Talk:Release of an Oath

Relationship to Jewish liturgy
When this album was new (late 1968) it received quite a lot of airplay on late-night Sydney radio, and was most often referred to by its subtitle, the Kol Nidre - a prayer of antiquity.


 * And even on the AM radio which was all we then had in Australia, it sounded very good indeed. And now I know who was really playing the bass, guitar and drums, I begin to understand why! Andrewa 21:59, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

But, obviously it's not based directly on the Jewish ceremony the Kol Nidre. I'm wondering exactly what the connection is? It's entirely possible that David Axelrod invented the Christian liturgy and just named it after the Jewish one, but it would be good to know and say, either way. See also Talk:Kol Nidre. Andrewa 18:59, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

General comments
Release of an Oath is one of my favorites and I was glad to see this stub, which is helpful and well-organized. I'd like to add more precise citations and help generally with the article. I have the album and re-released CD (several versions), and have read all the liner notes and lots of background stuff on the internet.

Concerning the content, just a small point. It says: The album ... is often referred to simply as "The Kol Nidre". Could we have a citation for this statement? Isn't the album now usually referred to as Release of an Oath in interviews, magazine articles, and listings? "Kol Nidre" was on the original album cover, true, but it's been removed in all CD re-releases that I have seen.

Perhaps by making a note that the observation comes from Sydney in 1968 when the album was getting a lot of airplay, and attests to the unusual nature of the work, which has often been cited. It is noteworthy - how many rock music / psychedelic musical settings for the Kol Nidre prayer and service do we know of? (Answer - not many.)

Next point - Kol Nidre can refer to the particular prayer (or declaration) that begins the service on the eve of Yom Kippur (hence, Kol Nidre prayer), or it can refer to the entire Yom Kippur evening service (hence, Kol Nidre service). Moreoever, the Kol Nidre prayer is about release from oaths (what kind of oath and under what circumstances and why is a separate subject). However, the Kol Nidre service covers a lot more ground than release from oaths.

I made a comparison of the tracks (words, music, order of tracks) against the prayers found in a Yom Kippur prayer book and concluded that all the tracks are based on corresponding prayers or liturgy in the Kol Nidre service. There were no left-over tracks, that is, tracks that could not be matched with complete prayers of the Kol Nidre service. I concluded that Release of an Oath as a complete musical work is modelled after the Kol Nidre service as performed in a synagogue. Release of an Oath is a rock music interpretation of the Kol Nidre service.

If people aren't convinced by doing the comparison as I did, then frankly I think the best way to resolve the issue would be to ask David Axelrod about all his sources of inspiration for this work. He seems to have an active internet presence on MySpace and Facebook.

Finally, the article would benefit by including more information on Personnel and circumstances around making the album. I am working on this.

Similar comments could be made about Mass in F Minor

DonToto (talk) 06:31, 17 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Good stuff. I also love the album, after buying it (in England) in the late 60s.  I'm sure you know about "no original research".  Ghmyrtle (talk) 07:20, 17 April 2010 (UTC)