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Natural Elements
Natural Elements
Studio album by Acoustic Alchemy
Released	1988
Recorded	1988
Studio	Hansa Haus Studios, Bonn, Germany
Genre	Smooth jazz
Length	34:21
Label	MCA 42125; GRP 9834 (1996 re-release)
Producer	John Parsons
Acoustic Alchemy chronology

Natural Elements was the second major label release by Acoustic Alchemy from 1988. The shortest of all of the band's albums, only comprising eight tracks, Natural Elements set out to show what the title suggests: the organic side to Acoustic Alchemy's music.

Points to note from this album include the title track, Natural Elements, which became the theme tune to long-running BBC gardening show, Gardener's World, and the re-recording of an early track, "Casino", now re-arranged to include piano and full percussion parts. The track "Ballad For Kay" is dedicated to Nick Webb's wife, Kay.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]

Stewart Mason of AllMusic begins his review with, "Not quite complex enough to be jazz, not quite mellow or ambient enough to be new age, and just a little too cerebral to just be pop music, Acoustic Alchemy's Natural Elements is its own little oddity."^[1]

While doing an article on Acoustic Alchemy, Dirk Sutro of The Los Angeles Times wrote, "Americans love the rich acoustic music of Acoustic Alchemy. The British band has sold more than 100,000 copies each of its albums "Red Dust & Spanish Lace" and "Natural Elements" in the United States."^[2]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Greg Carmichael and Nick Webb, unless otherwise noted

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Drake's Drum"		4:45
2.	"Overnight Sleeper"		3:35
3.	"Natural Elements"		3:51
4.	"Casino"	Nick Webb Simon James	3:48
5.	"If Only"		5:08
6.	"Ballad for Kay"	Nick Webb	2:56
7.	"Evil the Weasel"	John Parsons	5:34
8.	"Late Night Duke Street"		4:44
Total length:			34:21

Musicians

Nick Webb – guitars (steel and nylon)
Greg Carmichael – guitars (nylon)
Mike Herting – keyboards, synthesizers
Rainer Brüninghaus – acoustic piano, synthesizers
Mario Argandoña – percussion
Konrad Mathieu – bass
Bert Smaak – drums
Serge Maillard – programming
John Parsons – programming
Vera Elfert – recorder

Production

John Parsons – Producer
Milan Bogdan – Digital Editing
Klaus Genuit – Engineer
Günther Kasper – Engineer
Ashley Jackson – Painting (Front Cover)
Paul Cox – Photography (Back Cover)
Simon Levy – Art Direction
Benny Quinn – Mastering
Linda Schwab – Artwork
Virginia Team – Design
Manfred Struck – Mixing

Track information and credits adapted from the album's liner notes.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b Mason, Stewart. Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
^ Sutro, Dirk (22 June 1989). "LA Times Article". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
^ Natural Elements (liner notes). Acoustic Alchemy. MCA Records. 1989. MCAD-42125.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)