Come to My Garden

Come to My Garden is the debut solo album by Minnie Riperton which was produced, arranged and orchestrated by Charles Stepney and released in 1970. It was re-released on CD in 1999. It peaked at number one hundred and sixty on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart in 1974. Some versions of the CD release don't include the last track, "Whenever, Wherever." Riperton said she wanted a sound like the great Dionne Warwick / Burt Bacharach collaborations for the album. Although commercially unsuccessful, Come to My Garden is considered a masterpiece by critics. "Les Fleurs" is probably the album's best known song, and "Expecting" remains a favourite among fans. The heavy rock aspect of Riperton's band Rotary Connection is absent here, replaced by lush orchestrations and a jazzy soft-pop feel that complements Riperton's multi-octave voice. The songs, mostly by Stepney and Riperton's husband Richard Rudolph, are mostly minor-key ballads, with alternately sorrowful and poetic lyrics. The singer-songwriter-y results recall early albums by Roberta Flack as well as the contemporary work by Riperton's future employer/mentor Stevie Wonder.