Paris Tapes is a live recording of Sun Ra arkestra during their European tour in 1970s. What's apparent from the start here is that the sound quality of the recording is in a fairly high order which probably means this was intentionally recorded either by the band or the venue. For some reason this "album" never got released, it took until 2010 for this to get a widespread release. It actually came in two versions. This is the shorter LP version and the second, much longer version, comes on 2xCD format which I haven't had the chance to get and listen.
The LP version which I'm sharing comes with three long songs. Two out of three songs are readily familiar to even the most casual Sun Ra listener ie Space is The Place and Watusi while the third song (a favorite of mine) is a much less commonly recorded and known song. What makes this concert stand out is definitely the focus of percussive instruments throughout. The combination of various percussive passages and continuous vocal chanting by different band members contribute to a very ritualistic and hypnotic feeling. With this is in mind the setlist makes a lot of sense as it only enhances their past intensity and percussive orientation. Watusi was always a percussive orgy and the other two tracks always featured a lot of monotonous chanting throughout their runtime. All in all this is a very unique and interesting recording that I would recommend to both people who like Sun Ra and to those who don't because on here they won't get their usual serving of chords from space.
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