(Jazz / Progressive Big Band / Modern Big Band / Post-Bop) Sun Ra — Sleeping Beauty — 1980, FLAC (tracks)

Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 4 from 23. January 2008
EAC extraction logfile from 20. April 2008, 9:23
Sun Ra / Sleeping Beauty
Used drive : CyberDrvCW078D CD-R/RW Adapter: 1 ID: 0
Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No
Read offset correction : 733
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : No
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Gap handling : Not detected, thus appended to previous track
Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 768 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\FLAC\FLAC.EXE
Additional command line options : -6 -V -T "ARTIST=%a" -T "TITLE=%t" -T "ALBUM=%g" -T "DATE=%y" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%n" -T "GENRE=%m" -T "COMMENT=%e" %s -o %d
TOC of the extracted CD
Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
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1 | 0:00.00 | 9:13.08 | 0 | 41482
2 | 9:13.08 | 8:56.64 | 41483 | 81746
3 | 18:09.72 | 11:45.59 | 81747 | 134680
Track 1
Filename C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\Sun Ra - Sleeping Beauty\01 - Springtime Again.wav
Peak level 92.5 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 8E60E0BF
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Track not present in AccurateRip database
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Track 2
Filename C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\Sun Ra - Sleeping Beauty\02 - Door of the Cosmos.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 0F70805A
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Track not present in AccurateRip database
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Track 3
Filename C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\Sun Ra - Sleeping Beauty\03 - Sleeping Beauty.wav
Peak level 100.0 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 218D3134
Copy CRC 218D3134
Track not present in AccurateRip database
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None of the tracks are present in the AccurateRip database
No errors occurred
End of status report

"One of the most soulful Sun Ra albums ever - very much on the Lanquidity tip, and done with a great mix of electric and acoustic instrumentation! The vibe here is really mellow, spiritual, and warm - and the album actually feels a lot more like a session recorded for the Strata East label than it does for Saturn! Keyboards pervade the session - electric piano and organ drifting around in moody, laidback lines - augmented by occasional vibes, bits of guitar, and some wonderfully well-blown sax solo work by Marshall Allen and John Gilmore! The title track "Sleeping Beauty" runs for all of side two of the album - and it's an amazing little number that mixes instrumental passages with some great mellow Roy Ayers-styled vocals. "Door Of The Cosmos" is a bit of a groover, and even gets a bit funky at times - and the album also features the laidback spacey number "Springtime". (from dustygroove america)
This is the great late-night Sun Ra chillout album you never knew about. The band had been working in a more groove-oriented setting off and on for over a year, as evidenced by the albums Lanquidity and On Jupiter, with both featuring prominent electric bass and electric guitar. Sleeping Beauty picks up right where On Jupiter left off, with the gentle, swaying "Springtime Again" echoing the same mellow vibe of "Seductive Fantasy" from On Jupiter. A skittering intro coalesces as different instruments pick up bits of the melody, which is then fully expressed by the horn section and ensemble vocals. It's a simple two-chord vamp, with beautiful solos that seem to embody the reawakening and rebirth of springtime. "The Door of the Cosmos" starts with a gospel-like chant and handclaps, with comments from Ra's electric piano and electric guitar. A strong bassline enters, very reminiscent of "A Love Supreme, Pt. 1: Acknowledgement," but the accompanying chant celebrates the mysteries of the unknown rather than the universal truth of A Love Supreme. This track builds in intensity, but never loses its groove or becomes nearly as raucous as the Arkestra is sometimes known for. "Sleeping Beauty" is the album centerpiece, taking up all of side two. Ra's beautiful electric piano gets things rolling, and the band falls into a peaceful groove before the vocals enter, led by the wonderful June Tyson. These songs are all built on the simplest of structures, and the playing from everyone is understated and sublime. Sleeping Beauty is truly a high point in an unwieldy discography, and something of an anomaly at the same time. There's a good reason copies of this album go for several hundred dollars on the collector's market, but it really deserves a proper release so more people can hear it. Outstanding.
Sean Westergaard (AMG)