long sustained chords, sound effects, reverbed guitar stabs, and a supple bassline. On "Holy Thursday", the rhythm section played a slow, jazzed-out groove and bluesy bop piano lines, as a big band vamp was played by a large-scale string section. In response to their swing style, the brass section and guitarists played dramatic, high-pitched overtones built around a complex melody. The middle of the album featured more traditional jazz passages and the presence of a psychedelic harpsichord. "The Smile" was recorded with a rhythmic drum beat, offbeat bass, and a progressive string part. For the songs near the end, the musicians steadily transitioned to heady psychedelia featuring gritty guitars and disorienting organ licks. On "The Mental Traveler", Axelrod said he tried to experiment with atonality but "chickened out". Release and reception Song of Innocence was released in October 1968 by Capitol Records and attracted considerable interest from critics. Writing for Gramophone in 1969, Nigel Hunter found the songs to be "of absorbing power and depth", but complained of the electric guitar parts. Alasdair Clayre, in the same magazine, questioned whether the "occasional guitar gobbling" reflected Axelrod's genuine ideas or "an obligatory concession to contemporary sound", but he ultimately regarded Song of Innocence as a compelling record. In his opinion, the producer's impressions of Blake "reveal a depth of imagination and skill warranting attention beyond the confines of pop music", proving he could compose innovative pieces for a large orchestra, which Clayre felt comprised the best of California's studio musicians on the album. Billboard magazine called it "an aesthetic mix of music and philosophy ... chock full of mysticism, creativity, and change", believing that Axelrod's idyllic music would be interesting enough to impact the record charts. Others were more critical, finding the music foolish. Stereo Review magazine's Paul Kresh appraised the album negatively, calling it pretentious, inadequate, and dependent on movie music tricks and outdated techniques such as forced climaxes and gaudy orchestration. He said it falls severely short of the concept Axelrod aspired to and that "only the most uneducated will be taken in by the mountains of misterioso claptrap that surround these squeaking musical mice". Nat Freedland from Entertainment World accused Axelrod of "indulging himself here to little avail". Song of Innocence received radio exposure on both AM and FM stations with songs such as the title track and "Holy Thursday", which became the album's best-known recording. The album