Nice one! Although Evidence and other labels have been reissuing lots of work from Ra's classic years, there's been a real dearth of material from the crucial early 70's period – when the band was hitting lots of strange grooves, and going way way out, farther than ever before. This essential 2 CD set reissues the rare MPS album It's After The End Of The World, and adds a lot of unreleased material that wasn't on the original album, but which was also recorded on the same date at the Donaueschigen Musik Festival in 1970. Plus, the package also contains a full set of live recordings from Berlin, recorded only a month after the MPS release, and never before released to the public! The whole set's chock full of rare Ra material, and it's packaged with a great set of notes to help you make it through the whole thing! CD

The great Dollar Brand is a wonderful pianist, no matter what the setting – but he seems especially great when in collaboration with other contemporary giants – which is definitely the case here in a superb live performance with trumpeter Don Cherry from the early 70s! As you'll guess from he cover, Don's in the throes of his globally expansive style on the performance – and there's this majesty to the music that's really wonderful – sounds that are organic, yet which quickly grow from little sprouts to a powerful force in spiritual music – with Brand on additional flute, alongside Johnny Dyani on bass and Nana Vasconcelos on berimbau and percussion. All players vocalize slightly at points, and the set spins out with a great sense of spontaneous imagination and creativity – on titles that include "Kalahari", "Blues For America", "The Pilgrim", "Bra Joe From Kilimanjaro", "Cherry", and "Waya Wa Egoli". LP, Vinyl record album

A totally wonderful little record – one that really lives up to the sci-fi party promised in its title – but with all the German 70s elements you'd guess from the cover! The quintet here is a supergroup of Krautrock giants – a lineup that includes Manuel Gottsching on guitar, Klaus Schulze on drums, Jurgen Dollase on keyboards and vocals, Harald Grosskopf on drums, and Dieter Dierks on bass – the last of whom produced the set with all sorts of electronics, effects, and other weird touches – at a level that maybe even blows away some of the 70s production of Conny Plank! Titles include "Der Herrscher", "Kinger Des Alls 1", "The Electronic Scene", "Planeten Sit In", "Interplay Of Forces", and "The Cosmic Couriers Meet South Philly Willy". CD

An album that's quite unlike anything else we've ever heard from this great European reedman – a set that seems to have Per Texas Johansson working in deeper tones, richer colors, and a bolder sense of music than before – more focus on the overall sound of the group, yet still with plenty of improvisations from individual members! There's often a strong bottom to the record – sublime work on bass from Petter Eldh, who's one of the secret heroes of the date – and who also seems to inspire bolder piano work from Johan Graden too – in a lineup that also features Mattias Stahl on vibes, Konrad Agnas on drums, Josefin Runsteen on viola and violin, and Johan Linstrom on pedal steel. Yet the real master of color here is Johansson – who blows oboe, bass clarinet, tenor, and other reed instruments – opening up with a sense of majesty that we're not sure we've ever heard before! Titles include "Var Ar Musiken", "Sent I Livet", "Mardrommen", "Dem Sista Isen", "Det Meningslosa", and "Stor Radila". CD

An album that's quite unlike anything else we've ever heard from this great European reedman – a set that seems to have Per Texas Johansson working in deeper tones, richer colors, and a bolder sense of music than before – more focus on the overall sound of the group, yet still with plenty of improvisations from individual members! There's often a strong bottom to the record – sublime work on bass from Petter Eldh, who's one of the secret heroes of the date – and who also seems to inspire bolder piano work from Johan Graden too – in a lineup that also features Mattias Stahl on vibes, Konrad Agnas on drums, Josefin Runsteen on viola and violin, and Johan Linstrom on pedal steel. Yet the real master of color here is Johansson – who blows oboe, bass clarinet, tenor, and other reed instruments – opening up with a sense of majesty that we're not sure we've ever heard before! Titles include "Var Ar Musiken", "Sent I Livet", "Mardrommen", "Dem Sista Isen", "Det Meningslosa", and "Stor Radila". LP, Vinyl record album