producer David Axelrod. Inspired by the 1789 illustrated collection of
poems of the same name by William Blake, it is an instrumental jazz
fusion album presented as a suite of tone poems, incorporating elements
of classical, rock, funk, pop, and theatre music. Arranged for bass,
drums, and string instruments and recorded with an orchestra and studio
musicians, it is written with rock-based tempos. Axelrod used contrast
in his orchestral compositions, interspersing the album's euphoric
psychedelic R&B; form with dramatic, harrowing arrangements to reflect
the supernatural themes found in Blake's poems. Song of Innocence was
not commercially successful on its release, and it confounded music
critics, who viewed it as innovative and ambitious but also as less than
serious, a curiosity piece. In the 1990s, critics reassessed the album
as a classic, while leading disc jockeys in hip hop and electronica
rediscovered and sampled the album's music, including "Holy Thursday",
the album's best-known song. The renewed interest in Axelrod's work
prompted Stateside Records to reissue Song of Innocence in 2000.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_of_Innocence>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1558:
Francis, Duke of Guise (pictured), retook Calais, England's
last continental possession, for France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calais>
1610:
Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei made his first observation
of the four Galilean moons through his telescope: Ganymede, Callisto, Io
and Europa, although he was not able to distinguish the latter two until
the following day.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_(moon)>
1797:
The first official Italian tricolour was adopted by the
government of the Cispadane Republic.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Italy>
1979:
The Vietnam People's Army captured the Cambodian capital city
Phnom Penh, deposing Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, which marked the end
of large-scale fighting in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian%E2%80%93Vietnamese_War>
1993:
The Fourth Republic of Ghana was inaugurated with Jerry
Rawlings as its president.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Ghana>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
burgess:
1. An inhabitant of a borough with full rights; a citizen.
2. (historical) A town magistrate.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/burgess>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Anyone who has got any pleasure at all from living should try to
put something back. … I'm glad to be giving something back because
I've been so extraordinarily lucky and had such great pleasure from it.
--Gerald Durrell
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gerald_Durrell>
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