity« turns out predominantly psychedelic due to the dragging tempos and repetitive patterns, most strongly in the concluding »There Are Other Worlds (They Have Not Told You of)«, a trip way out there and the only number with (spoken) vocals. Less big bang overwhelming this time and more transformation through super galaxy clusters. This reissue brings the album in two versions, the common one and a complete alternate take. Two powerful parallel universes, distinguished only by nuances.
Nels Cline
Consentrik Quartet
Blue Note