No Other But Gene Clark

I was a fan of Classic Rock all through High School. I would listen to the radio stations all the time hear what new stuff I could listen to and eventually buy to add to my music collection. I would hear things that sounded great and then I would go to the store and go find them and buy them. I would then pick and choose certain artists to listen to more closely and buy more of their material from what they had out. I sometimes would have mental or physical lists of what I should listen too. Over the years I would revisit some of these artist to hear maybe a solo album if their was one to listen to. I would listen even to some bands other projects or just other bands that would from.

One of the bands I listened to religiously was the Byrds. The Byrds had a bit more history then a lot of the bands I was listening to at the time. The Byrds had Roger McGuinn who himself was a great musician and wonderful songwriter. They also had David Crosby who would (after he left) form Crosby, Stills and Nash. Both of them had some pretty good stuff after while in the Byrds or after they left the Byrds (Like David Crosby did). I liked a lot of the Byrds material enough even to buy the Box Set. When I got the box set I noticed that some of the songs were written by another member of the band. I kept on seeing Gene Clark. Three songs I liked by the Byrds were written by Gene Clark. I did not think much of it until I asked a teacher about this. This teacher was a man who loved the Byrds more then I did. He did not know much about what some of them did when they were not in the Byrds, but he followed them enough to give me some ideas. I asked him about Gene Clark. He told me how much he knew. It was enough to go inquire at the record store.



When I went to the record store I asked about solo Gene Clark albums. Even back when I first started collecting they were hard to come by. I was told that his music and song writing were some of the best they ever saw. Then he faded into obscurity and died. He did die a year before I finished High School, but I did not know much about him then. I did not get what I wanted by Gene Clark so I put it in the back of my head for another day. These albums he put out were expensive and I did not want to dive into something that I was not sure I was going to like.

Over the course of a few years I kept his music in my head, just in case I found it at some used record store. I did not see much until I was back in college. I found this compilation of his music. It was called American Dreamer 1964-1974. This retrospective did a great job of covering is wonderful music. The music on here helped me understand how much of a talent he was. I played a lot of that CD in my car and also while doing my homework. The music to me was way better then some of the stuff I was listening to at the time. When I got home I showed a friend this CD and he quickly showed me a CD that was one I should own. His copy was only a burned one, but he said this one was really great. This album was called No Other. He quickly pointed out that he would make me a copy of his burned edition, but told me to hold off till the remastered copy came out.



The time I waited for the remastered copy, I was on Limewire. I found a Gene Clark album called Echoes. With Echoes and American Dreamer I thought I heard everything. It was when I placed No Other in my CD player I realized what a talent Gene Clark was. It took me a few years to get a copy of the No Other re-issue, but it was worth the wait. In the meantime I read his biography that is called Mr. Tambourine Man: The Life and Legacy of The Byrds' Gene Clark. The book has a great story of a lost soul that should have been recognized for his wonderful talent.

The music on No Other is great. It should be one of the top 50 albums of all time. The music I am sure influenced people like Ryan Adams, The Jayhawks, Wilco among others. Even the bonus tracks of each song were keepers. The music is wonderful, the words are extraordinary and the life of and pain of Gene Clark is reveled. If you think the Byrds are a band that was a bit to much, and I am sorry if you think they are, maybe No Other is your speed. The music is not Byrds like at all, it is wonderful music from a truly gifted man. Enjoy!!