Karma was an album recorded by a group of musicians led by saxophonist Pharoah Sanders in February of 1969 and released in May of that year. The recording sessions took place at RCA Studios in NYC, and the album was released on the Impulse! label, catalog number AS 9181.

While the album does contain a second track, all the attention goes to the song “The Creator Has Master Plan” co-written by Sanders and Leon Thomas. At 32 minutes, it was an unlikely radio hit, and yet it nonetheless received regular airplay on FM radio back when stations were willing to be experimental and set themselves apart from the three-minute pop song format found on most stations of the day. Still, the song was overwhelming for the dominant medium of the day: the vinyl LP couldn’t fit the entire track on a single side. On the original release, the song faded out after 19 minutes, and then faded back in on Side 2 for the remaining 13:32. Most listeners did not get to hear the complete song as intended until the 1995 CD reissue.

The song takes the listener over quite a journey over the course of its running time. It begins with an extended cadenza by Sanders over a non-rhythmic background, then transitions into a feel heavily influenced by African music. It’s very cyclical, with a bass line and various patterns in the flute and percussion which get repeated over and over as many times as they need to be.

Leon Thomas enters with his vocals. After delivering the brief lyrics and their message of love, he performs an improvised solo using some extended vocal techniques which he’d reportedly learned from African Pygmies: that’s right, yodeling.

Pharoah then returns with a recap of the first two sections, but then breaks out into a double-time gospel feel. That leads into a section which goes totally free – there’s no time, no rhythm, no melody, no harmony. Everyone begins improvising in their own little universe, and Pharoah pours so much emotion into his instrument that it screams with rage.

While I hope everyone will check out this phenomenal record, I have to admit that much of it is NSFW. Unless you hate your coworkers; that’s a different story. I hope you all find peace, happiness, and have a great night.