LP version. Mort Garson is well known as one of the pioneers of electronic music in the late '60s; some may have heard of his contributions to quite a few pop hits back in the day, when he wrote and conducted orchestral arrangements for one or another popular artist. During the second half of the 1960s Mort Garson and his sidekicks Paul Beaver and Jacques Wilson, among others, discovered Robert Moog's synthesizer and made it an integral part of their future-pop music even before Wendy Carlos released her famous and fabulous Switched-On Bach album in 1968. Garson recorded and released Mother Earth's Plantasia a few years after his albums The Zodiac: Cosmic Sounds (1967), The Wozard of Iz: An Electronic Odyssey (1968), and Lucifer: Black Mass (1971). Every fan of unique psychedelic (The Zodiac) and mind-bending electronic music (the two others) should certainly lend an ear to these three masterpieces, but there was more to come. Plantasia, originally released in 1976 and not reissued since until now, is subtitled "warm earth music for plants... and the people who love them." As you can imagine, it's a rather bright affair, far from the dark and seething atmosphere of the earlier electronic pieces. A shining diversity of stylistic devices creates dreamy and colorful compositions, warm yet haunting, with a rather sinister vibe in their most playful and surreal moments. It's a feeling that, despite the apparent peace and relaxation, something utterly dire is about to rise up. Still, these are only a few passages, and when Mort Garson and his mates move on from lush orchestral soul arrangements to more tribal sounds, you will drift with them from one scene of your inner mind-movie to the next. The technical options had improved since the late '60s, and the album features electronic percussion that conjures up memories of records by German electronic pioneers from the same era such as Cluster, Kraftwerk, and Tangerine Dream. And despite the twinkle-toed harmonies and big arrangements that point at the big band music and orchestral pop from which Mort Garson originated, the whole work is futuristic and intriguing. Rather like an old science fiction movie than a horror film, though its identity is open to interpretation. The best way to enjoy this masterpiece of synthesizer music is to lay back and close your eyes while drifting away into a territory still unknown to man.
D**M
Sacred Bones 2019 authorised reissue
*2019 Sacred Bones reissue*At long last, an authorised reissue of Mort Garson’s 1976 album. It's not from the master tapes but Sacred Bones Records have done a fantastic job mastering and cleaning up the sound from the best vinyl copy they could find. The sound quality really is fabulous.Recorded at the height of the USA’s The Secret Life of Plants boom, this album was originally only available to customers who bought a houseplant from Mother Earth in Los Angeles and the music is designed to help them grow. It’s a lovely free flowing mix of progressive, cosmic and playful Moog music and as the subtitle suggests, it's surprisingly warm and comforting, especially for electronic music. The CD booklet features a reproduction of the original Mother Earth’s Indoor Plant Care booklet.There have been a few shockingly poor unauthorised reissues over the years and Amazon are mixing up the reviews so that this review is also showing next to bootleg resissues - make sure you buy the Sacred Bones reissue !**It's 2020 and Sacred Bones have released a vinyl 45rpm "audiophile edition" of Plantasia, using the master tapes**
J**H
One of the best albums ever.
Absolutely amazing album. Probably one of the greatest albums I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. It’s soothing, thought provoking and genuinely magical. I’d describe listening to Plantasia to be like going on a journey to a fantasy land, where everything is as perfect as can be.
M**S
Great delivery
Great just what I wanted great delivery
A**W
Great vinyl
Amazing album sounds great on vinyl extras included are great too.
L**Y
fabulous record
lovely record, plays well and beautiful inserts
D**R
2020 Sacred Bones Audiophile Reissue from Newly Discovered Master Tapes
There are lots of reissues of this cult classic album. The official ones are on the Sacred Bones label. Up until 2020 they have been pressed from a vinyl rip of the original album. Now Sacred Bones have been handed the long-thought-lost stereo master tape by Mort Garson’s daughter. The first reissue to come from this is the new 2020 Audiophile Edition pressed at 45rpm over 2 lps.How does it sound? In word, sensational. You simply will not have heard this album sound this good ever. Actually, it even sounds interesting if you spin it at 33rpm.I would’ve preferred a single 33rpm LP for the convenience of not having to flip sides every two tracks at the expense of slightly lesser audio quality. I’ve read that Sacred Bones intend to use this new master for all reissues in future but until then this is the only option remotely worth considering.Wonderful.
T**S
Amazon are mixing up the reviews...
Amazon are mixing up the reviews for the two re-releases of this wonderful album. The TGT (The Great Thunder) release is a bootleg (illegal) copy and is of appalling sound quality which is true of ALL TGT releases... best avoided. However, the more recent release from Sacred Bones Records is not only an official release but also of excellent audio quality (despite the fact that it is also a vinyl rip) and thus the version to get.
T**N
Don't buy pirated discs!
One star because it has to be so.A legit reissue of this album can now be found at sacredbonesrecords.com
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