Minnie Riperton Come to my Garden 180g Import LP (Clear Vinyl)

A proper reissue of Minnie Riperton's debut album, Come to my Garden, originally published in 1970.

Her name came to prominence with the highly influential Chicago band Rotary Connection, forerunners of the rock 'n' soul crossover. In addition to their own recordings, including their 1967 debut album, Rotary Connection, the band is notable as the backing band for Muddy Waters on his 1968 psychedelic blues album, Electric Mud.

Standing on her own, Minnie cut a series of sublime albums moving in a more soulful way. Opening track "Les Fleurs" is a shiny cover of a classic number by Ramsey Lewis - who is musical assistant and contributor here. The song was penned in 1968 and has served as a cornerstone for contemporary hip-hop and R&B, being sampled by the likes of Jurassic 5 feat. Nelly Furtado, Damu the Fudgemunk, Dr. Octagon, and Cut Chemist, among others.

Produced by Charles Stepney (already in with Rotary Connection and subsequently behind the desk with Earth Wind & Fire), the album benefits from its lush orchestral arrangements, pushing the vocal duties of Minnie even further forward (her five-octave vocal range enabled her to sing in a "whistle register"). The jazzy soft-pop feel will draw comparison with Stevie Wonder, Riperton's future employer/mentor. Fully licensed. 180-gram, clear vinyl.

Minnie Riperton's solo debut is in many respects her finest hour...Come to My Garden...couches her miraculous voice in the elegant arrangements of the great Charles Stepney, striking a perfect balance between romantic melodrama and sensual nuance....[T]he nimble melodies and insistent grooves swell with orchestral flourishes, while the jazz-inspired rhythms...at times evoke Van Morrison's masterpiece Astral Weeks. Stepney creates the ideal backdrop for Riperton's soaring vocals, which reveal a subtlety and restraint absent from the glass-shattering bombast of her subsequent performances...