Eden Ahbez
Eden's Island

Strange and eccentric character Eden Ahbez, or rather “ahbez,” as he insisted on emphasizing, since he believed that capital letters were a divine attribute.

The legend says that before gaining fame for writing “Nature Boy” in 1948, for none other than the iconic Nat King Cole, he lived camped out with his adorable partner, under the “L” of the Hollywood sign on the hills of Los Angeles, surviving with the bare essentials: a sleeping bag, some vegetables, and a few peanuts when things were good.

A visionary dreamer, bucolic and pastoral poet, a character who transcends any space-time barrier, a hippie even before hippies existed, a beatnik with an innate compositional ability, and not just with the pen, even before the beat became the new thing in literature; with a beard and long hair like a newfound Jesus Christ descended to earth. A countercultural trailblazer from his long blonde hair to his sandals, drawn to Eastern mysticism and dark exotic sounds alike. But let’s take a step back.

As mentioned, Eden ahbez (!) came to the fore thanks to a chance encounter with the manager of Nat King Cole, to whom he presented his “Nature Boy,” which would become a classic in Cole’s repertoire, an evergreen of pop-jazz music, later sung and played by dozens of musicians. However, despite the success (which, needless to say, didn’t alter his original and unusual lifestyle in the slightest) achieved with “Nature Boy” in the late '40s, it was in 1960 that the good Eden released an album of his own: “Eden's Island,” indeed, a small timeless gem.
When you listen to it, it's as if you are suspended in air, suspended on Eden’s quirky little island. If you look through the light clouds hovering above it, it almost seems like you can sense the smells, the light tropical breeze, the sounds, lulled by dreamlike melodies and the whimsical yet imaginative arrangements. Music and poetry are one and the same.

Creaking of boats anchored in who knows what harbors, frogs singing to the moon, wild slashes, choruses of lively female voices blend with a skillful use of bongos, winds, and percussion, and Eden’s voice, which of course will not be like Cole’s, but which impeccably recites poems on idyllic and surreal themes.

The calm and relaxed atmosphere, an unusually paradisiacal aura envelops you right from the opening track “Eden's Island” and guides you through track-poems like “Full Moon” (the one about the frogs… ) and “The Old Boat” only to shake you up a bit with “Mongoose” or “Surf Rider.” Rightly so, Eden ahbez was not a deity, no, but he can be considered among the foremost exponents of exotica music, a precursor of space age pop and even a certain type of “erudite pop” (pardon the term), with orchestral and baroque arrangements. It is no coincidence that it is said that even Brian Wilson was influenced by him in writing “Pet Sounds” first and then “Smile.”

And excuse me if that’s not enough.