The Smile

David Axelrod

Remember when DJ Shadow's Endtroducing came out and everyone flipped over it?  Then shortly afterwards the music of composer David Axelrod developed a resurgence due to Shadow's occasional sampling of Axelrod?  Axelrod was before my time, so I admit that I was one of the many whom discovered the music of David Axelrod through DJ Shadow.  Shadow's Endtroducing, released in 1996, still holds up well to this day.  And David Axelrod's music also holds up well.  In terms of his self-releases, I consider his Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience, and Seriously Deep, as my three favorite Axelrod albums, with the latter being more jazz-fusion while the Songs albums were more cinematic and psychedelic.  Most of the music Axelrod was involved with in the 60's and early 70's were great.  The two albums he produced for The Electric Prunes, Mass in F Minor, and Release of an Oath are well worth checking out, and the music he produced with jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley--Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, and Soul Zodiac, are good as well.  "The Smile", released on the 1968 album Songs of Innocence, is Axelrod to a T (if you're familiar with his productions you know what I mean)--and one of my favorite tracks he released.