| Author | Message | ||
     kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 45 Registered: 05-2005 |
Im sure anybody who loves the GOBs will also love Gene Clark, either solo, with The Byrds or in his many collaberations. Whats your favourite Gene album? Mines is White Light, although Echoes runs it close | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 112 Registered: 03-2005 |
Fantastic Expedition -- Dillard & Clark | ||
| M.J.L. Member Username: Mjl Post Number: 19 Registered: 09-2005 |
Mine is also the eponymous solo LP, also called White Light. But does anyone know if there exists a better coked up, singalong dusky album than his "No Other"? | ||
| abigail law Member Username: Abigail Post Number: 19 Registered: 06-2005 |
i'll second Fantastic Expedition -- Dillard & Clark, though i doubt i could choose between that and no other. i think neil young's on the beach is a very similar album to no other. both had troubled histories and where dismissed upon release but both have stood up to be all-time classics | ||
| B. Rider Member Username: Boundary_rider Post Number: 22 Registered: 05-2005 |
No Other for me too. By miles. Completely barmy, way over the top, gorgeous, drug-soaked stuff. | ||
| M. Mark Burgess Member Username: Fortysomething Post Number: 52 Registered: 05-2005 |
I think we'll find more of a consensus on this thread than on some others, although just about everything Gene touched was gold. I've heard those early Byrd's tunes a hundred times and they still give me chills. At the time it came out (74?) I thought I was the only person alive who liked No Other. It's really a shame to read stuff about him being discouraged at not getting airplay or commercial success. I wonder if he really knew how many people he touched deeply with his music. I know it's a cliche to say that but Gene Clark was a true original if there ever was one and I would even go so far as to say he rivalled Dylan in the influential dept. in the sixties. Great, overlooked talent, sorely missed. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 115 Registered: 03-2005 |
Have you read his bio "Mr. Tambourine Man," Mark? It's a great read, if ultimately very depressing. For one thing, I never guessed that the lyrics to "Echoes" were actually pretty autobiographical. I just assumed they were abstractions. The book also discloses why "No Other" didn't get much promotion. I've often wondered how much of an influence Gene Clark was. He certainly is an important example for me. The reason I give the nod to "Fantastic Expedition" is because of the collaboration. While all of the lyrics are Gene's, some of those great melodies originated from others in the band. They played together in Gene's house for a nice stretch of time before recording and pretty much just popped the songs out live in the studio. Otherwise I'd go with Gene Clark (White Light) or possibly the odds and sods album "Roadmaster." | ||
| M. Mark Burgess Member Username: Fortysomething Post Number: 55 Registered: 05-2005 |
I think he was tremendously influential on other musicians at the time, at least in these parts (Tulsa, Oklahoma). Many musicians from this area (Leon Russell, J.J. Cale, etc.) have cited him at various times in the local press. No, I haven't read that book but I'll pick it up on your recommendation, Randy. Thanks. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 46 Registered: 05-2005 |
Abigail. I have Fantastic Expedition and am not a great fan of it. Its more in the bluegrass tradition and I prefer Gene when he does rock or country. In saying that, my copy which is a twofer with the 2nd Dillard and Clarke album, also includes my favourite ever Gene song: Why not your baby anymore. From what I can gather this track was initially only released as a single at the time and was not included in the original pressing of Fantastic Expedition. If your version does not have this track your life is not complete - this is one of those songs that makes my eyes well up and gives me goosebumps all over, yes it is that good | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 119 Registered: 03-2005 |
Kevin, I can't blame you for finding the heavy banjo and mandolin bit a little . . . well, for specialized tastes. But there IS "Out on the Side," one of Gene's very best rock dirges. My recommendation is that you struggle through the arrangements to the songs which are so often fantastic, particularly "Train Leaves Here This Morning" and "Something's Wrong." My personal preference is for Gene's more rock or folkie arrangements but his essence comes through however he does it. In the superb Cinegrill show of his that I saw shortly before his death--I apparently saw the only good one of the series--he did a terrific rock version of either "She Darked the Sun" or "Train Leaves Here" and I hate the fact that I can't remember which it was. He also did a GREAT Gene Clark version of "Eight Miles High," by which I mean that he did it in a way that made it obvious that he wrote every part of that song. He told us Brian Jones helped him write it. "Why Not Your Baby" was indeed NOT on the original "Fantastic Expedition" LP. It dates from a later time, after Donna Washburn joined the group and Bernie Leadon was long gone. It's a great song; I wish the "Through the Morning, Through the Night" album was more like it. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 47 Registered: 05-2005 |
Randy, Train Leaves Here This Morning is indeed fantastic. You are a lucky man to have saw Gene live, if not at his prime. I find it hard to believe most people have not even heard of Gene. Much as I love Gram Parsons, I cant help thinking Gene was the more talented of the two. I think the reason Gram is more revered is that age old chestnut - he died young in "dangerous" circumstances. In saying that, who knows what Gram might have went on to achieve | ||
| Guy Ewald Member Username: Guy_ewald Post Number: 65 Registered: 02-2005 |
I've shared this tale before, but not here... ***** As an American kid in the sixties, The Byrds were my favorite group and Gene Clark was a hero equaled only by John Lennon and Bob Dylan. I saw him once in 75, an acoustic show with a second guitarist at Ruby Gulch, a club in my college town. Midway through the first set he paused and said, “people have been asking me to play a Byrds song,” and I yelled, “She Don’t Care About Time!” (then, an all but forgotten B-side). He was dumbstruck and said, “Wow! Yeah, that’s right. That’s what we’re gonna play.“ I was positively beaming; the bartender handed me a fresh beer, on the house. Between sets, I saw him standing over by the jukebox and mustered up the courage to say hello. He was a really warm, open guy and when I told him how wonderful it was to hear Time, he said, “Oh, you’re the one who shouted that out? That was great man, It’s really nice to play for a crowd that knows the songs.” I asked him how the tour was going and we exchanged small talk. There I was hanging out at the jukebox and sharing a beer with Gene Clark. My feet were hovering a good 12-inches off the floor. Not knowing when to leave well enough alone, I pressed on. “Ya know, I always thought She Don’t Care About Time was one of your best songs, I could never understand why it was left off the Turn! Turn! Turn! album,” I queried. The expression drained from Gene’s face. He shook his head and snorted, “Politics man, just politics,” as he turned and walked away. Ouch. A decade on and he was still viscerally pained by the disrespect he was subjected to in The Byrds. Over the years, I have revisited that memory many times when reading about the strained personal relationships that plagued the group. ***** For the record, I don’t have a favorite Gene Clark solo album. My choice would vacillate between his debut With The Gosdin Brothers, Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark and the eponymous on A&M (aka White Light) all of which are A+ in my book. Roadmaster, No Other and Two Sides To Every Story are all A’s. | ||
| M.J.L. Member Username: Mjl Post Number: 26 Registered: 09-2005 |
Thanks for sharing that one Guy - brilliant! | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 48 Registered: 05-2005 |
does anybody else share my belief that if gene clark had never sung a note, michael stipe would not be the singer he is? the way michael rips off genes vocals on the early (stunning) rem albums is creepy. michael would probably tell you he never heard gene clark, but peter buck certainly did!! | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 105 Registered: 05-2005 |
That's a lovely story well told Guy. I agree with you Kevin about Clark and Stipe. When I bought my first REM album - Reckoning - I liked it a lot but just thought to myself (and anyone else who'd listen to my 15-year-old self) that it was such a rip-off of the Byrds best of album I owned! | ||
| M. Mark Burgess Member Username: Fortysomething Post Number: 56 Registered: 05-2005 |
It's interesting how the imitators are more successful than the originals sometimes. Another instance would be Mark Knopfler taking Richard Thompson's guitar style and turning it into gold (records, that is). | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 119 Registered: 08-2004 |
That's a brilliant story Guy. Peter Buck was clearly a Byrds devotee on the first 4 R.E.M. LP's, before they became a "rock group". | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 121 Registered: 03-2005 |
Roger McGuinn ripped off Dylan's vocal sound. Tom Petty ripped off Roger McGuinn's rip-off of Dylan's vocal sound. I can think of worse things than for Michael Stipe to rip off Gene Clark's vocal style. Too bad for him he didn't have Gene's wonderful resonant voice, but you gotta work with what you've got. You had a great fortunate experience Guy. I don't think asking why "Time" wasn't on the album was out of line. It gave Gene a chance to balance the record a bit. Even though I was with my two brothers, one of whom worshipped Gene on a totally religious level, I didn't have the bottle to actually approach him and talk to him when we saw him at the Cinegrill. I remember he seemed to be constantly surprised that everybody in the audience knew his music and appreciated him so much. Having a lot of depression running through my own family I recognized his inability to be comfortable in his skin just by watching his face. It hurt but it was also beautiful. | ||
| Guy Ewald Member Username: Guy_ewald Post Number: 66 Registered: 02-2005 |
I know my question wasn’t out of line. Thirty years ago I didn’t understand any of the bad blood in The Byrds or the group politics of song-writing royalties… it was entirely guileless on my part. It’s really more of a cautionary tale about how an intended complement can open old wounds or be perceived as an insult. I remember once telling a musician friend after their set that I really liked a cover version they’d performed and he shot back, “Oh, so you didn’t like MY new song?” and sulked off in a funk. Jeeezzzz… The night that I saw Clark perform is a very fond memory. He didn’t do shows outside of California too often and having a chance to talk with him - he’s a flesh and blood person to me, not an elusive legend. Over the years I have found that the vast majority of musicians are happy to interact with fans who approach them with respect, who are knowledgeable and don’t come off with a sense of entitlement. There are exceptions, of course. Robert Forster seems to enjoy it greatly, but Grant… | ||
| Guy Ewald Member Username: Guy_ewald Post Number: 67 Registered: 02-2005 |
At the risk of overplaying my Geezer Card in a single thread… I was friendly with some of the guys in R.E.M. when they used to play Maxwell’s. Mike Mills lives up to his reputation as The Boy Scout of the group and Peter Buck is especially gracious and outgoing among like-minded music fans, a real prince. I have no doubt that he knew The Byrds work inside and out - he’s a lifelong vinyl junkie - but I remember once reading an interview with him where he said that The Soft Boys influenced him a whole lot more than The Byrds ever did. For him, that sound was filtered through Robyn Hitchcock. After the Hibtone single was released the 'Chronic Town' tapes were circulating around the scene. I heard rough mixes of those songs before I ever saw the band live, and quite some time before they signed to I.R.S. There was a very big buzz about R.E.M. on the burgeoning Indie scene. This was clearly a band that was going places and a big part of it was the fact that they had a powerful and distinctive lead singer. When I first heard the 'Chronic Town' tapes Michael Stipe’s voice reminded me of Richie Havens – gruff, keening and folky. I never said more than “Hi” to Stipe at Maxwell’s, but I don’t think he was a record collector or Rock Historian in the slightest and I seriously doubt he would have been influenced by someone of the Gene Clark/Richie Havens generation. He was probably trying to sound like Patti Smith. |