Song of Innocence (1968) is the debut album of American composer and 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