SONGS OF EXPERIENCE

David Axelrod's second album took the blend of jazz-rock and psychedelic pop of his previous album, toned down the more overtly psychedelic aspects, and made things just that little bit more orchestrated. If Songs of Innocence is spending the late 1960s hanging out in Haight-Ashbury with the cool kids and dabbling in a bit of jazz on the side, Songs of Experience is spending the same time hitting the bars in Hollywood in between takes on a movie set, not entirely aware that there's a KGB agent on its tail - there's just that hint of suspense to proceedings which lurks under the surface and stops things from going into full-blown easy listening territory.