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Along with his Arkestra, astral traveler and free jazz cornerstone artist Sun Ra amassed an unthinkably dense discography that chronicled their explorations in sound that grew away from the big-band sound of their beginnings into increasingly more experimental and spectral fare as the years went on. Even when engaging in more standard genres of music, Ra and company were a far cry from traditional, and the often murky, underwater-by-way-of-outer-space recording quality of many of their albums just added to the otherworldly feel of their music. This collection pairs two fantastic albums made in different times of transition for the group. The Nubians of Plutonia was set to tape in the late '50s, and sees the band slowly employing electronics and Afrocentric modes of percussion as they fall away from their big-band roots. Bad and Beautiful was recorded in 1961, shortly after members of the Arkestra left their home plot of Chicago for New York City, stripping down the membership to just six players. The album still finds the band playing standards, but hints at the spectral territory they would soon branch off into with more daring percussion choices and interestingly spacious dynamics. ~ Fred Thomas
