The Electric Prunes
Release Of An Oath
Originally released in 1968 on Reprise Records, Release Of An Oath is the fourth studio album by The Electric Prunes and a radical departure from their earlier garage-psychedelic sound. The album was fully composed and arranged by David Axelrod, drawing inspiration from liturgical music and classical structures, most notably Johann Sebastian Bach’s Mass in F Minor.
Although credited to The Electric Prunes, the record largely features session musicians under Axelrod’s direction, with only drummer…
Underground
Due to their successful debut, the band's producer was in demand, leaving little time to devote to the Prunes. The band took full advantage of the adults not being in the room and created an incredible follow-up of original material on 1968's Underground. Here is where the band really leaned heavily into their knack for challenging pop. This album came to define what later gravediggers of the garage genre came to devour: Iggy Pop, The Ramones, and Patti Smith all took a riff here; an attitude th…
The Electric Prunes
Formed in 1966, The Electric Prunes had a novel approach to being a band: deciding to be a recording unit rather than a live performance band. They discovered their signature sound -- reverb-drenched, beautifully chaotic garage pop -- and released one of the most fantastic, fuzzed-out singles of all time, 'I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night.' Guitar effects drip and splatter throughout (the band had landed an endorsement deal with Vox, who were the leaders in wild effects pedals at that time), a…
Mass In F Minor
In 1968, The Electric Prunes collaborated with classically-trained musician David Axelrod to create Mass in F Minor, a religious-based rock opera. Even though the album is a head-scratcher side by side with their previous records, this has become one of the era's most bizarre and hypnotic releases. Sung in Latin with the band hanging onto Axelrod's ambitious arrangements; you've never heard anything like it. It created enough of a cultural mark that the lead track 'Kyrie Eleison' was even used i…