Sun Ra - Pink Elephants On Parade (RSD 2024, Pink LP Vinyl)

When you wish upon a star… that turns out to be Saturn. Previously unheard Ra, culled from the archives and compiled based on their association to that children's film corporation with the cartoon rodent. Pressed on earth on pink vinyl! Jazz aficionados and Disney nerds alike will marvel at how seamlessly Sun Ra and his Arkestra put their own unique twist on both well-known and overlooked Disney songs. Pink Elephants on Parade takes nine songs from Disney’s storied catalog and recontextualizes them as beautiful, fun, and sometimes terrifying pieces of Afrofuturist jazz. The collection also shows further proof of how Ra was always willing to transcend conventions of jazz. Listen to the full album and you will likely never look at the Disney music catalog the same way ever again. Originally known for accompanying Dumbo and Timothy’s colorful alcohol-induced hallucinations, this song is given a whole new life by Ra and the Arkestra in more ways than one. It also feels faithful to the original at the same time, with the cacophony of horns, drums, percussion, and cowbell resembling that of a marching band. However, the demented grandeur of the song is turned up to eleven with zany vocal lines (hence the high-pitched “What’ll I Do” inflections) and other performances that somehow sound more evil and gruff here than they did on Oliver Wallace and Ned Washington’s version. Though the Sportsmen’s vocals from that particular arrangement had a certain creepiness to it, the Arkestra takes a previously innocent sounding song and makes Pink Elephants On Parade sound even more terrifying.

A1. The Forest Of No Return (9:30 Club) A2. Someday My Prince Will Come (9:30 Club) A3. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah (Virginia 1988) B1. Let's Go Fly A Kite (Zurich 1987) B2. Second Star To The Right (Virginia 1988) B3. Pink Elephants On Parade (Regatta Bar 1990) B4. Whistle While You Work (9:30 Club)