Gene Clark S/D, C/D

Still haven't gotten round to checking out the stuff under Clark's name, but believe me it's on my list.

No Other - Gene Clark

He's definitely C, despite this album. I like 'White Light'.

The _Echoes_ comp is worth it alone for the bonus tracks, but something has always bugged me about the stereo mix of the _Gosdin Brothers_ album (as presented on _Echoes_) vs. the original mono mix.

Haven't seen _Two Sides to Every Story_ mentioned yet -- it's from '77 and his most C&W-ish album.

There's an excellent one-CD Clark comp called _American Dreamer_ on the Raven label, and the 2CD _Flying High_ comp on A&M UK.

It may sound obvious, but don't forget his Byrds stuff. The best of his songs with them ('Here without you', 'Set you free this time', 'I knew I'd want you' etc) are as great as anything he did solo. So definitely search the first few Byrds albums.

I bought No Other yesterday, largely based on recent talk here (other threads, not this one). In the last couple years my Byrds fanaticism has grown and grown - slowly but surely buying every album and every offshoot. This was my first Clark solo album. Now that I've heard it, though, I think I should have gone with his earlier stuff first. I've only listened to No Other a couple times so far and haven't made any final decision, but first impression is that it's not as good as I was expecting...

No Other isn't the best place to start with solo Gene.
Try With the Gosdin Brothers first. Maybe check out the first Dillard and Clark record. I really love White Light, too. I heard all of that stuff before No Other and love all of it. I listen to all of them more than No Other, also.

"Try With the Gosdin Brothers first. Maybe check out the first Dillard and Clark record. I really love White Light, too."

So... everything except "No Other." Okay!

There were two later LPs - one with Carla Olsen? any love? also, there was a comp. on Edsel called Roadmasters which had a great version of One in a Hundred - all demos pre- White Light, I think

I think it was just Roadmaster. Some great stuff on that but a mixed bag of sources, some from the reunited Byrds days I think. Some of my favorite Clark songs on that.

No Other's my ultimate fave. but i get more of a fleetwood mac/dennis wilson feeling from it than byrds.

"but i get more of a fleetwood mac/dennis wilson feeling from it than byrds."

Yes! And I just got Pacific Ocean Blue last week so I surprised to find I was on some kind of roll. Like POB this album has moments of brilliance but also veers into a, dare I say MOR? territory. (based on about three listens.)

the earlier albums might be more your speed right now. they have more country-rock, country folk (white light), bluegrass (dillard & clark) or even a Revolver (gosdin bros) vibe to them.

<<Elevator Operator>>

isn't that Gosdin Bros thing on the Echoes CD?

Yes, but Sundazed reissued it this year in it's original form and title plus bonus trax.

the genius in NO OTHER is in the coked-out excess of it all, those clark fans in love with the rootsy, folk-rock thing don't really get it usually. i find WHITE LIGHT, his most dylanesque and stripped down affair to be a relative letdown. i really hope the ton of unreleased stuff from the first 7-8 years of his solo career gets released some day, the dude had tons of aborted sessions during that time period.

8080

is that what the kids say these days? or is blood diamonds?

how do I get a copy of roadmaster these days?

seems to be relatively available according to Musicstack

The majority of Roadmaster is pretty great. It sounds damn Byrds-y with the chimy guitars and the lowkey, harmony vocals. Gene's attempt that he could do it without the rest of them? Regardless, some real moments here.

Many Byrds play on various Roadmaster tracks.

Just picked up Silverado 75 the other week, nice live set.

Gene Clark Disco

That's awesome.

nice tune, the mch stuff is always good for a lol

i'm listening to 'white light' right now. such a lovely, earthy record. it's actually the only record of his that i own. time to delve deeper.

next i'd go for the Dillard & Clark LP "The Fantastic Expedition." or the "with the Gosdin Brothers" LP.
i love gene.

I love all his stuff, though White Light is the one I've listened to least.

I know 'No Other' so well that, for example, I instantly know where a comment like this relates to:

This record is the only record I love which has those wah-wuh-wuh-wah-wuh-wuh-danddangdangdangdangdangdangdang guitars on it.

Great guitar work by Jesse Ed Davis - the best wah-wuh-wuh-wah-wuh-wuh-danddangdangdangdangdangdangdang in the business, bar none.

Roadmaster is great too. Very similar to White Light.

Can anyone shed a little light on exactly how the reissue of with the Gosdin Brothers differs from Echoes? Are the bonus tracks different? And how different are the recordings themselves? (More importantly, which version is better?)

i always just listen to with the Gosdin Brothers coz echoes is the first song

As I understand it the album "Echoes" and the album "with the Gosdin Brothers" are the same songs, but mixed differently and/or with a slightly different running order... just not sure why or which version is superior.

echoes is just a reissue of the gosdin bros with some bonus pre-mr tambourine tracks thrown on and they remixed some (all?) of the songs

oh, i guess i missed your point, i'm not familiar with any newish gosdin bros re-issue

Actually, the CD release I have is called "Echoes" and didn't have the bonus tracks, while the later CD that was retitled "& The Gosdin Brothers" featured the tracks Only Colombe and the French Girl, which were previously only on some 2 CD compilation that was around for a while.

The album was also reissued in the US in the early 70s, omitting "Elevator Operator", and with re-recorded backing tracks designed to "soften" the sound, under the title Early LA Sessions.

A subsequent reissue, on CD in 1991, was also titled Echoes, and also remixed (though closer to the sound of the original album - the most significant change was the removal of vocal double-tracking), with an altered running order, as well as the original European bonus tracks, a demo outtake, and miscellaneous Clark-penned songs from early Byrds recordings.

The 2007 reissue on Sundazed restored the original album mix and track order, and uncovered a number of alternate takes from the album sessions (though no new songs were discovered).

Actually, a lot of that info seems wrong. There are (for all practical purposes), three versions of the first Gene Clark solo album on CD. They are:

GENE CLARK WITH THE GOSDIN BROTHERS (on Edsel UK), which is the same as the original album and has the following tracks (in their original mixes):
Echoes
Think I'm Gonna Feel Better
Tried So Hard
Is Yours Is Mine
Keep On Pushin'
I Found You
So Say You Lost Your Baby
Elevator Operator
The Same One
Couldn't Believe Her
Needing Someone

This was followed by (in terms of chronological release) a CD that contained the entire "Gene Clark With The Gosdin Brothers" album (partially remixed!) added some important Gene Clark compositions from the Byrds, and a few bonus tracks never before released. It was called:

ECHOES (released by Legacy UK) and it contained:
Boston (by The Byrds)
For Me Again (by The Byrds)
I Knew I'd Want You (remix) (by The Byrds)
Here Without You (by The Byrds)
Set You Free This Time (by The Byrds)
If You're Gone (remix) (by The Byrds)
Is Yours Is Mine (remix)
So You Say You Lost Your Baby (remix)
Tried So Hard (remix)
Needing Someone
Echoes
The Same One (remix)
Couldn't Believe Her (remix)
Keep On Pushin' (remix)
I Found You
Elevator Operator (remix)
Think I'm Gonna Feel Better (remix)
The French Girl
Only Colombe
So You Say You Lost Your Baby (acoustic demo)

That's right - it remixes eight of the songs - some of these remixes are drastic. They tend to improve clarity while removing some of the cool original ambience. This was followed by:

GENE CLARK WITH THE GOSDIN BROTHERS (on Sundazed US), which contained:
Echoes
Think I'm Gonna Feel Better
Tried So Hard
Is Yours Is Mine
Keep On Pushin'
I Found You
So You Say You Lost Your Baby
Elevator Operator
The Same One
Couldn't Believe Her
Needing Someone
Tried So Hard (alternate version)
Elevator Operator (alternate version)
Only Colombe (mono version)
The French Girl (mono version)
So You Say You Lost Your Baby (acoustic demo)
Is Yours Is Mine (acoustic demo)

SO . . . the first CD is entirely contained on the last (Sundazed) one. But "Echoes" (leaving aside the Byrds tracks) has a lot of exclusive stuff - six different mixes PLUS radically different versions of "The French Girl" and "Only Colombe." The biggest difference in these (on the Sundazed version) are the startling backing vocals by The Ballroom - Curt Boettcher's pre-Sagittarius / The Millennium band. It adds a very different dimension to the songs. I prefer the versions without them, but they're both really cool.

Which version to get? Well, you definitely need the Sundazed one. But "Echoes" is worth getting too, for the alternate mixes and backing vocal-less bonus tracks. (And I think a couple of those Byrds "remix" versions are exclusive.) Contrary to what the normally on top of it Dan Selzer claims, there is no version of "Echoes" without bonus tracks - I think he has it backwards.

since I threw out all my CD sleeves and can't find the physical CD, I'll have to assume that what I had was the first one mentioned, though it wasn't an import, notice the various versions allmusic lists:

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:jbfyxqu5ldhe

I definitely got the 95 version, because I was still in college, and I don't remember it being on Edsel, I think it was credited to Columbia. Beyond that, I still SWEAR TO GOD that the cover said "Echoes" on it, but I have no proof. On top of that, when I ripped the CD, it credited the album as "Echoes", and contained just the original 11 songs. Maybe it wasn't in CDDB when I ripped it and still thinking it was called Echoes because that was the first song, I just named it that!

I'm definitely not talking about the compilation Echoes, with the green cover and the remixed album and the Byrds stuff.

Ok, I seriously need to hear these versions of the Boetcher-poriduced tracks with the Ballroom vocals.

deedeedee - thanks. eMusic had Echoes so I bought that one. I'll keep my eyes out for the Sundazed version too.

Dan - it may have been on Columbia, as they did issue this CD (identical in all important ways to the Edsel one), but they deleted it rather quickly and the Edsel one did come out first, which is why I credited it to Edsel. But it still wasn't "Echoes!" (Or if it was, it would have been a bootleg.)

for sure. just pointing out that gene made a ton of money when he was in the byrds.

so Tom Petty killed Gene Clark? what a jerk

roy orbison joins a band with tom petty, roy dies. tom petty covers a gene clark song, gene dies. suspicious...

someone get angela lansbury on the case

angela lansbury wouldn't take that case in a million years.

Breakdown, She Wrote

Tonight on A Current Affair...Did rock and roll legend Tom Petty send Gene Clark and Roy Orbison Into the Great Wide Open? Don't Do Me Like That, Tom!

"I felt a whole lot better when he was gone," Petty confessed.

The Heartbreakers back up Johnny Cash...later Johnny Cash dies. Film at 11!

"I felt a whole lot better when he was gone," Petty confessed.

― tylerw, Monday, December 16, 2013 4:47 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

A+

Strength of Strings is the best song ever, seriously.

Some Misunderstanding is his grand achievement.

only recently discovered the David Hemmings 1967 album "David Hemmings Happens" which features various Byrds and this lovely Gene Clark song (which sounds v Lee Hazlewood to me!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBZmYvJf7M0

Why Not Your Baby is such a devastatingly beautiful song; so melancholy, despite the chuckle-headed banjo groove running through it. Gene is at his best when he takes a simple sentiment and makes it profound & otherworldly imo. see also: I Knew I'd Want You, One in a Hundred, True One etc. etc.

Why Not Your Baby is such a devastatingly beautiful song; so melancholy, despite the chuckle-headed banjo groove running through it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu4D5MaS3Cs&sns=em

Has anyone seen this documentary about him? Been wondering whether I should track it down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSrwsPV1G1I

Posted on The Byrds POX:

Just listened to this very-well-recorded live set: Gene Clark, Michael Clarke, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, Blondie Chaplin, and (not listed, but mentioned by Clark) John York, live in Evansville, Indiana, 1985. This was one of those "tribute" (or actually "reunion" was the billing for this, it sez here), tours that Clark did 'til McGuinn & Hillman made him cease and desist, I think I read elsewhere (on another site with such tapes: a fairly well-documented era.) But, though it does go in sev. directions---Danko sings a cool "Honest I Do," we also get good "The Shape I'm In" and "The Rumour": even some 80s-appropriate chrome 'n' coke, like Chaplin singing "Shake Your Ass," and his suave, hearty turn from Beach Boys tours, "Sail On Sailor," plus some post-Byrds Clark songs that go on too long---it also works as a fairly euphoric, certainly energized Byrds tributes, with real good harmonies, emulating-not-imitating the Bryds. Also another toot of the coke for a 9: 24 "Eight Miles High" which doesn't much miss McGuinn (more speedy than jazzy, but I think it works) Finale: luvly "Turn Turn Turn." Dang if only The Byrds could have kept Gene. Here's the tracks & notes:
http://bigozine2.com/roio/?p=1628

― dow, Tuesday, February 24, 2015 12:41 AM (4 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

And the xpost "other site with such tapes" is bbchron, which has more from this tour, also McGuinn & Clark duo shows etc, but what you'll see at the top of this page is The Gene Clark Fan Club Box, disc/zips 1-7. I haven't checked 'em. Have listened to several of bbchron's Byrds posts, which are good (good-enough sound, music as good as Byrds in various quartets,subsets were on particular occasions)(also have Byrds with Flying Burrito Brothers, but missing most of the participants I'd prefer, so haven't listened to that yet either). Here's Gene:
http://bbchron.blogspot.com/search?q=Gene+Clark

that's a wonderful cover of Why Not Your Baby. thanks for posting, Native!

very curious about that documentary. meant to be insightful, despite being quite speculative in a lot of ways.

i have to say, that velvet crush cover has very little or none of the lyricism of the original :(

and i love the banjo on the original! banjo + string arrangement = beautiful!

also, the harmonies!

don't get me wrong: i love the banjo too! i just find it remarkable that the song manages to be so sad with such a sprightly banjo line. a lot of it comes down to Gene's lyricism, as you say.

like a lot of great pop music it's in large part the mix of sad subject matter and uptempo major chords that makes it resonate strongly

I came to "Why Not Your Baby" thru the VC cover – amateurist and I seem to be having disagreements of late but I think it's damn lyrical (the Greg Leisz pedal steel solo is unreal). Also, I think it's pretty faithful all things considered.

you don't have the interloping tones of light & dark on the VC version, but it's affecting in its own way.

sometimes i think Gene might be my very favourite singer.

this is on byrd parts vol. 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y1uU5XEzY0

sometimes i think that everything this dude touched turned to gold, and then i remember stuff like "firebyrd" (which i don't hate as much as /some/ folks, but...)

also there are usually one or two duds on his albums, more often than not it's an uptempo song, like the title track on "roadmaster"

also around 2:07 in this tune, doesn't it sound like there's some kind of "telegraph" effect a la "wichita lineman" in the string arrangement? i love it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TQ6PYS2Q0I

love that song so much. those three pre-dillard & clark tracks from a scuppered second solo album (early 68, i think) on the flying high comp are right up there for me as well.

this one also in my head today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irVDrolM8JQ

for some reason i like the line "a mansion filled with social life..."

To documentary Q's above: If you're already posting here, it probably offers enough to be a worthwhile watch, but not terribly well-made or worth spending money on, IMO

Nobody checked those Gene boxes I linked upthread? That's ok, neither did I

Speaking of his work w Carla Olson (orig posted on Cruzados, Lone Justice etc thread:

THE TEXTONES’ FIRST TWO ALBUMS
— MIDNIGHT MISSION AND CEDAR CREEK —
TO BE REISSUED IN EXPANDED EDITIONS
BY OMNIVORE RECORDINGS ON MAY 26
Carla Olson’s ’80s band combined punk, power pop and Texas roots.
Albums feature guest appearances by Gene Clark, Ry Cooder,
Ian McLagan, and Howie Epstein,
plus co-write with former Textones member Kathy Valentine.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Taking the early ’80s L.A. club scene by storm, the Textones were respected by those in the know for both their song craft and musicianship, as well as for their groundbreaking hybrid of new wave and what would one day become known as Americana. On May 26, 2015, Omnivore Recordings will reissue expanded editions of the band’s first two albums, Midnight Mission and Cedar Creek.
The Textones released an EP in the U.K. and a single in the U.S. But it was after singer/guitarist Carla Olson brought in guitarist George Callins, multi-instrumentalist Tom Junior Morgan, bassist Joe Read, and former Dwight Twilley Band member Phil Seymour on drums to the lineup that the magic truly happened.
Signing to Danny Goldberg’s Gold Mountain label, the Textones’ debut album, Midnight Mission, encompassed everything they’d done, and took it a step further. Produced by Barry Goldberg and Brad Gilderman, and featuring contributions from Gene Clark, Ry Cooder, and Don Henley, Midnight Mission was a mix of rock, blues, and country that captured the band’s live energy. After Olson appeared in Bob Dylan’s “Sweeheart Like You” video, he offered up an unreleased song, “Clean Cut Kid,” which blended perfectly with the band’s originals.
This reissue features five bonus tracks — three songs recorded for the film Sylvester, as well as a two previously unissued live cuts from their performance on Rock of the 80’s, recorded in 1984 at the Palace in Hollywood.
Robert Hilburn wrote in the Los Angeles Times: “ Olson, a lanky singer and songwriter moves about the stage with the sensual confidence of Tom Petty ... Midnight Mission is a refreshing blend of American rock purity and clear eyes commentary ...”
Echoed Mikal Gilmore in the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner: “ A roaring and thoughtful delight. Workingman populism and Rolling Stones-style rave-ups ... Like Bruce Springsteen, Olson took an unsparing look at the dissolution of the American Dream and newly resolved. Listening to her, so did I.”

It would be three years before the Textones followed up their acclaimed debut, Midnight Mission. But, it was well worth the wait.
Cedar Creek appeared in 1987 on a new label, Enigma Records, and Carla Olson, George Callins, Joe Read, and Tom Junior Morgan were joined by new drummer Rick Hemmert.
Produced this time by Michael Stone and the band, Cedar Creek features nine originals, including a co-write with original Textone (and Go-Go’s member) Kathy Valentine, who left the group in 1981 to find fame with the Go-Go’s. And, much like its predecessor, legendary contributors like future Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Famers Ian McLagan and Howie Epstein make appearances.
John Fogerty said of the song “No Love in You” (three versions of which are included amongst the two reissues): “ Not only is ‘No Love in You’ my favorite song of 1984 but I always look forward to driving somewhere so I can listen to it four or five times.”
In addition to the original album the oft-bootlegged 1987 performance from the Catalyst in Santa Cruz gets an official release. The blistering eight-track set features songs from both of the band’s albums. According to Olson in the new liner notes, “I don’t wag my tail much about this, but the Catalyst show is one of the best examples of how well I can sing when it all works. It’s some of the best singing I’ve ever done.”
Olson is excited to have this music out there once again: “ As the sticker on the original release of Cedar Creek announced, ‘Rock With Roots, the great Rolling Stones album the Stones never recorded.’ That kind of high praise was unexpected, especially in light of the similar response Midnight Mission received and its middling commercial success. It further stated, ‘Take a pinch of Austin, Texas, a dash of L.A., mix in commanding vocals and crackling guitars and you've got the perfect recipe for a classic album.’ We were ahead of our time or just didn’t get the breaks needed? An artist never knows. What I do know is that when the Textones played together we created a musical fabric never far from our many influences and diverse backgrounds and that the connection we felt between us was one of the joy of entertaining and the hopefulness of our music. We are glad the music is being made available again especially with the live set that we've added to Cedar Creek. We were one hell of a rock ’n’ roll band.”
Midnight Mission track listing:
1. Standing in the Line
2. Hands of the Working Man
3. No Love in You
4. Running
5. Number One Is to Survive
6. Midnight Mission
7. Upset Me
8. Luck Don’t Last Forever
9. Clean Cut Kid
10. See the Light
Bonus Tracks
11. It’s Okay
12. Just a Matter of Time
13. Number One Is to Survive (Alternate Version)
14. Running(Live)
15. No Love in You (Live)
Cedar Creek track listing:
1. Not Afraid
2. Every Angel in Heaven
3. Another Soul Searcher
4. One Love
5. Austin
6. Gotta Get Back Home
7. You Can Run
8. Cedar Creek
9. We Can Laugh About It
Bonus Live Set Recored at the Catalyst, Santa Cruz, Ca, 11/20/1987:
10. Gotta Get Back Home
11. Not Afraid
12. No Love in You
13. You Can Run
14. Austin
15. Upset Me
16. Every Angel in Heaven
17. Standing in the Line

― dow, Wednesday, April 22, 2015 6:37 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Not quite the right thread, but what is? (Can't put everything on Rolling Reissues.)

― dow, Wednesday, April 22, 2015 6:38 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It fits here, but I bet most ILMers know of Carla Olson from her duet album with Gene Clark.

In other news, it turns out The Reivers, a rootsy 80s band that fits this thread to a T, has gotten back together and released a new record a year or two back.

― kornrulez6969, Wednesday, April 22, 2015 8:35 PM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

https://soundcloud.com/sierra-records-629023713

new "lost sessions" set covering 1964-82

And there is no pain or fear right here tonight
With tomorrow's dawn I will carry on what I've set aside
It's not a matter of my faith or of my pride
It just seems so insane to strike out in the rain
When it's so easy to remain right here tonight

anybody get that "lost sessions" thing? haven't pulled the trigger yet myself.

Just hearing about Lost Sessions now. I got the White Light demos record which came out a couple years back and it is fantastic.

yeah love those demos

Hadn't heard about this: https://www.allmusic.com/album/gene-clark-sings-for-you-mw0003172175

whoa! thank you for sharing that.

Yes very cool. Thanks

What the hell?!

I see Omnivore also did an exhaustive reissue of the Rose Garden album: https://www.allmusic.com/album/trip-through-the-garden-a-rose-garden-collection-mw0003175126

with no curfews left to hold her
and no walls to shield her pain
finding out that facts were older
and that life forms are insane

Yeah, one of my favorite Gene lines (and songs).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR7H9PASFQM

I referred to this one in passing, on my Nashvlle Scene ballot re '08: (Clark's Silverado Live... is pretty decent West Coast country rock etc, pretty spare musically, tho couple of songs have some kind of purple rants in their baggy pants)(also a couple of co-writes with founding Flying Burrito/Eagle Bernie Leadon, from when the Eagles were better).
2018 ballot let notebook scribbles stand:
girlfriend fleeing a guy “knows next time he’ll do what
he’s said he will”,
“sometimes I see her face”: for series of sessions
just now released
as Gene Clark Sings For You, he hired good musos,
but yeesh intensely broody verbose sub-D ritualistic “folk”
/folk-rock. No a few might work in another context,
one w out so much autodepresso drone of self-absorption and terrible lines
(people lookin for a place called Somewhere, fake tributes to a
strong woman when he’s really just into his own depression-
rejection etc.) But “Yesterday Am I Right” with some lyric edits
and maybe a few others toward the end incl. levels of proficiency going to
waste and kinda making the bad stuff worse by carrying it
along pushing in some cases

I find Clark's lyrics so vague and hard to parse that they wouldn't be the criterion I'd use to reject one of his songs. I thought Sings For You was exceptionally strong for a left-over set of demoes.

I mean it was genuinely good, and EXCEPTIONALLY good for a bunch of leftovers.

lyrics of “strength of strings” are bizarre and awesome

And allude to Dylan