Abandoned Garden

Abandoned Garden
Studio album by Michael Franks
Released	1995 (1995)
Genre	Smooth jazz Vocal jazz
Length	57:02
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Matt Pierson Gil Goldstein
Michael Franks chronology
Dragonfly Summer (1993) Abandoned Garden (1995) The Best of Michael Franks: A Backward Glance (1998)

Abandoned Garden is an album by American vocalist Michael Franks. Released in 1995 by Warner Bros. Records, it was Franks' thirteenth studio album and his final album of new material with Warner Bros. ^[1]

Background

The album is a dedication to the memory of Brazilian jazz musician, singer and composer Antônio Carlos Jobim. Franks had drawn artistic inspiration throughout his career from Jobim, and had collaborated with him in the past. ^[2]

"Somehow Our Love Survives" marked the return of keyboardist and lyricist Joe Sample, with whom Franks had collaborated on numerous albums, including Sleeping Gypsy in 1977 and Blue Pacific in 1990.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Michael Franks, except where noted

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"This Must Be Paradise"		6:10
2.	"Like Water, Like Wind"		5:19
3.	"A Fool's Errand"		4:35
4.	"Hourglass"		4:45
5.	"Cinema"	Franks, Antônio Carlos Jobim	4:52
6.	"Eighteen Aprils"		4:35
7.	"Somehow Our Love Survives"	Franks, Joe Sample	5:00
8.	"Without Your Love"		5:22
9.	"In the Yellow House"		5:21
10.	"Bird of Paradise"	Djavan, Franks, Max Frederico, Flávia Virgínia	5:39
11.	"Abandoned Garden"		5:24

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Down Beat	[4]

Writing for AllMusic, Ross Boissoneau praised the input of "heavy hitters" but lamented it was "neither Franks' best effort nor particularly evocative of the great Brazilian composer" the album was dedicated to. He concluded "while the revolving door of stars has served Franks well on other recordings, here they don't seem to add up to much." ^[3]

Down Beat magazine rated the album "good" in their March 1996 issue, reporting it to be "a genuine keeper, a guilty pleasure. Somehow Franks, a song stylist more than a jazz vocalist, once again gets his way, singing his indelible melodies that before you know it are under your skin, into your veins and etched into your soul..." ^[4]

Personnel

Musicians

• Michael Franks –vocals, guitar, banjo
• Keith O'Quinn –trombone
• Randy Brecker  –flugelhorn
• Michael Brecker  –tenor saxophone
• Joshua Redman  –soprano saxophone
• David Sanborn, Andy Snitzer  –alto saxophone
• Lawrence Feldman –alto flute
• Bob Mintzer  –flute, alto flute
• Eliane Elias, Russell Ferrante, Gil Goldstein, Bob James, Carla Bley  –piano
• John Leventhal  –electric guitar
• Chuck Loeb  –guitar
• Jeff Mironov –guitar, acoustic guitar
• Diane Barere, Mark Orrin Shuman, Frederick Slotkin –cello
• Manolo Badrena  –woodwinds, percussion
• Peter Erskine  –drums, percussion
• Chris Parker, Lewis Nash  –drums
• Don Alias, Bashiri Johnson  –percussion
• Brian Mitchell  –vocals

Support

• Jimmy Haslip, Michael Colina, Russell Ferrante  –arrangement
• James Farber –audio mixer
• Ken Schles, Fredrick Nilsen –photography
• Recording at Bearsville Studios, Clinton, Make Believe Ballroom, Power Station, Sound on Sound

References

1. "Discography in Order of Release". MichaelFranks.com. Retrieved 2012-02-11.
2. O'Toole, Kit (2008-03-26). "Michael Franks's Abandoned Garden An Eloquent Tribute to Jobim". Blogcritics Music. Archived from the original on 2012-04-13. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
3. Boissoneau, Ross. Abandoned Garden –Michael Franks at AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-02-19.
4. "Michael Franks – Abandoned Garden CD". CDUniverse. Retrieved 2012-03-11.

Bibliography

• Abandoned Garden (CD booklet). Michael Franks. United States: Warner Bros. Records. 1995. pp. 1–5. 45998.