Ruth Moody
The Garden
2010
The Garden
Cold Outside
Travellin’ Shoes
We Can Only Listen
Within Without You
Never Said Goodbye
Winter Waltz
Nest
We Could Pretend
Tell Me
Valentine
Closer Now
The first seeds of The Garden were sewn in the southern Manitoba summer, where Ruth Moody and producer David Travers-Smith recorded demos and sat by the river to discuss the songs. The bed-tracks were recorded in the fall in Toronto, and the songs took root in the winter with further recording in Toronto and Winnipeg. Now, in spring, The Garden has come to full fruition.
“Gardens, like the seasons, are symbols of life and its cycles.” Ruth says. “They have always been magical places for me–where the tiniest seeds are planted and grow into beautiful expressions of life.”
It is only fitting, then, that after 13 years as a touring musician, Ruth finds herself tending her own garden, bringing her own beautiful songs to life. Appropriately, the album opens with “The Garden”, which refers to an awakening, according to Ruth. “It was inspired by a theme from Voltaire’s Candide – the idea that we must work on our garden and make our little corner of the world beautiful, in whatever way we can.” Performed on the banjo and layered with lush strings and harmonies, this is the perfect introduction to Ruth’s rich and vibrant collection of songs.
Stretching beyond traditional acoustic sounds, the record uses organ, horns and pedal steel to create radio-friendly pop tunes like “Travellin’ Shoes” and “Closer Now”, in addition to more spare tracks like the traditionally-inspired “Nest”, the sensual “Cold Outside“, and the poignant “Never Said Goodbye“. An unexpected treat is the sweet and catchy duet “We Can Only Listen,” co-written with Matt Peters of The Waking Eyes. In addition to Peters, Ruth is joined by an all-star musical cast that includes neo-bluegrass band Crooked Still, Kevin Breit (Norah Jones, k.d. lang), Luke Doucet, and a guest appearance by The Wailin’ Jennys. Sure to be a hit with folk and Americana lovers and music fans of all kinds, Ruth’s verdant garden of songs is a breath of fresh air.