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Following the Electric Prunes' third album, 'Mass in F Minor', which featured mostly studio musicians filling in for the band members, the band released 'Release of an Oath' in 1968, again recorded by studio musicians with the Prunes only submitting vocals. This album may only have been a footnote in history, a cash-in recording for a band that had all but broken up, if it weren't for the songwriting and production prowess of one David Axelrod. 'Release of an Oath' is less of an Electric Prunes album than it is a David Axelrod album. With it's open drums, jazz influence, and funky basslines; the album became a sought after treasure for beat diggers the world over. Thankfully, within the last decade, the album has been easier to find due to re-releases (and now, MP3s). This post will cover the producers and artists who have sampled the Axelrod produced fourth album by the Electric Prunes.One of the album's stand out tracks is 'Holy are You', which is a favorite of beat heads and psych rock listeners alike. The track was sampled by Joe Fatal for Fat Joe and Raekwon's team up 'Respect Mine' on his 1995 album 'Jealous One's Envy'. Five years later, the same track was sampled by Madlib on his Quasimoto album 'The Unseen' for the cut 'Return of the Loop Digga'. The album's funkiest cut is the bouncy bass-heavy 'General Confessional', which has become the most sampled cut on this release. In 1997, the Beatnuts sampled 'General Confessional' for 'N----z Know' on 'Stone Crazy' while DJ Scratch sampled the cut for Rampage and Busta Rhymes' single 'Flipmode iz da Squad'. In 2000, Madlib sampled this track as well for his song 'B.S.' from the Quasimoto single 'Basic Instinct' while the RZA sampled the song for 'The Monument' which finds Busta Rhymes cameoing again on the beat alongside the Wu-Tang Clan. 'The Adoration' from 'Release of an Oath' was also plundered by the Beatnuts for the song 'World's Famous' from their 1993 release 'The Intoxicated Demons'.
At the end of 'Release of an Oath', the Electric Prunes were almost done. The band, by name only and featuring none of the original members, released a fifth album that made no waves. Axelrod, however, was just at the beginning of his solo career. 1968 saw the release of his debut solo album, 'Song of Innocence', which led to a decade of beat digger coveted albums.The Lowdown:
The Electric Prunes 'Holy Are You', 'General Confessional', and 'The Adoration'
from 'Release of an Oath' (1968) (MP3/CD)
Fat Joe 'Respect Mine'
from 'Jealous One's Envy' (1995) (MP3 not available/CD)
Quasimoto 'Return of the Loop Digga'
from 'The Unseen' (2000) (MP3/CD)
The Beatnuts 'N----z Know'
from 'Stone Crazy' (1997) (MP3 not available/CD)
Rampage 'Flipmode iz da Squad'
from 'Scouts Honor By Way of Blood' (1997) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Quasimoto 'B.S.'
from 'Basic Instinct' (2000) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Wu-Tang Clan 'The Monument'
from 'The W' (2000) (MP3 not available/CD)
The Beatnuts 'World's Famous'
from 'The Intoxicated Demons' (1993) (MP3 not available/CD)
Bonus Cut:
The Verve's Richard Ashcroft, a fan of Axelrod's work with the Electric Prunes, recorded an excellent live version of 'Holy Are You' with Axelrod conducting a symphony.
Related Posts:
Producer Profile: David Axelrod (Part 2, 1968-1969)
Rewind: Quasimoto 'The Unseen' (Part 1)
Rewind: Quasimoto 'The Unseen' (Part 2)
Rewind: Quasimoto 'The Unseen' (Part 3)
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In 2004, Madlib and MF Doom's two year project 'Madvillainy' was released on the indie hip-hop label Stones Throw. The album was mostly produced by Madlib (excluding one track) and features mostly MF Doom on vocals. In this two part arc, we will cover Madlib's deep crate breaks used for the tracks in 'Madvillainy'.
The opening track titled 'The Illest Villains' samples 'Beach Trip' by Morton Stevens and His Orchestra from the soundtrack to the television show 'Hawaii Five-O' in addition to the classic b-boy break 'Jam on the Groove' by Ralph MacDonald. 'Accordian' samples fellow blunted hip-hop SoCal artist Daedelus by using elements from the track 'Experience' from his 2002 album 'Invention'. Madlib flips the often used 'I Keep Forgettin'' by Michael McDonald on the Madvillain track 'Bistro', which also features a sample of 'Second to None' by Atlantic Starr. For the boastfully titled 'America's Most Blunted', MF Doom, Madlib and Quasimoto rhyme over a melange of Fever Tree's psych-rock song 'Ninety Nine and a Half (Won't Do)' and the Dramatics' 'In the Rain'. On 'Rainbows', Madlib samples two tracks from exploitation director Russ Meyer's 60s movies. The track samples 'Psycho Brahmin' from 1965's 'Motor Psycho' and 'Kelly' from 1968's 'Finders Keepers Lovers Weepers'.
Check back for part 2 of our look at 'Madvillainy'.The Lowdown:
Madvillain 'The Illest Villains', 'Accordian', 'Bistro', 'America's Most Blunted', and 'Rainbows'
from 'Madvillainy' (2004) (MP3/CD)
Morton Stevens and His Orchestra 'Beach Trip'
from 'Hawaii Five-O' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Ralph MacDonald 'Jam on the Groove'
from 'Jam on the Groove' 12" (1977) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Daedelus 'Experience'
from 'Invention' (2002) (MP3/CD not available)
Michael McDonald 'I Keep Forgettin''
from 'If That's What it Takes' (1981) (MP3/CD)
Atlantic Starr 'Second to None'
from 'Yours Forever' (1983) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Fever Tree 'Ninety Nine and a Half (Won't Do)'
from 'Fever Tree' (1968) (MP3 not available/CD)
The Dramatics 'In the Rain'
from 'Whatcha See in Whatcha Get' (1971) (MP3/CD)
Paul Sawtell and Bert Shefter 'Psycho Brahmin'
from 'Motor Psycho' (1965) (MP3 not available/CD)
Marvin Elling, William Loose, and Stu Phillips 'Kelly'
from 'Finders Keepers Lovers Weepers' (1968) (MP3 not available/CD)
Related Posts:
Rewind: Quasimoto 'The Unseen' (Part 1)
Rewind: Quasimoto 'The Unseen' (Part 2)
Rewind: Quasimoto 'The Unseen' (Part 3)
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After two of his most sought after albums, 'Song of Innocence' and 'Songs of Experience', David Axelrod released his final solo album for Capitol records in 1970: 'Earth Rot'. Like much of his output, this album is highly sought after by beat diggers and has been sampled by hip-hop's finest. This post will cover 'Earth Rot', as well as some of his production credits for Cannonball Adderley.
'Earth Rot' is divided into two concept album sides and is not as widely known for its beats. In 1994, No I.D. sampled Axelrod's 'The Signs (Part 2)' on the title track single to Common's sophomore album 'Resurrection'. The same track would be sampled by Madlib among many others (including other Axelrod tracks) on 'Return of the Loop Digga' as Quasimoto, whose album 'The Unseen' is reviewed in depth here, here, and here. In 1999, Diamond D and Mos Def would use another sample from 'Earth Rot', 'The Warnings (Part 2)' for the track 'Hip Hop' from Mos Def's breakthrough album 'Black on Both Sides' (which will be reviewed in depth soon in a future post on this blog).
In addition to producing his own material, Axelrod continued his role as producer on much of Cannonball Adderley's 70s output. Among the many Adderley albums that have been sampled is 1970's 'The Price You Pay to Be Free' whose song 'Exquisition' was sampled for the Pharcyde's 'Pack the Pipe' produced by J-Swift. 'Soul Virgo' from the same album is one of the samples used by A Tribe Called Quest on 'Bonita Applebum' from their debut 'Peoples' Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm'. Six years later, Tribe would sample another Cannonball Adderley track. An untitled track from Adderley's 'Black Messiah' album was sampled by Jay Dee (J Dilla) and the Ummah for Tribe's '1nce Again' from 'Beats, Rhymes, and Life'.
Check back for our next look at David Axelrod's production career.The Lowdown:
David Axelrod 'The Signs (Part 2)' and 'The Warnings (Part 2)'
from 'Earth Rot' (1970) (MP3/CD)
Common 'Resurrection'
from 'Resurrection' (1994) (MP3/CD)
Quasimoto 'Return of the Loop Digga'
from 'The Unseen' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Mos Def 'Hip Hop'
from 'Black on Both Sides' (1999) (MP3/CD)
Cannonball Adderley 'Exquisition' and 'Soul Virgo'
from 'The Price You Pay to Be Free' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
The Pharcyde 'Pack the Pipe'
from 'Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde' (1991) (MP3/CD)
A Tribe Called Quest 'Bonita Applebum'
from 'Peoples' Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm' (1990) (MP3/CD)
Cannonball Adderley 'Untitled'
from 'Black Messiah' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
A Tribe Called Quest '1nce Again'
from 'Beats, Rhymes, and Life' (1996) (MP3/CD)
This may seem like a rehash of a previous post, but it's much more than that. Amazon is now offering downloads of David Axelrod's difficult to find albums 'Song of Innocence' and 'Songs of Experience'. When I found out that these are now available, I decided to reboot this entire post with new up-to-date links so all you beat heads could get your hands on two of Axelrod's most influential works. The following is the original post with two new bonus cuts. Enjoy the newly updated part 2 of Axelrod's producer profile.After Axelrod's success as a producer for others, he was encouraged to produce his own instrumental albums. In 1968, he released his first album 'Song of Innocence', an concept album that was loosely based on the writings of 18th century artist William Blake. The album would also contain some of the most sought-after beats by crate diggers worldwide. 'Holy Thursday' was one of the many samples used by Madlib on the Quasimoto track 'Return of the Loop Digga', but most recently it emerged (to my astonishment) as the backing to Lil Wayne's 'Dr. Carter' from the hugely popular 'Tha Carter III'. Swizz Beatz delivered Weezy with an unusually simple looped up 'Holy Thursday' bassline - it's a step out of the norm for both the artist and the producer. 'The Mental Traveller' from 'Song of Innocence' was used by Ras Kass on 'Soul on Ice' from his 1996 debut album also titled 'Soul on Ice'. |
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Axelrod followed 'Song of Innocence' with another Blake themed album, the instrumental 'Songs of Experience'. Axelrod's 'The Human Abstract' would be sampled heavily for DJ Shadow's moody single 'Midnight in a Perfect World' from his outstanding debut album 'Endtroducing...'. Kool G Rap would sample the 'Songs of Experience' track 'A Divine Image' on his track 'Take 'em to War' from his first solo album '4, 5, 6'. 'A Divine Image' was sampled again three years later by DJ Muggs on Cypress Hill's '16 Men Till There's No Men Left'.
Axelrod would only release one more album through Capitol, 1970's 'Earth Rot', before splitting with the label. Through the 70s, he recorded several more albums for RCA, Decca, Polydor, and MCA.The Lowdown:
David Axelrod 'Holy Thursday' and 'The Mental Traveler'
from 'Song of Innocence' (1968) (MP3/CD not available)
Quasimoto 'Return of the Loop Digga'
from 'The Unseen' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Lil Wayne 'Dr. Carter'
from 'Tha Carter III' (2008) (MP3/CD)
Ras Kass 'Soul On Ice'
from 'Soul on Ice' (1996) (MP3/CD not available)
David Axelrod 'The Human Abstract' and 'A Divine Image'
from 'Songs of Experience' (1969) (MP3/CD)
DJ Shadow 'Midnight in a Perfect World'
from 'Endtroducing...' (1996) (MP3/CD)
Kool G Rap 'Take 'em to War'
from '4, 5, 6' (1995) (MP3/CD)
Cypress Hill '16 Men 'til There's No Men Left'
from 'Cypress Hill IV' (1998) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: '16 Men 'til There's No Men Left'
BONUS CUTS:
Now that I can offer a download of it, here is another 'Song of Innocence' cut that got sampled. The album's opening cut 'Urizen' was sampled for the Jurassic 5 / Big Daddy Kane posse cut 'A Day at the Races' produced by Cut Chemist.
Welcome to part 2 of our look at David Axelrod's production profile, focusing on his production on his own early albums and the artists that sampled them decades later.After Axelrod's success as a producer for others, he was encouraged to produce his own instrumental albums. In 1968, he released his first album 'Song of Innocence', an concept album that was loosely based on the writings of 18th century artist William Blake. The album would also contain some of the most sought-after beats by crate diggers worldwide. 'Holy Thursday' was one of the many samples used by Madlib on the Quasimoto track 'Return of the Loop Digga', but most recently it emerged (to my astonishment) as the backing to Lil Wayne's 'Dr. Carter' from the hugely popular 'Tha Carter III'. Swizz Beatz delivered Weezy with an unusually simple looped up 'Holy Thursday' bassline - it's a step out of the norm for both the artist and the producer. 'The Mental Traveller' from 'Song of Innocence' was used by Ras Kass on 'Soul on Ice' from his 1996 debut album also titled 'Soul on Ice'.Axelrod followed 'Song of Innocence' with another Blake themed album, the instrumental 'Songs of Experience'. Axelrod's 'The Human Abstract' would be sampled heavily for DJ Shadow's moody single 'Midnight in a Perfect World' from his outstanding debut album 'Endtroducing...' (Shadow would sample Axelrod again during his stint with U.N.K.L.E.). Kool G Rap would sample the 'Songs of Experience' track 'A Divine Image' on his track 'Take 'em to War' from his first solo album '4, 5, 6'. 'A Divine Image' was sampled again three years later by DJ Muggs on Cypress Hill's '16 Men Till There's No Men Left'.Axelrod would only release one more album through Capitol, 1970's 'Earth Rot', before splitting with the label. Through the 70s, he recorded several more albums for RCA, Decca, Polydor, and MCA.The Lowdown:
David Axelrod 'Holy Thursday' and 'The Mental Traveler'
from 'Song of Innocence' (1968) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Quasimoto 'Return of the Loop Digga'
from 'The Unseen' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Lil Wayne 'Dr. Carter'
from 'Tha Carter III' (2008) (MP3/CD)
Ras Kass 'Soul on Ice'
from 'Soul on Ice' (1996) (MP3/CD not available)
David Axelrod 'The Human Abstract' and 'A Divine Image'
from 'Songs of Experience' (1969) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
DJ Shadow 'Midnight in a Perfect World'
from 'Endtroducing...' (1996) (MP3 not available/CD)
Kool G Rap 'Take 'em to War'
from '4, 5, 6' (1995) (MP3/CD)
Cypress Hill '16 Men 'Til There's No Men Left'
from 'Cypress Hill IV' (1998) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: '16 Men 'Til There's No Men Left'
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'California Soul' by Marlena Shaw is a former Five On It essential break pick (from August 2008) and this post will expand on why exactly this break is so necessary. Marlena Shaw was signed by Chess Records at the age of 24, leading to two albums before her move to jazz powerhouse Blue Note (where she was the first female artist signing). 'California Soul' is from her 1969 album 'Spice of Life' and the track has received a recent revival from use in a jeans advertisement. Like many other instances, advertisers were a little behind - 'California Soul' has been a hip-hop staple for some time.
One of the first instances of the opening break being sampled is for Gang Starr's 'Check the Technique' from the Primo produced 'Step in the Areana'. Two years later DJ Food (formerly the members of Coldcut, but taken over by Patrick Carpenter in 1993) sampled 'California Soul' on 'Dark Lady' from the fourth entry into the 'Jazz Brakes' series. In 2000, Madlib bit the beat for the title track from Quasimoto's 'The Unseen'.The Lowdown:
Marlena Shaw 'California Soul'
from 'The Spice of Life' (1969) (MP3/CD)
Gang Starr 'Check the Technique'
from 'Step in the Arena' (1991) (MP3/CD)
DJ Food 'Dark Lady'
from 'Jazz Brakes, Vol. 4' (1993) (MP3 not available/CD)
Quasimoto 'The Unseen'
from 'The Unseen' (2000) (MP3/CD)BONUS CUTS:
Marlena Shaw's 'California Soul' was not the original and is perhaps not even the most widely known version. Ashford and Simpson wrote 'California Soul' for the Fifth Dimension in 1968. Additionally, one year after the Marlena Shaw cover, 'California Soul' was covered once again by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell (this time produced by the writers Ashford and Simpson). The song was the final single from Gaye and Terrell and was released after Terrell's tragic death at the age of 24.
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The final post in this blog's coverage of Quasimoto's 'The Unseen' catalogs the samples used by Madlib on the sampledelic track 'Return of the Loop Digga'.
Two David Axelrod produced tracks are used on 'Loop Digga'. Axelrod's debut solo album 'Songs of Innocence' is the source of the open breaks and bass line of 'Holy Thursday', which has been used often since the late 90s. Axelrod also produced the fourth album for the Electric Prunes, the psychedelic rock 'Release of an Oath' (with one of the greatest album covers of all time in my opinion - it's pictured above). 'Holy are You' is one of the album's many fantastic tracks.
Eugene McDaniels' bat-s--- crazy album 'Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse' is notorious for both it's bizarre, paranoid political stance and its palpable funkiness. 'Loop Digga' uses a bit of McDaniels' 'Supermarket Blues'. The Impressions' soundtrack for the blaxploitation film 'Three the Hard Way' supplies one of 'Loop Digga''s other samples: 'On the Move'. Finally, 'Tidal Wave' by Ronnie Laws was also one of the sources plundered for this track.
Be on the look out for more Madlib related posts including a look at the samples on 'Soundpieces' by Lootpack.The Lowdown:
Quasimoto 'Return of the Loop Digga'
from 'The Unseen' (2000) (MP3/CD)
David Axelrod 'Holy Thursday'
from 'Songs of Innocence' (1968) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Electric Prunes 'Holy are You'
from 'Release of an Oath' (1968) (MP3/CD)
Eugene McDaniels 'Supermarket Blues'
from 'Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse' (1970) (MP3/CD)
The Impressions 'On the Move'
from 'Three the Hard Way' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Ronnie Laws 'Tidal Wave'
from 'Pressure Sensitive' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Mandrill has always been a popular pick for crate diggers (though, this is their first appearance on this blog), so 'Khidja''s appearance on Quasimoto's 'Green Power' is not as unusual as the rest of 'The Unseen''s sample sources. The track '24-7' uses a relatively obscure single by Jacob Miller: 'False Rasta'. This is the second reggae track appearing on 'The Unseen', so it should have been no surprise that two years after the release of this album, Madlib would present his reggae / dub DJ mix 'Blunted in the Bomb Shelter'. The album's title cut cuts up one of hip-hop's most essential (though not heavily used) breakbeats. 'California Soul' from Marlena Shaw's 'The Spice of Life' begins with a gigantic, echoey opening drum break. In a future post on this blog, 'California Soul' will be covered in depth.
Check back for the final section of 'The Unseen', a comprehensive look at 'Return of the Loop Digga'.The Lowdown:
Quasimoto 'Green Power', '24-7', and 'The Unseen'.
from 'The Unseen' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Mandrill 'Khidja'
from 'Mandrilland' (1974) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Jacob Miller 'False Rasta'
Marlena Shaw 'California Soul'
from 'The Spice of Life' (1968) (MP3/CD)
