Sun Ra - Crystal Spears

Sun Ra's Crystal Spears is one of the great lost albums of cosmic jazz, recorded in 1973 and shelved for decades before finally seeing the light.

Sun Ra and his Arkestra cut these sessions in New York, with the album intended for release on ABC's Impulse! label as part of a deal that also brought several of his older records to a wider audience. Then a change at the company killed the plan, and the tapes sat unreleased. When it finally emerged in 2018, it was a revelation, a fully formed vision from one of jazz's most fearless imaginations, here on black vinyl.

The title track is a long, mysterious expanse of keyboards, percussion and horns that pulls you deeper with every minute. The Eternal Sphynx carries a ritual-like pull of its own, while Sunrise in the Western Sky lets the Arkestra stretch out, horns weaving and colliding over shifting rhythms. Ra's organ and synth work is wild and futuristic, sounding as far ahead of its time now as it did then.

For Sun Ra devotees, this is an essential piece of the puzzle. For adventurous listeners, it is a thrilling window into a universe of sound unlike any other.