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.)

i've tried several times to get into his post-byrds stuff and i just can't. none of it is remotely bad, but it really seems like he was rewriting the same songs over and over and over, to somewhat dull effect. i even feel this with his byrds material. i guess i just can't think of another cult figure who has such a seeming limited range. sorry.

or maybe i just can't get into his voice?

I feel the same way, but I know enough people that love those albums that I keep trying.

although I love his songs with the Byrds. I'm just talking about the post-Byrds albums.

I feel the same way, but I know enough people that love those albums that I keep trying.

― Euler, Thursday, December 31, 2009 7:48 AM Bookmark

yeah, exactly. i must be missing something. maybe there's just a vibe i'm not feeling, as they say? stuff just kind of seems uninspired.

you guys!

No Other is so great

no other is going in the grave with me.

aw, sounds like you guys Tried So Hard to like gene

see, this is what I mean! I will try No Other again. I remember thinking: this could use a rocker to bring a little life to the proceedings (esp. b/c I got excited initially about this when reading a review, maybe in Mojo, that was like "this is Gene Clark's cocaine album"). Or some harmonies. What are the hooks to listen for to "get it"? Should I pay closer attention to the lyrics, or the arrangements, or...? Or is it just a vibe?

If you have to ask, you'll never know, Euler.

yeah, yeah, yeah...

the depth of sound in No Other is what drew me into it, the arrangements and sonic details are just really beautiful. there are some really idiosyncratic touches (wah-wah saxophone = wtf). From a Silver Phial is just gorgeous from start to finish with the layered, swelling keyboards and the proto-hippie mystic lyrics. its a BIG album, the sound is grandiose, moreso than on his other stuff.

plus damn what a voice, he could make reading the phonebook sound tragic

maybe start with the Gosdin Bros album? that's got harmonies & hooks up the wazoo

i'm a goth, so no other is one of my bibles. i would seriously consider getting a tattoo of the lyrics to the entire first side on my body.

wow, i had no idea No Other was a fave in the goth scene.

I really, really, really love the Godsin Bros record, White Light, and No Other unreservedly. Road Master is awesome too.

I never got the goth appeal either, the album itself has no goth trappings - so the This Mortal Coil cover's probably to blame, right?

ivo was a fan. therefore no other is goth. just kidding. though that is the first time i ever heard a song from that album. i'm eternally grateful to this mortal coil. turned me on to lots of cool stuff. it's only in recent years though that no other has become some sort of religious artifact to me. it hits me harder now than it ever did. you could call strength of strings proto-goth. i played it 20 times in a row one night. like a cure fan or something.

Ned and Dan Perry play No Other over and over?

no, like cure fans play cure records over and over. or smiths fans. in a corner. in the fetal position. with the lights out.

this mortal coil covered with tomorrow too. that was great. if you don't love with tomorrow then you might already be dead. i quote my wife maria on gene's version: "how could somebody make something so perfect?"

With Tomorrow is so gorgeous.

The last several seconds of "Lady of the North" are perfect, total children-of-the-sun-begin-to-wake vibe. The song itself is a classic album-closer, on par with Love's "You Set The Scene".

I really like "No Other," got turned on to it because I wanted to hear the original version of "Some Misunderstanding," covered here beautifully by the Soulsavers with Mark Lanegan on vox. They make it into a Pink Floyd song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmKuTlD9h2U

I love the idea of Mark Lanegan covering Gene Clark, but I have to admit, I think Mark is singing a bit out of his range on "Some Misunderstanding." I feel like it should've been taken down a little bit.

I love that Soulsavers record - totally underrated, actually - but I'm not crazy about that cover. The guitar solo's a bit rich.

lol there's some cold war goin' on b/w gene and mcguinn in this clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90ozkL3BKNY

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

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.

I've always been underwhelmed by Echoes myself. Wikipedia says that the remix removed the double-tracked vocals, but this morning I was listening to the original mix of The Gosdin Brothers and think that the remix may have wiped out the harmonies altogether.

Don't get me wrong: I love Gene's voice, and by the early 70s, he developed this great, naked sound that was often just his voice and a guitar. But The Gosdin Brothers was very much a late-Sixties country pop record -- baroque in a lot of ways. And by having lushly arranged Byrds-era tracks like "Here Without You" lead off the set, it leaves songs like the remixed versions of "Elevator Operator" and even "So You Say You Lost Your Baby" really sounding like something's missing.

^^^totally agree. the Echoes version is really weird

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMd0XyDE9js&feature=related

holy crap. amazing. thx for posting that, what a great he was

Gene Clark was like the pre-eminent proto cult underdog. Talented and doomed. Anyone heard '84's "Firebyrd?" Is it any good?

This is from Firebyrd, judge for yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X34myQMWuyY

I'm much more partial to the songs I've heard from his record with Carla Olsen, So Rebellious a Lover, which this is from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G68e61fCnaU

Should be noted, btw, that "Mr. Tambourine Man: The Story Of The Byrds' Gene Clark" by John Einarson is a really, really good book on Gene. Lots of insight into his music and his life.

BTW, whatever became of Carla Olsen after that album? We're they planning to collaborate again?

been listening to this guy and only this guy for a week

that's not totally true, but in a way it really is

Just finished Mr. Tambourine man. Great book. Tragic story.

Really excited to learn that he recorded harmony vocals on Going Back and co-wrote Get To You!

What is the book like? Is Gene Clark a likable guy?

Depends on how messed up he is. Everybody said that he was the sweetest, nicest most wonderful person ever, unless he got drunk, which was often, in which case he was the most terrible person ever. But tragic in that most people, even the bridges he burnt, would still say "he was sweet and naive and hollywood chewed him up". Maybe if he was still alive and a bastard those people wouldn't be saying nice things about him.

he died too young but i don't like the tragic and doomed talk. he was an alcoholic which is sad (is it true that it was really tom petty who killed him? cuz he made so much off of the petty cover that he started drinking up a storm) but he made way more great music over a fairly long career than most people will ever make in a long lifetime. i mean its not like people don't still love his songs and music. (hell one gene song is better than most career outputs for regular humans)

i mean don't get me wrong someone drinking themselves to death IS sorta "tragic", i guess. more sad than anything.

But I think there were tragic elements before he even started seriously drinking. His fear of flight was genuine. It was confirmed that as a teenager he witnessed a DC-10 plane crash. He was clearly manic-depressive. He had to put up with Roger McGuinn AND David Crosby, probably two of the biggest assholes to ever grace rock-n-roll.

The Tom Petty story seems true. According to Gene's long-time on and off girlfriend/drug buddy Terri Messina, had he gotten that windfall a year before when they were both together and sober, he could've invested it in real estate. She was really hung up with real estate. But instead he had just fallen off the wagon and it triggered a brutal spiral.

yeah, this is true about being surrounded by a-holes. that is certainly regrettable. people with way less talent bossing you around. reminds me of the whole tortured big brother/little brother stills/young relationship. neil taking shit from one of the most odious men on the planet. stockholm syndrome. or something.

and yeah i get you he had more problems than just booze. i'm just suspicious of the angel/genius/too good for this world/etc mythology stuff. real life is so often more mundane and easy to explain. the MUSIC though. that is majik and bigger than people. mythologize that all you want in my opinion. music is more than us.

i will keep an eye out for that book! i would like to know more.

(speaking of which got a couple of books on bud powell and i want to know more but i know how sad the whole thing is...)

ha, is mcguinn known to be a big asshole? i actually haven't read a good byrds bio (is there a good byrds bio?). [& yeah, bud powell's life is one bummer after the next.]

mcguinn a seriously prickly pear.

Just look at the war of attrition that was being a member of the Byrds!

Mr. Tambourine Man is a pretty good book and obviously has a lot of good stories about the Byrds. It felt shockingly fair and honest. Everybody gets there say, including Crosby and McGuinn, but that doesn't mean they're not disparaged. In fact, to some degree both of them acknowledge their own wrongdoings. Crosby justifies it though, "I was a difficult person to everybody".

But I can't help but mythologize Gene. His music rises so far above and beyond almost everyone else in my book it's unbelievable. And you hear these people talking "the guy never read a book", "he wrote a hundred songs a week". He'd be on stage performing, he'd go backstage for 5 minutes and be writing a new song, then come back on stage to finish his set. To me, clearly a level of genius that's pretty rare. He needed a good manager or better friends.

His songs on Turn Turn Turn have been killing me lately.

yeah but that's what i mean. that's life. you can play the "what if" or "in a perfect world.." game but then he wouldn't have been...him. agreed that everyone can take different paths and get different results, but just the fact that he made what he made, man, what more could you ask from a person or an artist or a life. i certainly wish that people who suffered had suffered less, but...eh, i don't know. but, yes, genius. i agree. and some of his music is as close as i get to church or religion in my life. it IS church and religion to me. and just as good as jeebus or buddha or any of those other cats.

x-post

i'm one of those people who worships art as something bigger than the person who makes it. the result is the cosmic and supernatural to me. not the person making it. they are merely vessels. i never actually think about these things. it's natural for me. please excuse my incoherence.

Revisited No Other on a rainy trip to Seattle recently. I used to have reservations about the production but this time the whole thing slayed me, especially side one.

From a Silver Phial may be my favorite song of all time.

gene really goes bonkers with the alliteration on that one. great song.

Sorry to break the tone this thread is taking, but I have to say Scott's portrait of Tom Petty killing Gene Clark is striking me as some serious R'n'R Oedipal Shit.

According to the official Gene bio and all his friends it's pretty much the case.

let's not drag tom petty's name through the mud here, people! i mean, it was a cool thing for him to do, he didn't know it'd be the nail in gene's coffin!

let's not drag tom petty's name through the mud here, people!
new board decrip?

yeah there's some serious misplaced judgment there in blaming Tom for covering a guy's song, which ended up getting him a bunch of money, which he decided to use to kill himself with drink. It's not like Tom Petty tied him up and forced him to down endless bottles of gin at the barrel of a gun.

Nobody's actually blaming Tom Petty.

no, we might be on to something -- "feel a whole lot better when you're gonnnne -- after i kill you," petty sings on his cover.

lol

if that's not a confession, i don't know what is.

Tom was going to cover one McGuinn and Crosby's classics, like Don't Make Waves, but they were like "c'mon Tom, why don't you do this shitty Gene Clark song, it'll make him tons of money and he'll spend it on cocaine and heroin, which he'll pile up on the backside of this glove compartment and snort from, one, then the other, and back again (true story) then he'll die and we can take all the credit for The Byrds"

and tom was like "I'm in. Let's do this."

i also heard tom cut a version of "time between" but chris hillman begged him not to release it, for fear of his life.

I knew I shouldn't have turned that tom petty documentary off after watching 11 hours of it

Crosby dissuaded Tom from covering "Triad", noting "I don't need the money, I'm making plenty with this lesbian-sperm gig I got goin"

i heard that tom was in joshua tree the same time gram parsons kicked it, too. coincidence?

Tom covered "Artificial Energy" once trying to get Roger, but only got Michael.

i like this ... there was a thread that talked about a horror movie with david crosby murdering people. maybe this can be the sequel, like where crosby is hunted by petty.

'stop draggin' my corpse around'

'Listen To Her Heart, Beating In My Hand'

everybody's been burned to death

'You Wreck Me--I Kill You'

Love this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrI4vSJOuFg

I always thought that Gram Parsons had produced by far the best post-Byrds output, by a fair margin even. Turns out it was this guy all along.

Totally.

It was made official awhile back. Gram Parsons v Gene Clark in an Ex-Byrd Roots Rock Smackdown!!!

Turns out it was this guy all along.

yes

Bit unfair that we've got GP books, films, box sets up the yin, and only a Teenage Fanclub song for Gene innit?

Also, Gene Clark died 20 years ago last Tuesday...

a career spanning gene clark box set would be ace. it doesn't exist does it?

i think of it in terms of Nick Drake vs. John Martyn (or even Jeff vs. Tim Buckley), in that the romantic young death and "What If?"ness of it resonates so much more with record buyers than the "put out a slew of great albums before slightly tapering off in quality" and died a bit on. how romantic is Gene's "slow death from alcoholism" vs. Parsons, nevermind that Gene made 4x the great records that he did? that all said, i'd love to hear a Gene boxset, but i'm just glad that ten years ago, all his albums were basically unavailable and at least now they are in print to varying degrees.

Some of the later ones aren't.

which one does gene parsons prefer?

also curious how Michael Clarke feels

Roadmaster is out of print AFAIK.

Also the version of 'One in a Hundred' on RMaster in the youtube above is far superior to the one on White Light. A little 12-string electric does wonders.

I've been listening to Roadmaster a bit this week--"She Don't Care About Time" and "Full Circle Song" are just fuckin... i dunno, perfect, i guess.

Oh yeah -- had that for years.

Roadmaster is out of print AFAIK.

Also the version of 'One in a Hundred' on RMaster in the youtube above is far superior to the one on White Light. A little 12-string electric does wonders.
--calstars

Well, 12-string and the Byrds singing ensemble vocals...

there's at least one, pretty good gene clark biog (by john einarson) out there

as mentioned on the reissues thread:

http://highmoonrecords.com/n-arthur-lee-love-the-byrds-gene-clark-reissues-label.php

From the guy behind Midnight Records.

After all these years I'm glad I got to see it come out," said Whittington, who was in contact with Lee up to his death in 2006. "Arthur does some great vocals on that album. I like playing this music so if it happens to (lead to) more gigs, I'd like to have more opportunities to say 'thank you, Arthur.'"

yeesh

http://clarkophile.blogspot.com/2011/06/interview-with-kai-clark-may-22-2011.html

Sundazed to reissue Dillard & Clark debut, White Light, and Roadmaster.

Fidelity aside, I'm actually not super-excited about this. I've got the D & C twofer and A & M UK has had White Light out in a budget edition w/bonus tracks for a few years now. Roadmaster will be a day one purchase though (never owned it).

oooh! I don't have any of his stuff on vinyl, this is good news.

Everybody said that he was the sweetest, nicest most wonderful person ever, unless he got drunk, which was often, in which case he was the most terrible person ever.

Pretty much describes every alcoholic I've ever been friends with, that should be

I have all 3 on CD and 2 on vinyl and I'm still excited about this. Having Roadmaster and The Fantastic Expedition be readily available is a good thing no matter what. Now whatever happend to that Two Sides to Every Story reissue that was supposedly happening?

^Good Question.
I will definitely Roadmaster and the Dillard and Clark.
Hey, here I am paying Gene a visit earlier this summer
https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/203413_663169422_7471081_q.jpg

lol

http://thumbp9-bf1.thumb.mail.yahoo.com/tn?sid=2325518375&mid=ALLTi2IAATWJTkcrJgv63WHQpi0&midoffset=1_26459&partid=6&f=1612&fid=Inbox&w=361&h=480&httperr=1

how did they fit him into that tiny grave

christ ,the 1st dillard/clark album is good. how did i overlook this so long?

Oh man - Gene Clark. I'm putting No Other right now.

Putting it -on-, that is.

We listened to the first Dillard & Clark yesterday driving through Alabama. I found a bunch of unlabeled blank cds and was surprised one of them was Dillard & Clark.

the bonus track, why not my baby, is probably my fave actually. it's gorgeous.

For some reason, the stray Dillard & Clark songs won't be on the upcoming Sundazed reissue, although I suspect they'll pop up on a single from them not before too long.

I had also forgotten that The Fantastic Expedition of... got the cd w/bonus tracks treatment from Water just three years ago.

first Dillard & Clark record is a real gem... "Out on The Side" ; "Train Leaves Here This Morning" ; "With Care From Someone."...

The last 14 seconds of The Radio Song...

Don't see much on the thread about the Gene Clark / Carla Olson disc "So Rebellious A Lover" but it's mighty fine. Well worth seeking out.

Listening to the fantastic expedition now.. 2nd record of the day feat. Bernie Leadon.

Gene Clark / Carla Olson disc "So Rebellious A Lover"

Carla Olson is certainly a unique vocalist.

Listening to the fantastic expedition now.. 2nd record of the day feat. Bernie Leadon.

― one dis leads to another (ian), Sunday, September 18, 2011 8:26 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

what was the 1st??

was "why not your baby" a single? if it was left in the can that was a big mistake. probably wouldn't have hit the charts--too countrified for 1969. but it's fantastic. the symphonic route is one that the band should have taken, i think, rather than the more trad 2nd album we ended up with.

Yes, "Why Not Your Baby" was a single b/w "Lyin' Down The Middle" in I think early '69.

amateurist--the Maxfield Parrish LP "It's A Cinch To Give Legs To Old Hard-Boiled Eggs"
Also feat. Chris Darrow, another of my heroes.

I saw that Clark/Olson record a couple weeks ago, the adult contemporary vibe of it put me off. I shoulda bought it. Probably still there.

OT but this video is lol - also kinda sad: /

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I6Q92TU5Nw

hillman seems oddly aggro there. be nice to the dutch host, chris!

Don't hold the cover against the Clark/Olson disc, it was 1987 after all.

Maybe this will reassure

http://youtu.be/j5ruo6h6AGk

embed fail but the link works.

kinda wish he did more with emmylou

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

His album with Carla Olson is so great. They were planning on doing more together, but then he had to die on us. "The Drifter" and "Gypsy Rider" are such a great start to the album. I could listen to those two on repeat forever.

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

one thing about g.c. -- i think he got better and better as a singer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Unw_SKH6VU

did this guy make a bad album? i don't think so.

firebyrd is pretty dire

so is the 1973 Byrds reunion album, although Clark's songs are the highlight.

what ever became of Carla Olson, and was she planning to record with GC again? Can't find much about her online.

I believe she produced a xmas album on the Evidence label back in the early 2000s.

the byrds reunion is crap, yes. firebyrd is dated and kind of thin but no way is it dire.

Two Sides To Every Story is rough going. And Carla Olson's vocals on So Rebellious A Lover are an um, acquired taste.

i think clark's songwriting genius kinda runs dry after two sides, the cheesy low-budget production of firebyrd isn't the biggest problem. i rate so rebellious a lover higher because his interpretive skills were still quite good, saves that record (and yes, carla not really a good match for him, that was his manager's wife - shades of the donna washburn/doug dillard debacle)

looks gooooood

GENE CLARK’S HERE TONIGHT: THE WHITE LIGHT DEMOS COMING FROM OMNIVORE RECORDINGS ON MARCH 26
http://omnivorerecordings.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Gene-Clark-Here-Tonight-Jewel-Box-with-disc.png
By 1970, weary and wary of the fame game in Los Angeles with the trappings of “the star-maker machinery” surrounding him at every turn, ex-Byrds songwriter and singer Gene Clark was looking for a refuge. On March 26, 2013, Omnivore Recordings will release Clark’s Here Tonight: The White Light Demos, a glimpse into the songwriting craft of Clark at the inception of the compositions that would become his first ’70s solo album, White Light, for A&M Records, released in August of 1971.

Of the tracks on this 12-song album, six (“White Light,” “For a Spanish Guitar,” “Where My Love Lies Asleep,” “The Virgin” “Because of You” and “With Tomorrow”) appeared in final form onWhite Light. Two (“Opening Day” and “Winter”) appeared in final form as bonus tracks on the 2002 A&M/Universal reissue of the album. One track (”Here Tonight”) is an alternate version of a song that appeared on the Flying Burrito Brothers compilation Honky Tonk Heroes. And three songs (“For No One,” “Please Mr. Freud” and “Jimmy Christ”) have never been issued previously in any form. Liner notes are by John Einarson, author of Mr. Tambourine Man: The Life and Legacy of Gene Clark (Backbeat Books, 2005). The collection is being reissued with the full cooperation of the estate of Gene Clark.

Greta Garbo owned No Other!

http://gretasrecords.tumblr.com/

ha! that is a fun blog...

never noticed Gene in drag on the back cover

That same pic of Gene is on the bonus poster too.

That Anders article is awesome.

was a big hit on my facebook wall.

Good idea!

I ran into Sid Griffin (of the Long Ryders, a huge GC fan) a few years ago and asked him if there was much left in the Gene Clark vaults. He said there were "maybe a couple of worthwhile songs" or some words to that effect, and that the barrel was essentially scraped clean. Since then there's been about four albums worth of pretty great stuff has either been released or announced as forthcoming. Which just goes to show, even the experts don't know a lot of the time.

No Other is the one album which can truly be described as Cosmic American Music.

Gene Clark was the unsung genius of American music and this masterpiece proves it.

No Other is one of my Desert Island albums, alongside
A Storm in Heaven (The Verve)
Spirit of Eden (Talk Talk)
Lazer Guided Melodies (Spiritualized)

Clearly you feel strongly about this as you've posted it on two threads.

Scratch that, three threads.

I'm a better musician. Serious musicians and composers are not commercial I trained at the top music school in the US.. I'm a CREATIVE person. I am a vocalist, composer, multi-instrumentalist. I taught myself how to write music but I had extensive training. I sing advanced music and write advanced music. I can write simple music too. I need donations since the commercial world does not fund serious composers or serious musicians. I need assistance. All serious musicians do.

The Rolling Stones. To me they are no more than just overrated jerks who write melodically dead emotionally dry music. The most overrated band I know of, actually. The Rolling Stones receive way too much praise and credit for everything from influence to the quality of their hooks. I'd give them a one at best. That said, there are a bunch of Stones songs that I do like (even a couple that I love) and I can easily say Beggar's Banquet is a really good album, but for the most part they really leave me cold. Sorry, this is just how I feel.

You know what Rolling Stones song I love? Feel a Whole Lot Better. Oh wait. That was by the Byrds.

Nobody did rock and roll better than the Stones. Name them... you can't do it guys because they are rock and roll. Yeah yeah, they're for shit now but back in the day, they wrote the fucking rules. More classic tracks than I could list here but if you don't believe me, dig out Beggars Banquet and put Streetfighting Man on repeat and don't turn it off until you think to yourself "Hello."

never even knew this group existed:
http://bigozine2.com/roio/?p=1531
This is an amazing one-off performance of Flyte - a short-lived group featuring Chris Hillman and Gene Clark of the Byrds. These guys opened for Emmylou Harris in December 1982 and performed two sets of acoustic music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_w8ybyr0Xs

Where did I dig up that Stones quote from? Oh yeah, here: Rolling Stones: Classic or Dud

That Allison Anders Greta Garbo records blog refers to "The Keith Richards of Sweden."

I just got the second Dillard and Clark album and jesus fucking christ who is this singing on Corner Street Bar, that vocal is unbearable

seems pretty obvious it's gene.

trying to think of another song where he does something silly sounding like this...

Isn't it Dillard's girlfriend? Or is she only on "Rocky Top"?

corner street bar is gene doing a faux-british accent.

regrettable

all the byrds need to have at least one song where they sing terribly -- "mind gardens" anyone?

there is nothing good about Mind Gardens. I hate that song.

"Mind Gardens" is notoriously bad. But surely some contrarian ilxors must love it for that very reason.

omg that song

once, theyrerere was a garrr-den.

i love that on the "younger than yesterday" cd there's an additional version of everyone's favorite crosby song.

I especially love Triad. I love imagining Crosby with two women.

hahahah

heh that alternate mind gardens almost makes it into a tolerable song. almost. i'm not sure of the chronology but was crosby trying to do an incredible string band impersonation with this song? or did he invent the incredible string band right there, except that the ISB actually made that kind of thing great? or was he just totally high?????
triad is so good, i was as just listening to the version from 1970 w/ garcia. "you want to knoooooooooooow"

by 1970 that song sounds less like an invite to a groovy three way than a personal invitation to join the manson family

i actually think mind gardens is ok, nothing special but i don't hate it. triad is lovely but creepy.

I especially love Triad. I love imagining Crosby with two women.

http://www.details.com/images/culture-trends/critical-eye/201203/donor_history_resized/etheridge_crosby_harticle_embed2.jpg

because of the wang

have never understood why anyone would want David Crosby's genes

well he's somehow still alive, so that says something?

anyhoo back to gene, man, that song "for no one" on the white light demos is sooooo amazing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0oOna4l_ug

The versatility of his voice is amazing

Yes. The White Light Demos is essential Gene Clark. The version of White Light is superior to album.

he has an amazing voice.

Had

yeah

:(

Still does. He has an awesome country-rock duo with Gram up in heaven.

Let's die

but we don't have to, this is why god gives us skilled caricaturists.

The chorus of "Triad" should go: "Why can't I have two girlfriends?"

I got tickets to the No Other concert in New York

The chorus of "Triad" should go: "Why can't I have two girlfriends?"

"it would be groooooooooovy / for meeeee"

Another Crosby Byrds classic: Renaissance Fair. The concept of people dressed up as knights is such a mind blower, he thinks maybe he's dreaming.

Oh man, 'For No One'..

The death of Gene Clark: Saddest event in music history? Not necessarily the most important, and neither unexpected nor dramatic, just so fucking tragic how he spent 20 years quietly destroying himself. Townes Van Zandt's story, while partly unbearably dark, at least contains some light. I don't know of much to smile about in Clark's life post-Byrds. Except the music of course.

Saddest event in music history?

Not even close! At least he had success commercially and critically in his lifetime. And I'm sure he wasn't exactly poor for most of his adult life either.

I read the bio Mr. Tambourine Man. His adult life was not good. Especially bleak at the end with surgeries to remove most of his intestines and stomach. The real tragedy is what an asshole he became, how difficult he was. With the drinking and a lot of bitterness. One of those cases where you just with the right person got through to him, but it never happened.

There's no shortage of sad stories in the music business, let's be honest

You're right obviously. A tad hyperbolic on my part. But it fucking sad, nonetheless

Haven't read the book, is it good?

john einarson's bio is excellent.

with all the sad you want.

I have that book but have yet to read it. Maybe I'll start it now.

Listening to Firebyrd for the first time. It's so good. I don't think there is a bad Gene Clark song.

the saddest thing is that he hit paydirt when tom petty covered feel a lot better and the album sold 12 gazillion copies. i think he basically drunk up all that money.

he hit paydirt when the byrds recorded that song.

A period of abstinence and recovery followed until Tom Petty's cover of "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" on his 1989 album Full Moon Fever yielded a huge amount of royalty money to Clark who quickly reverted to drug and alcohol abuse.

he hit paydirt when the byrds recorded that song.

― fit and working again, Monday, December 16, 2013 12:53 AM (14 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i bet that tom petty album sold shit-tons more than the byrds single/album, because 1980s

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