David Axelrod – The Human Abstract
David Axelrod – A Poison Tree
David Axelrod – The Sick Rose
{got a note from Beni B, noted Oakland DJ and one of Matthew’s best friends, that his birthday was actually on Oct. 23rd, so next year we’ll shift MKA Day to it’s proper place}
Today would have been Matthew Africa’s 41st birthday. I miss him terribly. I’ve always been much more fond of celebrating birthdays for the dearly departed, and so it’s very likely that every year on this day I’ll be posting a record that relates to Matthew in some way, whether it’s something he turned me on to, a record he’d played in a mix that I tracked down or sounds that we talked about in the past. David Axelrod was one of the first artists that Matthew and I bonded over. In 2001 shortly after I joined KALX, there were some vinyl reissues of Axelrod’s music that I am 99% sure that Matthew wrote the reviews (KALX has one of the most exceptional music libraries I’ve ever seen at a radio station, cared for by a music librarian and curated by the music department and a record acquisition team (affectionately referred to as “the R.A.T.”) of which both Matthew and I were a part of during our time at the station). I’d heard the music of Axelrod in a couple of places, probably initially on Blue Note collections, and then through tracking down his records, especially after DJ Shadow sampled “The Human Abstract” on his song “Midnight In A Perfect World.” The first time I owned this record, during the very early days of Ebay, I got involved in a bidding war and paid entirely too much for it (actually the most I’ve ever spent on a record to this day). That copy got sold off in 2004 along with most of the rest of my records. More recently I ran into a moderately priced copy at Atomic in Burbank and since it’s pretty rare to run into this record for less than $25, I was more than happy to pick it up again.
Memory hasn’t been entirely kind on our conversations about Axelrod, but I recall us talking about this album, either as he was about to leave and my show followed his, or as I was filing things away at the start of his show (KALX shows were applied for and given for something like 6 month periods of time, and for a while it seemed like Matthew, Kitty and myself played musical chairs around each other, particularly on Fridays). I can remember talking about “The Human Abstract” and what a fantastic sounding song it was. I seem to remember Matthew thinking that Shadow didn’t directly sample the song because of a slight variation in the melody. I didn’t know enough about samplers to be able to offer much, except to my ears it was pretty clearly sampled from this recording (likely chopped up as opposed to just looped). I also seem to remember that Matthew didn’t think much of “A Poison Tree” perhaps saying it was the weakest song on the album. I disagreed partly, I wasn’t fond of the way the track began (though I might have done the little dance I always during those first couple of minutes), but I remember sticking up for the second half of the song, from about 1:53 on, which I think is just absolutely gorgeous. Matthew agreed with me.
Songs of Experience was Axelrod’s second album inspired by the poetry of William Blake, an artist that is definitely worth looking into. Like it’s twin, Songs of Innocence, the sound of the album is what many of us call “Classic Axelrod,” even though describing the sound is bloody difficult. Matthew mentioned as much in a tribute post to Earl Palmer in 2008:
“Axelrod’s music is really hard to pin down genre-wise; it flirts with jazz, rock and orchestral music, but never settles into any one groove for long. “
It is a heavy, dark, brooding sound, sometimes seemingly uplifting, sometimes possessing a creeping malevolence, often in the very same tracks. One listen to a song like “The Sick Rose” and you can instantly recognize Axelrod’s influence on a number of musicians and producers, from Shadow, to Diamond D, to Adrian Younge, to very clearly Geoff Barrow of Portishead (“Sick Rose” and “A Divine Image” almost sound like Portishead instrumentals). Axelrod has always been one of my favorite artists and was one of Matthew’s as well. A gigantic part of the Axelrod sound is the rhythm section, featuring “Wrecking Crew” stalwarts Carol Kaye and Earl Palmer. Those basslines are so slinky and those drums pop like few ever have. So much of what makes Axelrod’s sound so distinctive boils down to the interplay between these two musicians, along with the series of players that filled out the other important roles. Aside from Kaye and Palmer it’s really hard to tell who else is playing on these records. There’s a long list of musicians that Axelrod thanks, but that mainly only helps in terms of who is not on the album. I’m sure Matthew had figured it all out, but I think the guitar on “Human Abstract” is from Al Casey, who was known as a bit of chameleon in terms of his style and it seems he’s doing a Howard Roberts impersonation, attempting to build on his explosive solo from Axelrod’s (via the Electric Prunes, in name only) “Holy Are You.” Though Shadow’s sample led me to Axelrod, this uniqueness of the music has made these albums so much more than just “breaks” or “sample material.” I know a lot of DJs who feel the same way, including probably a few who never would have heard Axelrod if Matthew Africa hadn’t played him so much on his KALX shows or tracked down the albums for the station.
Interestingly, it’s only really been today that I paid much attention to the poem that this song is based on, which is reproduced in the gatefold of the LP:
William Blake – The Human Abstract (1794)
Pity would be no more
If we did not make somebody Poor;
And Mercy no more could be
If all were as happy as we.
And mutual fear brings peace,
Till the selfish loves increase:
Then Cruelty knits a snare,
And spreads his baits with care.
He sits down with holy fears,
And waters the grounds with tears;
Then Humility takes its root
Underneath his foot.
Soon spreads the dismal shade
Of Mystery over his head;
And the Catterpiller and Fly
Feed on the Mystery.
And it bears the fruit of Deceit,
Ruddy and sweet to eat;
And the Raven his nest has made
In its thickest shade.
The Gods of the earth and sea
Sought thro’ Nature to find this Tree;
But their search was all in vain:
There grows one in the Human Brain.
My days of critically analyzing poetry are far in the past, but it seems that the poem presents a series of interesting juxtapositions all of which relate to Humanity, the first few lines seem particularly poignant, how concepts such as “Mercy” or “Pity” only exist because of the very conditions that produce mercy or pity. Life is such a strange and funny thing. As cruel as it is kind. Musically, much of that sentiment comes across in Axelrod’s work. The complexity of which reminds of my friend Matthew.
Peace be with you,
Michael