VA – Safe In My Garden (American Pop In The Shadows 1967-1972) (Vinyl)

Bob Stanley curates Safe In My Garden, a companion to the acclaimed State Of The Union compilation on Ace. This collection dives into the harmony-rich, soft rock and sunshine pop of late-1960s America — music shaped by folk and surf roots, lush orchestration, and tender vocal blends in the style of The Beach Boys or The Mamas and the Papas.

Beneath the polished melodies lie darker themes. Against the backdrop of Vietnam and social upheaval, these songs of escape, longing, and fragile optimism captured a generation caught between hope and fear.

Tracks range from dreamlike reveries such as Nancy Priddy’s ‘Christina’s World’ and Tommy James & The Shondells’ ‘She’, to melancholic laments like The New Colony Six’s ‘Prairie Grey’ and The Eighth Day’s ‘How Can I Stop Loving You’. There are visions of renewal and better futures in Smokey and His Sister’s ‘Creators Of Rain’, Chad & Jeremy’s ‘The Ark’, and Best of Friends’ ‘Summer Sound’.

Safe In My Garden tells the story of young musicians across America crafting songs of beauty and anxiety while keeping their fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Vinyl 2LP

Tracklist:
    The Sundowners–    Always You    2:58
    Mark Eric–    Move With The Dawn    2:43
    Tommy James & The Shondells–    She    2:10
    The Groop–    A Famous Myth    2:24
    Brewer & Shipley–    Dreamin' In The Shade (Down In L.A.)    2:11
    Tee & Cara–    I Don't Think I Know Her    2:46
    Harpers Bizarre–    Knock On Wood    2:09
    The Cyrkle–    The Visit (She Was Here)    2:18
    Fargo–    I See It Now    2:25
    Best Of Friends–    Summer Sound    2:50
    The Critters–    A Moment Of Being With You    2:44
    The Millennium–    Blight    2:52
    Gary Lewis & The Playboys–    Jill    2:18
    Roger Nichols & The Small Circle Of Friends–    I Can See Only You    2:52
    The New Wave–    Little Dreams    2:24
    The Free Design–    My Brother Woody    2:32
    Nancy Priddy–    Christina's World    2:42
    Chad Stuart & Jeremy Clyde–    The Ark    4:52
    Smokey & His Sister–    Creators Of Rain    2:42
    The Eighth Day–    How Can I Stop Loving You    2:46
    Love Generation–    Love Is A Rainy Sunday    2:40
    The Sunshine Company–    Springtime Meadows    4:27
    Thomas & Richard Frost–    The Word Is Love    2:42
    New Colony Six–    Prairie Grey    2:43