The sounds and vision of the country-rock band The Byrds is still felt today. In fact, there WAS no musical genre entitled “country rock” until the Byrds )and subsequent spinoffs like the Flying Burrito Brothers) even came into existence. Here, we have two very important albums from the late 1960s that have been undeservedly unreleased in almost any form, making them not only historically significant, but musically as well.
Gene Clark was one of the founding members of The Byrds, and this album Gene Clark Sings For You comes immediately after he left the band to start his own career. This intimate collection of songs has him with the sole support o Alex de Zoppo/p and an unknown rhythm section while he sings and plays acoustic guitar. He had not released any solo material yet such as Echoes or With the Gosdin Brothers, making this all the more important of a find. His voice has that vintage Dylanesque nasal tone, and is casual in the C&W lilt with casual clubbed moods on “Yesterday, Am I Right” and “On Her Own.” The mood is mostly what was then called “laid back” as on “Past Tense” and highlighted by an insightful “That’s Alright by Me.” A handful of other sessions called The Rose Garden Acetate mix some psychedelic rock on “Big City Girl” with Byrds-inspired guitars on “Doctor Doctor” while “On Tenth Avenue” is a faded blue jean beauty. He was so much older then…
One of the first bands to be inspired and influenced by The Byrds was the Southern California band The Rose Garden, which also brought in elements of The Mamas and Papas due to the vocal harmonies of Diana De Rose/ag, John Noreen/g and James Groshong/g along with William Fleming/b and Bruce Bowdin/dr. Clark had imput with this band as well, contributing material such as “Till Today,” and “Long Time” which includes an orthological bass lick in the process. The harmonies work well with pieces like their hit “Next Plane to London” while Roger McGuinn-tone Rickenbacker guitars are prevalent on “I’m Only Second” and “February Sunshine.” The team also reflects the times with an obligatory Bob Dylan piece, well brought out on “She Belongs to Me” and Neil Young’s obscure “Down to the Wire” is a hip rocker. A concert tape is included in the extra material which includes a rich tribute to their idols on a rousing “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star.” Impressive and more than a historical marker.
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