Album of the Week: Universal Liberation Orchestra

Originally released in 1984 in an edition limited to 25 cassettes, the Universal Liberation Orchestra's Communion offers a heady brew of styles blended into an intoxicating mix.

The Orchestra (not to be confused with Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra) was brothers River and Tom Smith, a poet and multi-instrumentalist respectively. Their previous work as Universe saw a pair of releases, New Day (1984) and Open Season (1985) where they expressed strong anti-war sentiments, sentiments that never grow old. We have NY, NYs Freedom To Spend to thank for this reissue.

From the liner notes:

The brothers called what they created for Communion "liberation music." River defines liberation as "realizing all the possibilities available for all of us," specifically referring to ongoing battles against sexism, racism, and classism.

Music for the ages! If you like the idea of Terry Riley meets ’70s Don Cherry in an opium den kinda vibe, tune in to Communion.

Communion by Universal Liberation Orchestra