I know its hard, but please forgive the ridiculous album cover. No matter the situation this track has the power to soothe me. It’s simply stunning. Every component works perfectly. Cecil McBee’s understated bass gives the tune structure and movement. Pharoah Sanders keeps himself restrained to blow some of the most beautiful and joyous saxophone you’re ever likely to hear. Lonnie Liston Smith trills on his electric piano to great effect. All of them, plus friends, add wonderful percussion elements including distinctive bird-like sound effects. Lonnie Liston wrote this, but this version on Pharoah’s Thembi album is superior in fluency and movement to the one he recorded on his own Astral Travelling record. I first heard this tune on a mix tape made for me by someone working at the Notting Hill Music and Video Exchange back in '97. At the time I was excited because I recognised it as the source for samples on Photek’s Rings Around Saturn. But it soon excited me far more in its own right. Enjoy.
Pharoah Sanders - Astral Travelling (from Thembi, 1970)
Lonnie Liston Smith - Astral Travelling (from Astral Travelling, 1973)
Photek - Rings Around Saturn (Peshay Decoder Mix)
always a favourite groover,thanks.
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