Customer Reviews

Abandoned Garden

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Full of delicate melodies, intricate lyrics, mellow singing and nostalgia, this album is a must. Being a Michael Franks fan for many years, I haven't heard any of his other projects that satisfies me more than this.

Unlike the usual blend of uptempo stuff and slower, more relaxed tracks (of which 'Dragonfly Summer' is certainly the best example), this collection of songs displays a rare unity of sound and purpose, with the ghost of Antonio Carlos ("Tom") Jobim (his recently-lost friend to whom he dedicated the opus), haunting the whole album.

Don't get me wrong though, this album is everything but sad and morbid; just like bossa, I'd describe it as 'joyous sadness'. Michael and Tom's co-penned song "Cinema" is an instant classic; "Hourglass" is a beautiful personification of time as a woman, while "Abandoned Garden", the closing tribute song to the friend and master, will easily bring tears to your eyes if you let yourself be touched by its words and atmosphere.

I often regret that some of my prefered artists are not very well known by the general public, but in the case of Michael Franks, I'm glad, because he can go on enchanting us by just being himself: the coolest poet of jazz.

The Michael Franks repertoire is typically cool, hip and sexy-smart.

His music is from an elegant genre of uptown jazz laced with the subtle nuances of Jobim's Brazil.

There are no jagged edges here.

There's intimacy, emotion and a soft observational quality coupled to a melody line that is simultaneously familiar and fresh.

His songs are intelligent, but never degenerate into being "clever".

On "Abandoned Garden" Franks morns the loss of his mentor, friend and hero Antonio Carlos Jobim. The influence of that great man from Rio has been evident throughout Franks' career.

The songs here are slightly more reflective than on previous Franks' offerings but every bit as stylish, classy and intelligent.

Quite a talent this Michael Franks!

I love this album, from the very first note on the opening track to the fade out on the final song, this album for me is second to "Sleeping Gypsy." Michael makes a full return to accoustic music, complete with strings and Brazilian arrangements. This album, released after Michael completed a two year break, was recorded as a tribute for his hero and friend Antionio Carlos Jobim. Jobim would be proud of this body of work.

"Somehow Our Love Survives" was written with Joe Sample a few years back and included on an album by Joe, sung not by Michael, but by Al Jarreau. It's updated here a bit and takes a different feeling as sung by the author. "In The Yellow House" is a song from Michael's play "Noa Noa." It's a duet, a conversation between Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gaguin. Sadness abounds here, Michael seems distant but his lyric is still so poetic, for lack of a better term. This album, which might be another indicator of the distance, is the last studio album from Michael for Warner Brothers.

I recently purchased both "Abandoned Garden" and "Dragonfly Summer".I have been an admirer of Michael Franks' work since I first heard "Meet me in the Deerpark" way back in the mid seventies.Although brought up on "popular" and rock music, and having some knowledge of music, to me there's just no other artist quite like michael Franks. Whilst "Abandoned Garden" is a more mellow outing, it continues the distictive style that takes you to the heart of his music. I can imagine that some people may consider some of this album repetitive or dare I say it, boring; but like all good music, you need to go below the surface and explore the deeper feelings and emotions. Michael Franks has had a long held respect for the late Antonio Carlos Jobim, and his memorial to him must have been both fulfilling and tinged with sadness. In my case, the purchase of this CD coinsided with the death of my mother and I can only say that songs from this CD plus "Dragonfly Summer" will be forever etched in my mind and heart.

This is the best-ever Michael Franks CD, both in terms of song writing and production. This CD is Franks' memorial to the father of the bossa nova, his friend, Antonio Carlos Jobim. Franks' strength has always been his lyrics, but his early bossas were also musically rich. In this CD, the first cut is an absolute gem of a bossa, "This Must Be Paradise." Most notable is the fifth cut, "Cinema," a collaboration between Franks and Jobim, both contributing their strength, Franks his lyrics and Jobim the tune. "Cinema," in my opinion, is the most beautiful bossa nova Jobim ever wrote--not as complicated as "Desefinado," but more subtle. Buy this CD.

Oozing with good taste and musicianship (both in Franks and in his sidemen),this album defies categorisation. Is it light jazz, bossa nova,fusion.. who cares ? I listened to this album first on a summer afternoon looking out to a dusky garden full of withered flowers, foliage, shadows, bees and insects etc.,which transported me to a wistful trance. An excellent introduction to Michael Franks for your philistine friends brought up on a standard diet of rock/pop staple.

I have been getting better acquainted with Michael Franks and his music in the last year, and thus far, this album is my favorite, although I haven't found one I don't like yet! While the melodies create an atmosphere all their own, Michael's way with words can overwhelm me at times, and I find myself listening to his songs over and over. "This Must Be Paradise" is a perfect example of his mastery; what a beautiful, lyrical way of describing love with another person! And the pictures in my mind's eye that are created in "Hourglass" carry me away. The samba beat which weaves its way throughout the CD makes this particular work unique among the CDs of his that I have heard so far. It is a fitting tribute to his mentor, to whom the work is dedicated. If you are looking for peaceful, pleasant jazz that brings warmth to your night, buy this CD!

After listening to this album, no one will doubt that Michael Franks has a love and admiration for his idol and mentor Antonio Carlos Jobim that is about as deep as one man can feel about another on a non-sexual level. The title cut and Like Water, Like Wind are utterly unambiguous on that score. Franks has made many lyrical references to Jobim in the past, but now that Jobim has gone to Jesus, he allows his feelings to gush forth, figuratively genuflecting to him, resulting in some rather remarkable songs. When playing this album for friends, some of the less perceptive ones made comments about Franks sounding "gay" for Jobim. Now I don't pretend to know a thing about Franks' private life but I don't think he sounds that way. I think some are uncomfortable and perhaps jealous that Franks has a talent for expressing romantic feeling and physical longing in the most exquisite, picturesque phrasings.I detect nothing but pure admiration in his songs about Jobim. Abandoned Garden starts with an incredibly sensual bossa nova, no doubt as a nod to Jobim. Listen to the lyrics. How many of us wish we could express our desire and our fondness for our lovers so poetically? "Tenderly now, let me demonstrate, you need only undulate, keeping time with the samba like this while the stars rise..." Get Franks' drift? In addition to the aforementioned songs, I think Cinema, written together by Jobim and Franks, is a high point on the album. Jobim wrote the music and it simply sways. The romantic lyrics are highlighted by the smooth tenor sax of Michael Brecker and accented by the fine piano work of Elaine Elias. I could listen to this one ten times in a row! Other songs I like are Somehow Our Love Survives, co-written with Joe Sample, Without Your Love (From the musical Noa Noa), and the romantic yet enigmatic Bird of Paradise. In the Yellow House (also from Noa Noa) is an interesting departure for Franks featuring a vocal duet with Brian Mitchell. If you hadn't read the lyrics you might at first be perplexed by the story line. Then you hear a couple of references that make you realise that the duo is supposed to be Van Gogh and Gaugin singing their regrets and apologies to one another. My epiphany was the reference to "a wheatfield with crows and those cypresses in starry night". On this album, more than on any other Franks album, one of the keys to enjoyment is knowing to what his lyrical allusions refer. Abandoned Garden contains a couple of songs I consider rather plodding and/or lyrically lame which keep its rating a shade under 5 stars. Fool's Errand, Hourglass and Eighteen Aprils just don't fit with the spirit of the rest of the album. That being said, I think Abandoned Garden is Franks' best all-round album since Tiger in the Rain, and that Jobim has been a most beneficial musical influence. In addition, an incredible stable of well-known session musicians helps to make this an album worth owning.

Wow! As a new admirer of Michael's, (within the last 7 years or so) I must admit that I've been missing out on a lot. Abandon Garden just happens to be my favorite album of his, as well as one of my " All Time 10 Best Albums". I remember hearing some of his works when I was younger and thinking he was the voice behind "Kermit the Frog". I had a chance to see him in concert once (Capital Jazz Fest, Coulmbia, MD July'98) and was absolutely enthralled. I have the complete collection of his works and I often play it for friends and co-workers. Easily, Abandoned Garden is the favorite amongst them. Even my non-Jazz enthusiast friends seem to love the album. My favorite song is "A Fools Errand". Now haven't we all played that role before?

I have been getting better acquainted with Michael Franks and his music in the last year, and thus far, this album is my favorite, although I haven't found one I don't like yet! While the melodies create an atmosphere all their own, Michael's way with words can overwhelm me at times, and I find myself listening to his songs over and over. "This Must Be Paradise" is a perfect example of his mastery; what a beautiful, lyrical way of describing love with another person! And the pictures in my mind's eye that are created in "Hourglass" carry me away. The samba beat which weaves its way throughout the CD makes this particular work unique among the CDs of his that I have heard so far. It is a fitting tribute to his mentor, to whom the work is dedicated. If you are looking for peaceful, pleasant jazz that brings warmth to your night, buy this CD!