Sun Ra – Media Dreams El Saturn 19783 (1978)
Media Dreams was recorded in January 1978 on the same Italian tour as Disco 3000, with the same quartet but earlier in the month. There are clear parallels with Disco 3000. Although Sun Ra switches over to a piano toward the end of the album, most of this features him on synthesizer. Listeners with an affinity for the daring long-form works he was regularly producing in the late 1960s will probably find lots to like here. For instance, the opening “Saturn Research” is a particularly effective sonic experiment. On the other hand, listeners not in tune with abstract improvisation will probably prefer other efforts with more grounded rhythms and pronounced melodies.