Minnie Riperton's solo debut is in many respects her finest hour -- devoid of the overly syrupy production that hampers her later work,
Come to My Garden instead couches her miraculous voice in the elegant arrangements of the great
Charles Stepney, striking a perfect balance between romantic melodrama and sensual nuance. Call
Stepney's singular approach "
chamber soul" -- the nimble melodies and insistent grooves swell with
orchestral flourishes, while the
jazz-inspired rhythms (courtesy of
Ramsey Lewis' group) 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 -- the opening
"Les Fleurs" (covered decades later by
4Hero) crystallizes the entire record, embracing both intimacy and majesty to haunting effect. [The
Aim reissue, released in 2005, contains the bonus track
"Whenever, Wherever," though it is listed as
"Wherever We Are." The content of this disc is similar to what can be found on the
Varese and
Castle reissues from 2002.] ~ Jason Ankeny