As is the story with many rare and obscure records out there, this one achieved cult status due in part to limited production runs as a cross-promotional gift. In this instance, it was a purchase reward for two different companies: The original collaboration and distribution plan was in partnership with a Los Angeles plant shop called Mother Earth, hence the name on the cover. Oddly enough, the other release was part of an appreciation giveaway from Sears for the purchase of a 1976 Simmons mattress – kinda’ strange, we get it.
While the record easily sells for $300 or more online, don’t fret because you can now pre-order various reissue printings (including green wax) and purchase CDs, digital downloads and a variety of Plantasia merchandise in the shop at Sacred Bones Records. Beyond such a dope collection of offerings, they perfectly capture the vibe of the recording: “Full of bucolic, charming, stoner-friendly, decidedly unscientific tunes enacted on the new-fangled device called the Moog. Plants date back to the dawn of time, but apparently, they loved the Moog…”
Being an early Moog pioneer meant that the general listening public was not quite ready for the massive, dreamy swells of layered cinematic audio Mort Garson was producing at the time. It basically inhabits the land between a psychedelic journey blossoming into spring flower and the 2001: A Space Odyssey soundtrack. And due to his quest for some degree of obscurity, Garson kept under the radar for most of his career with pseudonyms of all sorts – the only exception being his work for the Grammy-winning score for Antoine de Satin-Exupery’s The Little Prince.
If you want to learn more about Garson and his work, a documentary about the mythical music maker and his plant sounds was funded on Kickstarter just last month entitled, Finding Plantasia.
In the film, we follow comedic writer-director team Tim Mahoney and Morgan Evans as they roadtrip it in search of this forgotten musical gem. Sifting through dusty garages and small town mom n’ pop thrift stores across the country, they help fans and collectors alike piece together the bizarre history behind the myth of Plantasia.
Ready for Mother Earth's plant vibes? Have a listen to the entire tracklist below:
+ via Sacred Bones Records +
