The Gene Clark Album-by-Album Thread (Side Two)

Thank you, Mark.

 

I realize this thread turned into a bit of a free-for-all once we covered the core albums, but would anyone like to discuss Gypsy Angel, or some other posthumous releases?
Jason?

 

Like I said before, I don't own any of the posthumous collections of demos that have come out, so I'm not qualified to lead such a discussion, but if you or anyone else wants to take up the baton it's fine by me...

 

I have Gypsy Angel but I can't listen to it. The cover is awful too. Can't believe it saw an official release.

 

Well, suffice it to say I disagree with you, and I'll explain why when I get a moment.
But yes, the cover is amateurish.

 

Gypsy Angel is a polarizing album, to be sure. Most posthumous releases are. I will not argue with Byrdman about it's merit or lack thereof, because I've read reviews over the net ranging from hyperbolic praise to accusations of unabashed barrel-scraping. It evokes strong emotions in people, which is good, I suppose.

I do know that when it was released (to little or no fanfare) in 2002, it was greeted by hardcore Clark fans on the Yahoo GC Group as a gift from the gods. Saul Davis was seen as a hero of sorts by those of us who were starved for a vault release (it's my assumption that Gene had given the '83-era tapes to Saul, his ex-manager, and the later ones to Carla Olson, Saul's wife, for consideration for the follow-up to So Rebellious a Lover).

Musically speaking, I find this to be one of the most intense releases in Clark's body of work. It is primitive and stark -- White Light with a hangover -- featuring only Gene and his guitar, except for an unknown slide player in one song, but for my money this is where you get the most immediate and intense performances from Gene.

These are all home recordings, I would assume, done on Gene's 4-track. You can hear a phone ring during one song, and what I assume is the voice of one of Gene's sons. These elements increase the feeling of intimacy, in my opinion, since I'm not a stickler for sound. Anyone who has ever done any home recording knows the feeling of wanting to experiment with stuff like echo (as he does on 'Your Fire Burning') or fallen victim to the common tape-era problem of failing to wait long enough for the tape leader to pass before hitting the "record" button ('Dark of My Moon').
The former is Clark's final great composition, written during the last year and a half of his life. It is a significant work, in my opinion, though I believe the live version on In Concert is superior. I would imagine that it was specifically designed to be the centrepiece of the never-made followup to SRAL, because when performed live, it ranged between 6 1/2 minutes to almost 9:00 (a heart-rending, full-band performance at his otherwise disastrous "Last Stand" at the Cinegrill ).
The latter might as well be a case study for dysfunctional, co-dependent relationships, featuring harrowing allusions to drug use and calculated infidelity. To reinforce my earlier comment about this being White Light with a hangover, check out the prominence of the phrase "Because of you" in the song. Obviously it's not an intentional reference to the song 'Because of You', but I thought it interesting nonetheless.

Elsewhere, you have two of my all-time favourite songs, 'Pledge To You' and 'Kathleen'. The former is one of Gene's metaphysical love songs in which a bond between two lovers is recalled through current, past and future lives. It is sung with great gusto in what I call Gene's quasi-operatic voice. If you allow yourself to be drawn into the depth of the imaginative implications of its premise, it's a profoundly moving experience.

'Kathleen' is a song no one ever talks about and I wish they would. The song -- and Gene's performance -- holds much significance for me. So much so that when I began my blog (The Clarkophile) in 2008, I chose 'Kathleen' as the subject of the inaugural post. I have no idea what would possess Gene to write about a lonely Irish widow pining for her husband lost at at sea, but I'm glad he did.

So while I can certainly understand the complaints about the unfocused, rambling nature of some of the material ('Mississippi Detention Camp') or Gene's prominent lisp, I'm eternally grateful for this release...even though the cover sucks.

 

I just discovered the track "It's Alright By Me", a 1968 demo cut from a song written in 1966. I wish someone had taken that demo straight to Nashville and let Waylon cut it. It would have been a big hit.

 

I have Gypsy Angel. I think I have listened to it once. I usually need to listen to an album a couple of times. I remember a reviewer said that the songs could have used some editing since most of them are quite lengthy. It is too bad that Carla Olson and band did not do some singing and playing on the album and try and make it into the second Gene Clark and Carla Olson album. With some judicious editing, maybe it would have worked.

 

Love the attitude that Gene puts into that song. He is not going to be hurt by his girlfriend or ex girlfriend. Similar to I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better.That's Alright by Me should have been released at the time. By somebody.

 

My fantasy is Gene staying in the Byrds long enough to record "That's Alright by Me" with them, on the Notorious album. I really like the demo, but I also think it would have lent itself to a big Notorious-style production.

 

I can't believe I missed this thread when it started, but I've had quite the busy year.

I love Gypsy Angel - and cannot fathom the above criticism of it. Yes, it's not something you'd put on at a party, but what makes it invaluable is the utter intimacy of not only being there at the inception of each song, but the feeling one gets as Gene reaches within for words to lyrics in their formative state. It's as close to being inside the mind of a genius as one can get. It's very much the same as the experience of listening to the new deluxe Basement Tapes by Bob Dylan!

I also love Kathleen, and think it would have been a highlight on the never-to-be second Gene/Carla album. I think it could have stood proudly next Gypsy Rider and Your Fire Burning, as among his very finest works.

 

This has nothing to do with a Gene Clark album, but I'd love to know the story about this cover of "Back Street Mirror" found on YouTube - same backing track as the David Hemmings version. Who was Kelldecaut Rean, and how did he get this song? Google is failing me here.

 

All I get is "obscure Québécois singer". Or should I say "singer"?

 

Your Fire Burning. Say no more. But I will.

What a song. I don't even realise it's over seven minutes. Wow.

And the cd cover? Who cares. It's the music that counts. I love being able to hear actual demos by Gene. Just him and his guitar. The sound quality has nothing on the incredible White Light demos but I love the overall vibe of this collection.

 

According to 45 Cat, MGM K13877 was a single by Lainie Kazan. I can't find this listed in any MGM discographies, so perhaps it was withdrawn? In any event, I'm a little obsessed with this song, it's just so....of its time - the flutes, the horns, the trippy lyrics (does he really used the word 'sooth' here? Brilliant!).

 

I'm obsessed with failing to avail myself of the opportunity to hear Gene's vocal on this--a snippet of which will be played at the GC Symposium, starting tomorrow in Kansas City. (One of the attendees, a friend of mine, just called and said they're all sitting down right now having dinner with Johnny Rogan! This is killing me.)

Yeah, the "Duchess of sooth" line is too much. Everything is overdone in this...and I love it to death anyway.

 

A GC symposium? Fantastic. Wish I was there as KCMO is a old haunting ground.

 

I found a reference to this recording on a facebook page for a Portland radio station, and they refer to the track as "unreleased." Weird. So Dickson apparently sold this backing track to more than one would-be singer, it seems. Where's it gonna turn up next? Is there a Shatner version out there? At any rate, the fact that we have two vocal versions available now, and neither one is Gene's, is perverse.

 

Seattle to KC airfare was just too prohibitive (and this time of year I like to go somewhere warm!). I missed out on the Mendocino screening of "The Bird Who Flew Alone" by about a week a couple of months ago, that would have been fun - but I did spend a night at the old Lazy Eye motel (now known as the Inn at Schoolhouse Creek) where Gene used to stay on occasion before moving to Little River. It was super nice - and the Little River Inn down the road looked amazing (the bar was awesome, if anyone ever gets down that way). I'm sure my husband thinks I'm nuts, following this Gene Clark trail

 

In what town/state are the Inn and Motel?? Is that Northern California?
You're not nuts. My wide and I could totally get into a GC trip.

 

Yes, Northern California - on Highway 1 in Little River, just south of Mendocino.

 

Nice story:

http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/gene-clark-the-byrds-no-other/

 

Great writing (did not know about his cancer), other than this one bit "But when Dillard & Clark debuted at the Troubadour, the Sunset Strip club where future stars like Don Henley and Glenn Frey first hatched plans for world domination, Clark was too drunk to perform competently, and the group quickly fell apart"

The Troubadour is on Santa Monica Blvd. and is imo a completely different vibe than the Sunset Strip clubs. You'd have to be non-local to get that address wrong.

 

Overdone to perfection!