IN THE TRUNK – “Holy Thursday” by David Axelrod (Audio)
“Bronx keeps on taking it!” That was the first thing I thought when I heard the original David Axelrod song. But then, there are so many Axelrod songs like that. Although not as well known as funkadelic and Bob James in the non DJ community, Axelrod is one of the most widely sampled rock, jazz, fusion, musician/composers ever. David Axelrod was born in Los Angeles in 1936 and began his musical career as a studio drummer for TV shows and soundtracks. He started working as a producer for Capital Records in the early 60’s and made some incredible work with artists such as Lou Rawls, Cannonball Adderly, Joe Zawinul, Letta Mbulu, and the Electric Prunes. After helping to create musical landscapes for these artists he earned the respect to release his own album. The song “Holy Thursday” comes from the 1968 LP Songs of Innocence.
Upon hearing the first notes and the first drum snares; I focus. It’s that kind of song. And with the instrumentation of drums, electric guitar, bass, piano, trumpets, vibraphone, and a violin section it takes a lot of focus to weave such beautiful and harmonic elements together in a cohesive format. I still carry it around with me on my phone and listen to it when I need to re-center myself. According to Who Sampled, this track has been sampled by eleven different cats ranging from The Beatnuts, DJ Shadow, Dr. Dre and Thom Yorke to Lil Wayne. I’d wager that even more have sampled it. And there is a reason for that—this song embodies the hip hop spirit and that is the spirit of fusion. Take all the dope stuff, forget the wack and blend them together. Call it psych jazz, psych rock, whatever. What you have here is a cinematic experience complete with suspense, romance, and action! The song has points that call me to contemplate and think, and it forces me to run, leap, and swim. Put on your shades and ride the train or bus with this on full blast.
“Holy Thursday” by David Axelrod”
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