Rock and...

The Rose Garden - A Trip Through The Garden (1967 - 68)

Omnivore's 2018 A Trip Through the Garden: The Rose Garden Collection is the first thorough compilation assembled on the California folk-rock quintet, containing all of their eponymous 1967 debut -- previously, that was the only Rose Garden music to reach CD -- along with alternate mixes and takes, rehearsals, acetate versions, and five live tracks recorded at Canoga Park's Chaminade High School in 1967. The lack of Rose Garden compact discs could be down to how they had only one hit single: "Next Plane to London," which climbed to number 17 in the fall of 1967. A Trip Through the Garden fills out the story, underscoring how the Rose Garden were very much a band of their time and place, quite proudly displaying their debt to the Byrds. All of their eponymous debut and the assorted ephemera on the disc recall the sweeter, folkier elements of the Byrds, but the connection is deepest with Gene Clark. The Rose Garden cut two Clark songs that are otherwise unavailable: the tuneful jangle of "Long Time" and the proto country-rocker "Till Today." These two songs, along with the mellow effervescence of "Next Plane to London," are the highlights of the album and the comp, rivaled only by a crunchy version of Neil Young's "Down to the Wire" and the five live cuts, which are much tougher than anything else heard on the CD (they also contain two additional Byrds covers in "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star" and "She Don't Care About Time"). Saving these cuts, the Rose Garden are a pleasant period artifact: gentle, hazy, and light, so light they float away on a breeze.