''The Garden'' is

Michael Nesmith Robert Michael Nesmith or Mike Nesmith, (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the pop rock band the Monkees and co-star of the TV series ''The Monkees'' (1966� ...

's 11th full studio album and was released in September 1994. ''The Garden'' is a companion release to Nesmith's 1974 album/book, '' The Prison''. Both ''The Garden'' and ''The Prison'' are written to have the music complement a novel included in the release (also written by Nesmith). ''The Prison'' and ''The Garden'' were re-released together on CD in 2004 by Video Ranch. The idea is for listeners to read the novel while simultaneously listening to the recording. Even though ''The Garden'' was released on Nesmith's record company, Rio Records, the novella/album concept was the driving force behind Nesmith's multimedia company

Pacific Arts The Pacific Arts Corporation, Inc. is a company formed by Michael Nesmith circa 1974 to manage and develop media projects. History Pacific Arts Corporation, Inc. began as Pacific Arts Productions, Inc. when incorporated on October 18, 1974, as ...

. In the liner notes, Nesmith states ''The Garden'' is not a sequel in the strictest sense of the term — meaning that there isn't a true continuation of the narrative which began in ''The Prison''. Instead, they are correlated thematically and stylistically as both are presented in a linear and consecutive approach. Each of ''The Garden's'' seven chapters are also visually enhanced, if not somewhat inspired by a series of Claude Monet paintings. There is a much more subtle connection between the prose and these unqualified masterworks, yet he is able to relate them in a contextual sense. The album was Grammy nominated for the best new age album in 1994.

Reviews

Allmusic writes "the music retains Nesmith's inimitable and signature sound, yet compared to his most concurrent effort, Tropical Campfires (1992), The Garden is exceedingly ethereal and more often than not instrumental. There are vocals that feature not only the artist, but also his children Jason — who is likewise the central character in the short story — Christian, and Jessica. The backing band also includes Christian Nesmith as well as most of the musicians the senior Nez had collaborated with on the aforementioned Tropical Campfires, most notably Desert Rose Band string man John Jorgenson (guitar/sax/bassoon/mandolin/oboe/bandurila/mandocello), Joe Chemay (bass), and John Hobbs (keyboards), as well as studio maven

Sid Page Sid Page is an American violinist who has been active in many genres of music since the late 1960s. He has been a member of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks. From 1973 to 1974, he was a member of Sly and the Family Stone and appeared on their album ...

(violin)".Lindsay Planer, Allmusic, 2007

Production

According to the liner notes, the album was recorded at various times between October 1991 and September 1993 at Footprint Studios and Trax in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. Additionally, ''The Garden'' is the first studio album Nesmith does not use a pedal steel guitar on any track. ''The Garden'' novella features seven paintings of

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. Durin ...

at the beginning of each chapter.

Track listing

All songs written by Michael Nesmith. # "Garden's Glow" – 7:29 # "Ficus Carica" – 5:10 # "City" – 10:06 # "Hills of Time" – 7:38 # "Flowers Dancing" – 6:36 # "Wisteria" – 11:28 # "Life Becoming" – 7:21

Personnel

*Michael Nesmith – 12-string acoustic guitar, vocals *Christian Nesmith – 6-string acoustic guitar *

John Jorgenson John Richard Jorgenson (born July 6, 1956) is an American musician. Although best known for his guitar work with bands such as the Desert Rose Band and The Hellecasters, he is also proficient on the mandolin, mandocello, Dobro, pedal steel gu ...

– 6-string acoustic and electric guitars, soprano sax, bassoon, mandolin, mandocello, oboe *John Hobbs – keyboards *

Joe Chemay Joe Chemay is an American bassist and background singer, known for his recording session work. Biography Chemay started out working as a session and touring support musician in Los Angeles, but moved to Nashville in 1989. Chemay has worked wi ...

– bass *Joe Romano - Trumpet *John Yoakum - oboe, English horn *

- violin *Curt McGetrick - bass clarinet Production notes *Michael Nesmith and John Hobbs – producers

Monet paintings featured in each chapter

#The Artist's Garden of Giverny (1900) #A Bend in the Epte River, Near Giverny (1888) #Vertheuil in Summertime (1879) #Valley of the Petite Creuse (1889) #Poppy Field in a Hollow Near Giverny (1885) #Wisteria (1920) #Waterlilies and Japanese Bridge (1899)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garden, The Michael Nesmith albums Book soundtracks 1994 soundtrack albums Concept albums