Mother Earth's Plantasia
Mother Earth's Plantasia (commonly referred to as simply Plantasia) is an electronic album by Mort Garson first released in 1976. The music on it was composed specifically for plants to listen to.[6] The album had a very limited distribution upon release, only being available to people who bought a houseplant from a store called Mother Earth on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles or those who purchased a Simmons mattress from a Sears outlet, both of which came with the record.[6] As a result, the album failed to attain widespread popularity around the time of its release. However, it has since gained a cult following as an early work of electronic music.[7] Garson used a Moog synthesizer to compose the album.[6]
Mother Earth's Plantasia | |
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Studio album by | |
Released | 1976 |
Studio | Patchcord Productions, Hollywood, California[1] |
Genre | Electronic, experimental, ambient |
Length | 30:55 |
Label | Homewood Records |
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 78/100[2] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Pitchfork | 7.2/10[4] |
The Quietus | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
In March 2019, Sacred Bones Records announced that they were officially reissuing the album.[7] The reissue is available on music streaming services and was released on vinyl and CD as well on June 21, 2019.[6]
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Plantasia" | 3:21 |
2. | "Symphony for a Spider Plant" | 2:41 |
3. | "Baby's Tears Blues" | 3:03 |
4. | "Ode to an African Violet" | 4:03 |
5. | "Concerto for Philodendron & Pothos" | 3:09 |
No. | Title | Length |
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6. | "Rhapsody in Green" | 3:28 |
7. | "Swingin' Spathiphyllums" | 2:59 |
8. | "You Don't Have to Walk a Begonia" | 2:31 |
9. | "A Mellow Mood for Maidenhair" | 2:17 |
10. | "Music to Soothe the Savage Snake Plant" | 3:23 |
Personnel
- Mort Garson – score, electronics
- Eugene L. Hamblin III – electronic engineering
- Sam Nicholson – art direction
- Marvin Rubin – illustrations
Legacy
Angie Martoccio, writing for Rolling Stone in 2019, described Mother Earth's Plantasia as Garson's magnum opus.[8] Stephen M. Deusner, writing for Pitchfork, described it as perhaps Garson's "most beloved album, at least among crate-diggers and record collectors."[4]
Charts
Chart (2019) | Peak position |
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US Independent Albums (Billboard)[9] | 6 |
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[10] | 8 |
See also
References
- Mother Earth's Plantasia (back cover of LP), Hollywood, CA: Homewood Records, 1976
- "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
- Phares, Heather. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
- Deusner, Stephen (July 6, 2019). "Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
- Coney, Brian (June 26, 2019). "The Quietus Review". The Quietus. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
- "Mort Garson: Mother Earth's Plantasia". Sacred Bones Records. Sacred Bones Records. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
- "Mother Earth's Plantasia Gets First Official Vinyl Reissue". Pitchfork. Condé Nast. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
- Martoccio, Angie (2019-12-12). "Revisiting the Weird World of Seventies Plant Music". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
- "Independent Albums". Billboard. July 6, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
- "EDM Music & Dance Albums Chart". Billboard. July 6, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2019.