Minnie Riperton “Come to My Garden” (1970)

Producer Charles Stepney’s work here is on a level of Burt Bachrach’s best with a beautiful hint of darkness, perhaps too much, but there is always Minnie to bring a smile to the tears. One of the few gifted human beings to be blessed with a whistle register, each track has Minnie pulling off the most unimaginably beautiful melodies with the most breathtaking nuances. This album is full of odd vocal melodies that DJ Shadow dreams of (perhaps he thinks too highly of the album to tear it apart); just the intro to “Completeness” is enough to sell this record as Minnie creates an operatic current that bounces across a canyon as upright bass, horns, and strings rise and fall far away. Every song has so many little touches that you’ve never heard before, simply because not the average person can pull these off. Even if Mirah Carey has the vocal abilities, she could never have so much honesty and strength behind the chops. This is why people like this are put onto Earth, not to be on American Idol covering Barry Manilow for every fucking week. –Allistair