The Electric Prunes – Release Of An Oath

Starting with "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)" (1967), The Electric Prunes made four fantastic albums for the Reprise label within two years, but by the time they released "Release of an Oath", the last of the four albums, not a single member of the original band was left. But two key people were still there. One was Dave Hassinger, engineer for The Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead and other superstar groups of the '60s, who retained the rights to the Electric Prunes name and served as the album's producer. The other was legendary composer and arranger David Axelrod. Axelrod had already written and arranged the Prunes album Mass in F Minor, the complexity of which had forced the original band members to quit in frustration.

Now, after composing a psychedelic Catholic mass, Axelrod turned his attention to the Old Testament and in particular "The Kol Nidre," the prayer that begins the Yom Kippur service in the Jewish faith. Once again, the orchestration proved too much for the band's then-current lineup (with the exception of vocalist Dick Whetstone), so Axelrod brought in The Wrecking Crew, featuring guitarists Howard Roberts and Lou Morrell, bassist Carol Kaye, keyboardist Don Randi and drummer Earl Palmer. Armed with this formidable line-up, Axelrod brought his trademark blend of psychedelic rock, jazzy orchestration and avant-garde elements to full fruition, creating an album that still sounds fresh and cutting-edge 50 years later.

Now, for its first vinyl reissue, Real Gone Music presents this unique record in a maroon and white spray-painted vinyl pressing that is every bit as psychedelic as the music it contains.

Genre: Pop & Rock