The interplanetary music of Sun Ra and his legendary Arkestra is, ironically, very rootsy and in this 1979 outer-space odyssey one hears the spirit of swing (in the title cut) and, as post-modern as can be, the funky dance music in a piece called "UFO" in which the vocals affirm "UFO, take me where you want to go." Not enough has been said about the mythical dimensions of the space theme as the planet shrinks and our awareness of cosmic connections intensifies. And the prophetic element is clearer than ever in the funky sauce of Ra's conception and the great trumpet play of Michael Ray in "UFO," where the voice is also prominent over a groove that makes a lady of disco. This is because these are songs devoted to the creator in one way or another and the music of the spheres never sounded so enticing. Here the Sun Ra collective seems to burn with the intensity of a Jimi Hendrix, who was definitely on the same wave length. This is dance music, yes, but also music for public celebration of the mysteries of the creator and universal forces. What Ra does is translate this awareness through music, with the help of his committed and imaginative band members.

With this Art Yard release, the sounds get out to a larger audience, as most Arkestra recordings have been self-produced, often with little labeling info and limited numbers. The music here is getting the presentation it deserves with respect to informative notes and packaging that is in tune with the concepts behind the music. It comes across, as it should, as timeless music. On Jupiter puts us on the dance floor of the cosmos before we have time to resist and by the time you hear the soul of the groove, in the slowly-evolving rhythmic and melodic figures of "Seductive Fantasy," you think of the club scene of the 60s and 70s, but you're also transported to a dimension where the gods of dance and the deep recesses of the human heart and mind are eternally evoked. At 29 minutes total running time, however (not uncommon in the days of the vinyl disc) it's over too soon. Nonetheless this is sublime funky stuff!