The Electric Prunes

Originally released in 1968 on Reprise Records, Release Of An Oath is the fourth studio album by The Electric Prunes and a radical departure from their earlier garage-psychedelic sound. The album was fully composed and arranged by David Axelrod, drawing inspiration from liturgical music and classical structures, most notably Johann Sebastian Bach’s Mass in F Minor.

Although credited to The Electric Prunes, the record largely features session musicians under Axelrod’s direction, with only drummer Dick Whetstone from the original band participating. The result is a dense, dramatic and highly distinctive work that stands as one of the most ambitious psychedelic productions of the late 1960s.