DAVID AXELROD

A brief tour of psychedelia-tinged jazz-rock, David Axelrod's Song of Innocence is aptly named, because it exudes a naive charm that contrasts with the intriguing experimental agenda of the album. Axelrod's work here parallels Frank Zappa's own proto-fusion work of the era, in the sense that both artists were unafraid to inject a little unpretentious pop into proceedings; the distinction is that whilst Zappa's pop sensibilities tended to focus on the doo-wop of his youth, Axelrod was much more in tune with the lush baroque pop of this era. The end result is a fine pop-progressive release whose short running time can be forgiven for the sheer level of consistency on display.

A musical genius coming from the orchestral jazz.

I don't know much of David Axelrod other than what wikipedia and of course PA say. I went to this album from the Electric Prunes, and this is totally different from what I was expecting. This is orchestral music, mainly coming from orchestral jazz but highly contaminated by the American psychedelia of the 60s. The production and the sounds are in advance respect to the 1968, but what is really amazing is the composition.

He doesn't have anything less than more acclaimed contemporary authors. "The Smile" is a jazz symphony that also Gershwin would applaud to.

Then the member's musicianship is remarkable. Earl Palmer, recently passed over, at the drums and Carol Kaye (no relation with Tony) at bass guitar. Look at her page on wikipedia to have an idea of who she was and listen to this album to have an idea of her skill. (And to some Frank Zappa albums lineup).

All the tracks are equally good. The opener "Urizen", likely inspired to William Blake, is where the psychedelic influence is initially evident, other than in the kaleidoscopic mandala of the cover design, while the title track is totally symphonic. All of them contain jazz elements with frequent bass and drums solos, short and non- invasive. I'm amazed of the bass in particular. How it works together with the orchestra. The only similar thing I can think to is Caravan and New Symphonia, but this is music written for the orchestra, not just arranged.

I haven't mentioned the guitar, yet. Howad Roberts was a master of jazz guitar and on this album he spaces from the clean jazz sound to Hendrixian acid distortion.

The closer is remarkable. It starts psychedelic, also with a sitar, but the conclusion is totally orchestral.

Is it a masterpiece? for me yes.

This one is full of instrumental mid tempo gentle music that could perfectly be a soundtrack for a 60s or 70s romantic love affair road movie. The orchestration and production are excellent and the nostalgic feeling of it gets you every time. I know this kind of music is called "baroque pop" and I think it is generally a good term. The music is enhanced with violins, horns, keyboards and percussion althought based on the standard rock instuments: the drums, the electric bass and the electric guitar with the latter stretching out a bit more towards the rock territories. This is not a complicated progressive rock record but an excellent addition to your music collection and don't forget that it is created in 1968, one year before the prog wave begin to flood 20th century's musical grounds.

The album is timeless and meticulously crafted like beautiful artistic riches. David Axelrod's 1968 album "Song Of Innocence" is a masterpiece of what they would call "Baroque Pop". The record was the first of two tributes to 18th century artist/poet William Blake in which each song title & the album title is also the title of a William Blake poem . Its fully instrumental with an even mix of rock, jazz & classical or orchestral styled songs. Axelrod wasn't ever a film composer but his early music slightly resembles some of the more wild film music from the period. Imagine Jack Nitsche colliding with Ennio Moricone with a dash of Roy Budd, though Axelrod is truly unlike any other. This album is a masterpiece of serious music beyond genres and would appeal to all serious music lovers who have a taste for the strange and funky, especially if you want to hear the tightest drumming ever layed down fused with beautiful complex melodies & jazzy psychedelic excursions. It is a key album of the 60s, unlike any before or since. Ear Candy of the highest order.