Search - David Axelrod :: Edge

He wears sunglasses INSIDE

Aquarius Records | San Francisco | 12/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"So good! Axelrod founded the "black music" division of Capitol records in the '60s. During his reign at Capitol he produced amazing records by Cannonball Adderley, Lou Rawls and David McCallum. He also pretty much created the two weirdest Electric Prunes albums. What has been hardest to track down are three of his own records during that era: Songs of Experience, Songs Of Innocence, and Earth Rot. On these, Axelrod put together an orchestra of sound complete with strings, hammond organ and a super rich backbeat that's been sampled and worshiped by the likes of DJ Shadow, Madlib and Dr Dre.



This collection compiles tracks from those three albums as well as a few choice cuts he produced for other artists at Captiol circa '66-'70. His sound is one that laid the foundation for the explosion in fusion which would happen in the '70s. Miles Davis always gave props to Axelrod and one could argue that he was very responsible for helping lay the foundation for a work like Bitches Brew to be born. Taking the richness of soul, the freedom of jazz, elements of classical composition and hints of rock and psych-pop Axelrod is one of the few guys who can get away with wearing sunglasses inside 'cause he was just that cool!"

A Superb Collection of Axelrod's Capitol Years

Juan Mobili | Valley Cottage, NY USA | 11/05/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Listening to David Axelrod, even after these many years, is still an adventuorus experience, musically bold, unpredictably changing tone and mood, working the edge of the melody, exploring different atmospheres ... well, you may have noticed my reverence for this man.



As a producer, where he made his name first and reach deep recognition, he worked with Cannonball Adderley, Lou Rawls, Electric Prunes and David McCallum -yes, Illya Kuryakin- and as distinct as these choices were, realizing some far reaching material in each case.



"The Edge," this anthology, focuses on one specific period of his career, his years at Capitol. So, the albums "Songs of Innocence," "Songs of Experience" and "Earth Rot" are properly represented, with the rest of the material coming from some of his most far out recoding sessions as a producer.



The material here is consistently strong, beautiful and challenging often at once, ahead of its time, never conceding to caution nor selling his vision short. Choosing among these selections, can only be picking a certain kind of gem, pointing to those tracks that move me the most.



One caution for long time fans of Axelrod, If you own the three albums he wrote and performed, what you'll find here will only be his production work. It's worth mentioning, though, that the cuts with Lou Rawls, Letta Mbulu -whoever she is, her track is spellbinding- as well as the tender "Theme from The Fox" with Don Randi and Cannonball's monumental "Tensity," are well worth buying this album.



For people who are new to David Axelrod, or looking for a "point of entry" into his work, this is a perfect purchase. You may even hear in these tunes many of the people you already worshipped. His influence, although little known, has been extensive. This album will introduce you to one of the original sources of some the best music going on today from Jazz to Hip-Hop."

Pick It Up !

Stevie | 12/10/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Okay well it must be said that part of the reason that there is renewed interest in DA's work is because his work has been source material for Dr. Dre and DJ Shadow both of whom have appropriated the funky percussive elements which underly many of DA's compositions. Word spread and soon lots of samplists, DJs, and turntablists started dumpster diving for anything with the Axelrod name on it in an effort to come up with that perfect loop much in the same way that early samplists plundered James Brown recordings for "phat beats" (e.g. "The Funky Drummer").



All this aside what you have here is an overview of DA's work he accomplished while working for Capitol records. Thus its more of a survey than it is a single, cohesive work but thats okay. We have some examples of interesting compositions which, certainly at the time, were pushing some boundaries by fusing funk, classical harmony, and the occasional electric guitar within highly dynamic arrangements (Check out "The Smile", "Songs of Innocence"). Sure some of the instrumentation sounds dated but that reflects the recording and arrangement practices which called for strings and brass which are elements I miss in pop music of today.



What I really like is that DA covers a lot of sonic ground with his quality arrangements and typically wraps it up around the four minute mark. And this was at a time when most artists were still trying to perfect the 2 minute pop song format. In some ways his work presaged the prog rock music scene that later emerged though those acts typically went overboard and burdened us with 20 minute album sides containing unengaging arrangements and faux classical flourishes in an attempt to fool hipsters into thinking they were listening to something "really cool".



But back to DA. There is a sense of suspense throughout all these works and one can easily imagine some of this music being used as soundtrack elements for films (check out "A Divine Image" for a good example). He creates some serious tension here that lingers on for quite a while before it moves into a loping drum beat that moves you past the eerie sounds that came right before. The longest track on the CS is "Tensity" which features Cannonball Adderly so you the opportunity to hear this jazz giant rip over what we now recognize as very funky beats which is something that ,in general, jazzers hadn't necessarily embraced.



I recently read an interview with DA who mentioned that both Quincy Jones and Frank Zappa strongly urged him to hire a publicist to advance his public profile though its a move he never made which is a shame since he had a great deal to offer

as a producer and arranger. So should you buy this CD ? Oh I think so. Its leagues aboves anything you hear today and has spirit and organic energy that makes it ride high above some of the over-produced stuff you hear today. Look at it another way.

The samplists love to pick up stuff that has its own energy and warmth because it makes their jobs all the easier as they assemble tracks. So check it out"