David Axelrod was a unique and important figure on the sixties music scene. A visionary writer & producer his fusion of symphonic, r & b and psychedelic song structures and conventions wasn't fully appreciated at the time and has only been satisfactorily acknowledged in the last fifteen years or so. His rediscovery is largely due to some high profile samples and championing by artists like DJ Shadow and Dr Dre.
Axelrod started the black music division of Capitol Records in the mid sixties and was instrumental in the success of singer Lou Rawls, who's albums he produced at the time. Concurrently he also produced Cannonball Adderley's Mercy, Mercy, Mercy - one of the biggest selling jazz albums of the era, and a series of albums by actor / flautist David McCallum. McCallum's albums were mostly arrangements of popular contemporary tunes, but several of Axelrod's compositions - notably the Edge & House of Mirrors, found their way onto these albums and pointed the way forward.
What followed was a series of albums, not always credited to Axelrod, which explored his unique marriage of these seemingly incompatible musical styles. Quincy Jones credits him with creating Jazz Fusion with these albums, and while the spirit they were created in certainly shares something in common with fusion I tend to think of Axelrod as more of a modern classicist.
It's an acquired taste but a wholly unique listening experience and one that I love.
David Axelrod - The Edge 1966 - 1970 This is an essential introduction to Axelrod's capitol recordings and includes highlights from his first 3 albums, as well as his work with David McCallum, Lou Rawls, Cannonball Adderley and others. If you're only going to buy one Axelrod CD this should be the one.
David Axelrod - The Warner / Reprise Sessions This is a great archival double CD which includes both Electric Prunes releases in their released forms, as well as in full instrumental form plus the Pride album. Detractors of the Prunes albums tend to point the finger at the choral arrangements so these instrumental versions will hopefully win a few of them over.
Axelrod released a high profile self titled album in 2001 on the Mo'Wax label utilising material he begun work on in the late sixties, and has also released a DVD / CD Live From The Royal Festival Hall. Recorded and filmed in 2004 it features a guest turn by The Verve's Richard Ashcroft and features many of the tracks discussed above.
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