Ra grew up next to the post office and close to the main station, where, "as a child, Sonny could look out the window and see the big sign over the railroad tracks that greeted visitors to The Magic City".

[6] John F. Szwed explains: [Birmingham was] the earthly birthplace he steadfastly denied, and in the recording he reimagines the city without its grim, racist, smoke-choked past.

By simply pointing to musicians when he wanted them to play, he proved it possible to collectively improvise an entire album on the strength of nothing more than a shared belief.

"[8] While it begins with use of tape echo recalling the experiments on Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow, the key features quickly emerge: Ra's simultaneous piano and clavioline intertwining with Boykins's bass as the underpinning for new long-forms of group music-making which draw on varying sub-ensembles from the Arkestra through the course of the piece.

[2]The Spin Alternative Record Guide wrote that the album title's significance "further muddies [Sun Ra's] myth and throws his most far-reaching and cohesive endeavor into poignant relief.