 Songs of Experience is the second studio album by American composer and producer David Axelrod , released in October 1969 by Capitol Records . It was composed , arranged , and produced by Axelrod , who worked with session musicians such as guitarist Al Casey , drummer Earl Palmer , and conductor Don Randi . As with his 1968 debut album Song of Innocence , Axelrod composed musical interpretations of English poet William Blake 's Songs of Innocence and of Experience , an 18th @-@ century illustrated collection of poems . 
