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
.
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. ~ Jason Ankeny