Edge: David Axelrod At Capitol Records 1966-1971 CD

EMI in Great Britain reissued David Axelrod's three albums for Capitol in fine editions on both vinyl and CD at the end of the 1990s. Fantasy issued its own retrospective, The Axelrod Chronicles, in 2000. Blue Note is finally getting its act together here by taking a look at the work Axelrod did as both a producer and artist with Capitol from 1966-1970. The Edge is not perfect, but for 17 tracks it does give a halfway decent look at the wide range of projects and artists Axe worked with, despite the album's aesthetic inconsistency. Some of the most compelling of these are the tracks with actor David McCallum on vocals -- who played Robert Vaughn's sidekick Ilya Kuryakin in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. -- Axelrod produced four albums for him. "House of Mirrors," is a way tripped-out psychedelic piece with vocals Echoplexed to the max. The title cut is an instrumental that is all dreamy shimmering flute, vibes, guitars, and a horn section for drama. There is also a cut here from the South African artist Letta Mbulu, complete with a thunderstorm as an intro. Spacey, drifty, it's utterly beautiful with spare percussion and Mbulu's haunting voice sensing in her native tongue. Or course Lou Rawls is represented here with a monologue and his burning rendition of "You've Made Me So Very Happy." Axelrod himself has the lion's share of the set with nine cuts taken from his three Capitol albums, Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience, and Earth Rot. Thankfully, Cannonball Adderley is represented as well with "Tensity," from the ambitious Cannonball Adderley Quintet & Orchestra. It's not a perfect example, but at least it's here. The Edge is an okay place to start, but it's got little that will please longtime and hardcore fans and collectors. Hopefully, Axelrod's own catalog will be reissued domestically. ~ Thom Jurek

Recording information: Los Angeles, CA (11/05/1966-05/21/1970).

Unknown Contributor Roles: Bill Hinshaw; William Hymanson.

Arranger: David Axelrod .

Personnel: David Axelrod ; Jon Joyce , Diana Lee, Jerry Whitman, Lewis E. Moreford, Jan Gassman, H.B. Barnum, Tom Bahler (vocals); Louis Morell, Howard Roberts , Pete Wyant, Les Buie, Neil Levang (guitar); Gareth "Garry" Nuttycombe (violin, viola); Henry Roth (violin, strings); Gerald Vinci, Assa Drori, Bill Henderson , Ralph Shaeffer, Marvin Limonick, Lou Raderman, Jack Shulman, Robert Jung, Bill Hymanson, Stanley Plummer, Sid Sharp, Sidney Sharp, Israel Baker, Paul Shure (violin); Myron Sandler, Samuel Boghossian (viola, strings); Joe Reilich, Anne Goodman, Allan Harshman, Milton Thomas (viola); Armand Karpoff (cello, strings); Jeffrey Solow, Raphael Kramer, Edgar Lustgarten, Jeffrey Solow (cello); Richard Leith (strings, trombone); John Arnold (strings, percussion); James Getzoff, Tibor Zelig, Harry Hyams, Freddie Slatkin, Leonard Malarsky, Robert Sushel, Marshall Sosson, Arnold Belnick, Douglas Davis , Alvin Dinkin, Nathan Ross, Harry Bluestone (strings); Bill Green (flute, piccolo, clarinet, saxophone, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); Jim Horn (flute, piccolo, saxophone); Ernie Watts (flute, oboe, tenor saxophone); Jackie Kelso (flute, saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Bill Green (piccolo, saxophone); Donald Christlieb (bassoon); Gene Cipriano, Plas Johnson (saxophone); Freddie Hill, Allen DiRienzo, Ollie Mitchell, Tony Terran, Paul Hubinon (trumpet); Nat Adderley (cornet); Arthur Maebe, David Duke, Vincent DeRosa (French horn); Richard Hyde, Lew McCreary (trombone); Joe Zawinul (electric piano); Ken Watson, Gene Estes (vibraphone, percussion); Sonny Anderson (vibraphone); Roy McCurdy (drums); Joe Clayton (congas, bongos); Letta Mbulu, Lou Rawls, David McCallum (vocals); Al Casey (guitar); Bobby Bruce (violin); Cannonball Adderley (alto saxophone); Don Randi (piano, organ, keyboards); Gary Coleman (vibraphone, percussion); John Guerin (drums, tambourine); Earl Palmer (drums).

Audio Mixer: Dave Cooley.

Mojo (Publisher) (p.136) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he dust has settled and the music stands alone, huge and unnerving."