Customer Reviews

A Gift from a Flower to a Garden

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4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

I can't say enough good things about this album. Preliminary warning: if you're not tuned into Donovan's world, philosophy, and mindset, this album will probably seem uninteresting, unexciting, and childish. But if you're in the mood and you *are* tuned into Donovan's cozy world of nature, friends, gypsies, hoboes, babies, love, and in general an appreciation for the small things in life, it's absolutely outstanding. The way I got tuned into this music was from a songbook of Donovan songs: after reading the lyrics and actually playing the songs myself, I developed a profound appreciation of every single song on this album. In my days of hitchhiking and riding busses into natural coastal areas, these songs would run around my head and in time I learned to play every single song here on guitar. Every single song here has some subtle but very appealing hook if you listen carefully: a cool jazzy bass intro, a beautiful acoustic guitar riff, lyrics from Shakespeare, poetic imagery of the underworld, contrary motion in the lines of a piano riff, a call to environmentalism, analogy of children with flowers, the charm of old friends far away, human qualities in starfish, rock 'n' roll chords played quietly on organ in contrary motion to a melody, an interesting flute embellishment, the contrast between the world of children and adults, several poems with beautiful beach imagery, poems of married love and the eccentric husband, the pain of faithfulness, glimpses into life on the lam, psychedelic contemplation of colors, images inside a forest, ad infinitum. Absolutely charming. Many of these songs have strong imagery of places in Europe. For example, while staying at an inn in Germany, the innkeeper told my sister that Donovan's lyrics about the "flower pot on a window sill" (in "Skip-A-Long Sam") were written about their inn. Similar imagery arises from lyrics about sheep, English & Flemish geographical names, magpies, etc. The only song I know that got radio play was "Wear Your Love Like Heaven." The rest reside in their own special world.

At 17 years old in 1967 I would lie in my room under my psychedelic crystal ornaments and the "Frodo Lives" slogans written on my wall to listen endlessly to Donovan. I dreamed one day of having children of my own to whom I could sing the gentle love songs of the second half of this album. Life passes and I lovingly protected this album and it's beautiful lyric sheets. The songs became the lulabys of my two darling daughters. Late nights with fretfull children... "the silver girl, the wild jewel's neice" and "the raggle taggle gypsy" would sweep them back into sleep. Now my beloved eldest is far away with her love, and for Christmass I am sending him this album ( now a CD) so that he may sing her the songs.... and perhaps someday to new little buds in the garden.

...and a shining example of how good music from the 1960s 'hippie' movement could be. Following on the heels of his hits 'Sunshine superman' and 'Mellow yellow', the two-record set 'A gift from a flower to a garden' gave Donovan the chance to spread out - the first album of the set (entitled 'Wear your love like heaven' in its individual release) presents Mr. Leitch with a full band, including some of his regular collaborators (Candy John Carr and Harold 'the very debonair' McNair) along with some fine UK studio musicians, including Jack Bruce of Cream, who plays bass on 'Someone singing'. The songs on this part of the album are all extremely hummable pop ditties with jazz and folk overtones (keyboardist Mike Carr does some beautiful work on vibraphone), and the lyrics give us a glimpse of Donovan at his 'hippie-dippie' (and that's NOT a derogatory term, trust me) best. He sings of love and the beauty of nature - and some of the songs sound like he's addressing them to children in his gentle, characteristic way. One tune - 'Under the greenwood tree' - is taken from Shakespeare; he ends the tune fading out with '...do the Willie the Shake...' 'Wear your love like heaven' is the only real hit from this double set, and it's a great, memorable song.

The second half of 'Gift' was also available separately, under the title 'For little ones' - which would seem to indicate an album of songs for children. While several of them would easily fit into that category - and the arrangements on this half, all acoustic, would make it more listenable for younger ears - the subject matter of some of the selections is a bit dark. I suppose I can admit here that MANY fairy tales are VERY dark, when viewed closely - so this is a minor point, and certainly not a complaint. Harold McNair is present on this half as well - his flute is perfectly integrated with Donovan's guitar lines, the mark of two musicians who know and respect each other deeply - along with string bass and percussion, all tastefully added. The arrangements are all pretty sparse, but beautifully so, with Donovan's acoustic guitar, occasional harmonica, and delicately picked banjo gently in the fore - and of course, there's Don's voice, an instantly recognizable instrument in itself, marvelously suited to his songs.

BGO Records has done a nice job with the re-mastering - they originally issued this in mono, unaware that it had ever been released anywhere in the world in stereo (it was only available in mono in the UK in its original release), then recalled their release, found a good stereo master, and re-issued it. The recording overall is very clear - the sound on Donovan's guitar is especially nice on the acoustic album, and the blending of the musicians on the more electric half is done very nicely indeed.

My only gripe is that the artwork that originally accompanied the acoustic half is represented here only in reduced images. The original set included an 8 X 10 page for each song on the second half, in different colours, on some very nice stock - not practical in a cd release, I know, but something in between the two presentations would have been nice. Ah well - another small complaint.

It's a grand thing that this recording is available again, and my thanks go to BGO for that. There's an American release of this set, available through Sony - and while the artwork mentioned above is reproduced more nicely there, the lyrics to the 'Wear your love like heaven' half are included as a single-page reproduction of the album art, and are so small that they're practically illegible. The deciding factor was that BGO had the integrity to withdraw their original release and reissue it in stereo -- it's a wonderful thing to see a company in the music business that cares enough to do that. It's too rare a thing. I had the opportunity to make a choice, and I chose the BGO edition.

Listening to this album, after all of these years, makes me think there's hope for us yet...

For Little Ones, a collection of very beautiful acoustic songs, evokes in me visions and feelings of a pastoral life in a Britain of times past, similar to the classical piece The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams. Perhaps one of those rare/obscure masterpieces. Still sounds as fresh and magical today as it did in 1967. I don't know why the two records were packaged together because for me they are nothing alike, and there is no reason to draw comparisons between them. There are no songs on Wear Your Love Like Heaven that are anything like those on For Little Ones. And nothing in any of Donovan's other work that is really like these songs. Donovan seems to have had a clear vision of what he was doing on For Little Ones and one could be forgiven for thinking all the songs were written in a short space of time. It was released as a single album in Australia. Every one a beautifully crafted song, of things simple and innocent - whelks and periwhinkles, crabs, tinkers, old men, starfish, banjos, lullabies, dreams. These are timeless songs and themes, and have nothing to do with flower power. They are the work of a very talented artist. And songs not for children as the title seems to imply, but for all ages.

Way back in the sixties, I was too broke to afford this boxed set...one of my friends had it and I loved to listen to these gorgeously wistful tunes. "Isle of Islay" always seemed like something close to perfection to me..."how sad the farm-lad, deep in play..." I remember hitch-hiking round Scotland and singing that song on top of a craggy cliff looking out over a small island - it wasn't Islay but there were plenty of gulls around - and looking back over the sweeping farmland behind me I saw a small wee figure crouched "deep in play" and his mother calling him in for supper...what can I say, the whole album and that song in particular is transcendant. Although I never owned the boxed set I always recalled the songs, and now it is great to have the CD package. As someone said, the songs are even better than I remember, although "Islay" never left my consciousness it has been wonderful to get re-aquainted with Mad John, the Tinker and the Crab, Epistle to Derroll, Starfish on the Toast and all the rest. Without doubt, Donovan's masterpiece, and one of the most soothing, satisfying and altogether lovely records ever made. By anybody. Just wish I had a cat to curl up and enjoy it with me (sadly my wife is allergic - to cats not to Donovan) but hey - even my teenage son admitted it was "cool". Its all that, and more. Just reading Donovan's liner notes is a heartwarming experience in itself. I can't recommend this album too strongly to anyone who remembers Donovan's stuff with any degree of affection; indeed it is charming enough to win over any first-time listener. A real treasure.

This is my favourite Donovan album. Actually it was originally a double album box set with beautiful individual colour pages with ink drawings and lyrics printed on each page. Ahh, I really miss vinyl sometimes. The music here is outstanding. The lyrics are lovely, so typical of this gentle poet. The first album contains upbeat pop songs and the second album has quiet, soft ballads. So many of these songs embrace the sea and and there is so much serenity here. If you need to get away fom insanity and want to feel truly peaceful inside, then don't miss this gift from a flower. Bless you, Donovan. I love you.

Been listening to this set since its inception, and remain a proponent that this is a unique work, perhaps the most representive embodiment of the "flower child" sentimentality, which has been regarded as passe. Not so. Don't know of any other that relieves stress, and evokes Nature (and its many metaphors to the ocean) with such effectiveness, especially the acoustic sets of the "For Little Ones" tracks. Excellent CD!

One of the finest works of the 60s, A Gift From A Flower To A Garden is the essence of flower-power and the peace-seeking 60s. This recording, originally released just after the summer of love (1967) as a double LP, proves that Donovan is one of the finest songwriters ever, and this is probably his biggest triumph. The first LP in the set, dedicated to children entering adulthood (the flowers), consists of brilliant songwriting and fine arrangements which produce goose-bumps for the listener, what with the interesting combinations of melodies, catchy beats and smile-inducing themes of child-like innocence and a simpler existence. The second LP, meant as a gift for the adult's newborns as they go through life (the "gift" from the flower to the garden), is a musical masterpiece of children's fairy-tale styled poetry with a Donovan-style flair. One can detect the very personal dedication with which the lyrics were written. The album, overall, defines the late 60s with a light-styled psychadelicness and strong sense of humanity. With Donovan's gentle, warm vocals, and fairy-tale poetic verse, you begin to believe you were somehow involved with the subjects or situations in the songs, sharing in the happier moments, and some of the sadder ones, bringing a tear to the eye as you are affected by their hardships portrayed with such strong emotion. There is nothing else like it and the 60s are meaningless without this CD. It was nice to hear it all again and it sounds as fresh as it did then. A must for all to own!

I believe myself to be the biggest Donovan fan that ever lived. My Donovan collection is very extensive and much honored. However, my collection amounts to nothing without A GIFT FROM A FLOWER TO A GARDEN. It is by far one of my most prized works of Donovan. It's happy, sad, upbeat, lowbeat, energizing, and mellowing. It's life on a compact disc. His voice can send me to heaven. His lyrics really make you think about things. Donovan is everything music used to be and is'nt anymore. His music is timeless whether he made it in 1966 or 1996. If you want to expirience true nirvana, Donovan is your man. The most beautiful songs of Donovan are contained on A GIFT FROM A FLOWER TO A GARDEN. "Wear Your Love Like Heaven" speaks for its self. "There Was A Time" is a work of art. "The Enchanted Gypsy" is truly enchantment at its best. "Isle of Islay", "The Mandolin Man And His Secret", "Widow With A Shawl ( A Portrait )", and "Epistle To Derroll" all have a mystical story to tell. This is Donovan at his best.

Other Donovan records I recommend are: Hurdy Gurdy Man, Mellow Yellow, Sunshine Superman, Donovan In Concert, HMS, Open Road, and, Cosmic Wheels.

The rule of thumb would be that if you remember that Donovan's last name was Leitch then you probably are a big enough fan to appreciate "Gift From a Flower to a Garden," which was the first two-LP box set to appear in the rock 'n' roll section rather than the classical at your local record store. Of course now this collection of flower power music appears on a single CD. Donovan was saddled with the responsibility of being Britain's answer to Bob Dylan, which was an unfair standard, but his music holds up, especially when you realize they are such opposites. Dylan is American folk music gone poetic in search of dark introspection while Donovan was optimistic psychedelic mysticism (Were the Beach Boys America's answer to the Beatles? Just wond'rin' aloud). "Gift From a Flower to a Garden" comes across like two different Donovan albums recorded at the same time. One is psychedelic of the electric guitar outer space variety and the other is a return to folk and blues played on an acoustic guitar. In terms of songwriter Donovan shows a lot more variety here than you find on his other albums, and the nice thing is that there is minimal overlap between this double-album and Donovan's Greatest Hits collection ("Wear Your Love Like Heaven"). The second half of the collection, with "Isle of Islay", "Widow with a Shawl", and "Lullaby of the Spring", is better than the first half (or at least more to my taste).