David Axelrod – Earth Rot

Finally picked up this 3rd title in the Now Again Axelrod trilogy reissue series.
CONS:
- Yep, I agree with others – the vinyl formula used must have been lower grade. Pops and crackles heard at start of each side and on both discs straight out of the sleeves. Maybe the extra dry atmosphere in the house, due to the ongoing heatwave, is also a factor? The cheap vinyl is not a deal breaker, though, as you quickly forget the imperfections once you get into the music.

- The rhythm section, in general, is annoyingly muted throughout the record. Drums and bass are are not in the forefront at all as they are on Axelrod’s Songs of Experience. The session engineer recorded it this way? Or is it in the remastering here? The lack of a ‘poppin’ rhythm section renders a rather flat recording. I keep waiting for some thump and bump, but it never comes. The choral section, otoh, is mega loud and clear – which might be a bad thing, b/c it makes it easier pick out the occasional badly sung notes.

- Within seconds of listening to the bass, I could tell Carol Kaye was not part of this session. I know her playing – playful, tasteful fills, syncopated. None of that here - Robert West’s(?) playing is functional, but, in my opinion, lacking in adventures-ness … or maybe he was simply directed to play it this way, as E.R. is a more somber affair than than the Song of Innocence and Songs of Experience. Total bummer, b/c I love Carol's playing. Listen to her soulfully play on “500 Miles (Theme from Winning) by Dave Grusin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpTW-Dhmfjc

PROS:
Well, the obvious: Most of us can not, will not, find an original copy, much less afford it. So any legit Axelrod reissue is, all in all, a good thing. 2 years after its RSD release, sadly enough, it’s still widely available for a Jackson. Grab it while you can, it may be the last chance.

Pretty much like the dozen or so Now-Again records I have. Nothing audiophile, a few small non-fill patches, a decent playing copy for a fraction of the cost of an original plus you get those instrumental mixes. SQ is good, no glaring mixing errors just a more modern sound, maybe a bit quieter and rolled off in the bass compared to an original Capitol. If they were gain matched I don't think you'd hear a lot of difference. Apart from some pressing issues, a pretty good option if you need this on vinyl.

Does anyone else think their copy's artwork is very dark, compared to the photos added on this release and the original artwork?

Having really liked Axelrod’s arrangements from his instrumental records Songs of Experience, Songs of Innocence and Seriously Deep, I checked out Earth Rot a few years back and was turned off by the choral vocals. I didn’t get it and I didn’t bother to find out what they were talking about, I had just been hoping for more of his instrumental arrangement work. And finding the Earth Rot lp on vinyl was a pricy proposition as well.

When I saw the title in the Record Store Day list I looked into it again, This time read the lyrics. It’s written from the perspective of the Earth spirit, basically saying, fine, if you humans want to trash the place, not pay attention to the consequences and end up serving your own demise, that’s not a problem because the earth will heal itself and be better off without you anyway.

What is really cool about this particular reissue is that it’s a 2 lp set, with the additional record being instrumental versions of the original. And these aren't just the original tracks minus the vocals, they are different takes with instrumental solos in place of the choral story tellers. If you are into Axelrod, it's a nice score.

wicked release. wish they had re-printed the original inner bag with the gas mask (a la Tim Buckley's 'Greetings From L.A.')

Sadly, United pressed this and screwed it up, with side B being quite off-center. Fortunately, Now-Again is helping me with this, but United is absolutely incompetent to an alarming degree

I have no original to compare this to, but this pressing sounds amazing just like the last two reissues on Now-Again. They've done us a great service by remastering and re-releasing these masterpieces!