The Electric Prunes-Mass In F Minor/Release Of An Oath-The Kol Nidre (2013)

 

Artist: The Electric Prunes

Title: Mass In F Minor/Release Of An Oath-The Kol Nidre

Label: Morello

Format: CD

Cat #:  MRLL 16

Year of Release: 2013 (Mass In F Minor (1967), Release of an Oath (1968)

Country and Year of Edition Issue: UK 2013

Listed Condition: VG+/VG+

Sell Date: 7/22/25

Sell Price: $8.36

Discogs Last Sold: 7/18/25 NM/VG+ $9.49
 
Low: $4.50

Median: $9.47

Average: $9.56

High: $14.24

Current low price: $8.24

Current Number on Sale at Discogs: 11

Have/Want:  76/19

Where: Utica, MI

Time it took to sell: 2 years

Where and When Facebook lot

Gwiz-gau Letter Grade:  A-

Sad To See It Go: No

Arranger/Composer David Axlerod hijacked the band that had a garage rock hit with "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night" with these two attempts to psychedelify the religious experience.  1967's Mass In F Minor in a Catholic Liturgic Service with psych guitar melded to Gregorian chants.  The full band only made it to the first 3 tracks including "Kyrie Eliason" which got on the Easy Rider film soundtrack.   The follow up in 1968, Release of an Oath fuses Jewish themes.  The Kol Nidre is a prayer on Yom Kippur.  Instead of the band, The Wrecking Crew were brought in to bring a orchestrated effort to the effort.  The original band broke up during the Mass sessions, so at some point it just became a session project under the Prunes moniker.  The original band didn't reform until 2001.

That said, as far as hijacking a band for a concept, this one is pretty good.  Mass In F Minor was slightly bigger than the second album Underground.  The band was having difficulty mastering Axlerod's music so another Band The Collectors helped out.  That band or part of it became Chilliwack.  The original Electric Prunes were gone by the follow-up, Release Of An Oath.  Axlerod and brand owner Producer David Hassinger and their freaky religious-psychedelic concept was still there moving on from Catholicism to Judism mixed in.  Carol Kaye, Howard Robert, Don Randi and Earl Palmer have taken the original Prunes place.  Only Richard Whetstone from Mass In F Minor's lineup made any contribution, and he joined in 1968.

I had a prior edition of Mass In F Minor around 20 years ago but I never had the follow-up.  This 2013 UK CD pairing I picked up used in a lot and thought it would be worth a bit more than it sold for.  

Certainly worth hearing and an interesting concept for the period.