It's curious to think that, only a couple of years ago, David Axelrod's records were the zealously-guarded province of an elite few, notably DJ Shadow, who effectively built his sound out of Axe samples. Following close on the heels of his fine new album ('David Axelrod' on Mo'Wax), the extensive reissuing schedule of this remarkable LA composer's work continues with these two lush, complex and fractionally mad albums.
The previously rare 'Earthrot', from 1970, is his third solo album and features much of the elements familiar to Axelrod fans: great flighty jazz orchestral arrangements, imposing choral passages and, underpinning everything, amazingly funky beats. Lyrical themes this time are drawn mainly from the Book Of Isaiah and Navajo legend, adding up to an ecological concept album far grander and odder than similarly-angled work by his hippy contemporaries. "The feet of the earth are my feet…It is lovely indeed," proclaim the choir, extravagantly. And indeed it is. (4)
'Requiem - The Holocaust' was hardly noticed on its release in 1993. Just as a generation of hip-hop producers started to be turned on to his sampling potential, Axelrod came out with an extraordinarily solemn requiem mass for the victims of the holocaust. No kicking beats to lift here, then: instead, 'Requiem' is a forbidding mix of avant-garde musical, Gil Evans' experimental big band jazz and the modern classical abstractions of, say, Arnold Schoenberg. A heartfelt extension of the great man's range, for sure - but don't, whatever you do, start your Axelrod explorations here. Begin with 'Songs Of Innocence', and work up to this one with extreme caution. (2 and a half)
