Date: 1968 (recording)
Release: Capitol #11362
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“And we are put on earth a little space,
That we may learn to bear the beams of love;
And these black bodies and this sunburnt face
Is but a cloud, and like a shady grove.
For when our souls have learn’d the heat to bear,
The cloud will vanish; we shall hear his voice.”

William Blake, SONGS OF INNOCENCE

Award-winning composer, arranger and producer, David Axlerod was responsible for a number of great jazz, rock, funk, and soul albums made by Cannonball Adderley, the Electric Prunes, Lou Rawls and others for Capitol Records during the ’60 and ‘70s. For his own self-produced recordings, Axlerod developed an original sound that innovatively combined large-scale orchestration with loudly microphoned and heavily effected drum grooves. After almost three decades of neglect, his early solo records were rediscovered and sampled by such electronica figures as DJ Shadow, DJ Cam and DJ Honda, putting Axlerod and his music back on the map.

Axlerod’s most enduring record is his 1968 solo debut, Song of Innocence, a mind expanding musical foray into the mystical visions of 18th century English poet William Blake. Hailed by critics of its day as a major musical milestone, the album sold poorly but elevated Axlerod to the status of cult hero. Far more than an obscure period piece, Song of Innocence is an ambitious psychedelic classic, fully realized in both sound and scope. The album’s seven orchestral songs explore the idea of innocence with cinematic sweeps of darkness and transcendent rushes of light—transporting the listener on a trip across Axlerod’s jazzy, funky, filmic and rocking musical universe. From the big chord opening of “Urizon” to the bombastic climax of “The Mental Traveler,” Axlerod drives his sprawling orchestra (comprised of some of the top LA jazz, symphony, and pop session men of the era) like a lion tamer, masterfully controlling a gargantuan musical beast of his own creation.

Song of Innocence proves Oscar Wilde was right in believing that nothing succeeds like excess. With its gloriously overblown string interludes, hugely melodic horn arrangements, screaming acid-rock guitar, thicker-than-molasses Carole Kaye bass grooves and devastating Earl Palmer drum breaks, these seven songs shine like stanzas from a William Blake Poem—immortal in their wild celebration of youth. And unlike Dorian Gray, Song of Innocence will never grow old.