(Jazz-Rock, Fusion) David Axelrod - The Edge: David Axelrod at Capitol Records 1966-1970 {Capitol Jazz 0946 3 11617 2 8, USA} - 2005, FLAC (image+.cue) lossless

David Axelrod - biography

US artist David AXELROD, an acclaimed composer, arranger and producer of a number of musical genres, was born April 17th 1936 in Los Angeles. After a short stint as a boxer he started doing studio work in the late 50's, and 10 years later he would make his debut as a solo artist.
This happened after he and a team of musicioans he was working with helped add the finishing touches to two albums by Electric Prunes. Axelrod and his fellow musicians succesfully utilized innovative string arrangements, rhythms and sounds on these efforts. These made such an impact that Axelrod was handed a record deal as a solo artist, although it might as well be argued that his already at this stage long tenure as a very succesfull producer had just as much an impact in this particular matter.
This resulted in the production of three classic albums: Song of Innocence from 1968, Songs of Experience from 1969 and Earth Rot from 1970. Musically the two former are the ones most interesting from a progressive rock point of view, blending symphonic arrangements with 60's pop and jazz sensibilities in a neat manner, while the latter may arguably be more interesting due to the concept explored on the production than the music itself. At least for those with a keen interest in more sophisticated musical ventures.
Following this amazing trio of albums Axelrod took a musical left turn and chose jazz-funk and later fusion as the musical genres he wanted to focus on, and his early symphonic ventures were mostly forogtten as the years went by. Fans of Jazz and Funk got much pleasure from his later efforts though, with a steady stream of releases. Rock Messiah saw the light of day in 1971, followed by The Auction in 1972, Heavy Axe in 1974, Seriously Deep in 1975, Strange Ladies in 1977 and finally Marchin' in 1980.
As the years went by his earlier efforts started to be rediscovered by the hip hop scene, who more and more frequntly started using samples of his earliest works as backdrops for their musical exploits. Indeed, even if you don't have the slightest idea about who Axelrod is you're bound to have heard his string arrangements used as backdrop by someone more or less angrily talking over a musical backdrop in the hip hop genre on the radio somewhere.
The Edge David Axelrod At Capitol 1966-1970
Domestically, it took Capitol over five years to realize what they were sitting on and they finally issued The Edge in 2005, which is basically a one disc synopsis of the two UK anthologies. It leaves out a few things, but if you just want one cost effective disc that covers most of the essentials, this would probably be the way to go. The remastering job was handled by Blue Note's in-house audiophile Michael Cuscuna so the remastering is great. Capitol still hasn't given Axe's solo albums a US CD reissue, so if you want that stuff on CD, you'll have to: A) go to EMI UK's reissues B) hit iTunes, as all three Capitol albums are available there or C) make due with this piecemeal.
Source: http://bluebeatinmysoul.blogspot.ca/2010/07/david-axelrod-edge-david-axelrod-at.html

David Axelrod: The Edge
Egon compiles David Axelrod anthology for Capitol / Blue Note
Stones Throw General Manager Egon has compiled an anthology of legendary Los Angeles Producer/Composer David Axelrod's late 60s work at Capitol Records.
"The Edge" CD and 2/LP will be released September 13, 2005 on Capitol Jazz/Blue Note. The CD contains a 20-page booket with liner notes, annotations, and previously unpublished photos of Axelrod's sessions at Capitol Studios.
David Axelrod was instrumental in creating the Black Music division with Capitol Records in the mid 60s, and had a string of hit albums with artists such as soul singer Lou Rawls and jazz saxophonist "Cannonball" Adderley. But he is best known in the hip hop world for three albums he released on Capitol under his own name between 1968 - 1970. "Song of Innocence," "Songs of Experience", "Earth Rot" and other ancillary Axelrod productions are amongst the most sampled records in hip hop history, having been mined by producers as varied as Madlib, DJ Shadow and Dr. Dre.
Blue Note's Director of A&R, Eli Wolf, gave Egon full access to Capitol's tape library and he pulled tapes that many had thought were lost - including the multi track masters to Axelrod's three solo albums. The 74 minute anthology will be released concurrently with a 12" of previously unreleased instrumentals by Letta Mbulu, Willie Tee and Axelrod himself.
Stones Throw's Jeff Jank is art director for the project. This is the fourth anthology Egon and Jeff have assembled, the previous three being "The Funky 16 Corners," The Stark Reality's "NOW" and "The Third Unheard: Connecticut Hip Hop 1979-1983."
Wax Poetics magazine's November 2005 issue will feature a cover story about David Axelrod with a new interview & story by Egon and Brian DeGenti.
Source: http://www.stonesthrow.com/news/2005/08/david-axelrod-the-edge

Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Relegated to obscurity until leading hip-hop producers started mining his records for beats, producer and composer David Axelrod is a true American genius. There is no shortage of "Axe" compilations on the scene, but this one benefits from fluid programming, great artwork, and for the first time, mastered from the original session reels. One of Capitol Records’ leading producers in the studio, the majority of this Axelrod compilation is culled from his 3 solo albums for the label; Song of Innocence, Songs of Experience, and Earth Rot. Also present are some break beat covers by Lou Rawls, and an extended piece the Axe contributed to a Cannonball Adderley LP. Filled with spacey vibes, eerie flutes, and super-funky rhythm, this is the go-to compilation for Axelrod fans. If you have other compilations you’ll still want this, and if you don’t, get with it! –-Kristian St. Clair
Product Description:
Though he worked for a series of labels over the course of his storied career, David Axelrod is best known as one of Capitol Records' foremost producers during the company's glory years in the 1960s. Under his production, actor David McCallum released four albums; soulster Lou Rawls released a countless number of LPs (including his first gold album, Lou Rawls Live); Cannonball Adderly released Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (1966), one of the highest selling jazz albums of all time; and countless artists from Letta Mbulu to Common People released albums that spanned the gamut from funky African folk to psychedelic rock. Axelrod himself released three albums as a solo artist on Capitol - Songs of Innocence (1968), Songs of Experience (1969), and Earth Rot (1970) - the first of which even legendary producer Quincy Jones admitted was the immediate precursor to jazz-fusion.
David Axelrod was instrumental in creating the Black Music division at Capitol Records in the mid-'60s, and had a string of hit albums with artists such as soul singer Lou Rawls and jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley. Today he is best known in the hip-hop world for three albums he released on Capitol under his own name between 1968-1970. Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience, Earth Rot, and other ancillary Axelrod productions are among the most sampled records in hip-hop history, having been mined by producers as varied as Madlib, DJ Shadow, and Dr. Dre, Mos Def, and many others.
Original LPs that Axelrod produced are coveted among DJs and crate-diggers. This definitive retrospective is the first release to put his career in its proper context and present it with the sonic quality it merits.
Produced by Eothen "Egon" Alapatt
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Customer Reviews:
5.0 out of 5 stars - he wears sunglasses INSIDE - December 10, 2005
By: Aquarius Records
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!
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5.0 out of 5 stars - A Superb Collection of Axelrod's Capitol Years - November 4, 2005
By: Juan Mobili
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.
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4.0 out of 5 stars - Pick It Up ! - December 10, 2005
By: Stevie
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
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Other Customer Reviews @ Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/The-Edge-Axelrod-Capitol-1966-1970/product-reviews/B000AOENKO