Gene Clark Solo Albums-album by album & *now* track by track on p. 23*

I went to 2 RSD stores today. Neither had The Gene Clark 10”. I got a couple of other items, but walked away without getting what I really wanted.

 

Same here. No Gene at all. The store didn't get it.

 

FYI Omnivore Recordings is currently having a huge sale on many of their titles including Gene Clark Here Tonight The White Light Demos. If you love Gene's voice accompanied just by his acoustic and some harmonica, this album is for you. It also has some songs not included on the studio release.

Sale | Omnivore Recordings

 

Sierra/Entree records will be selling copies of the RSD EP from their website soon!

 

Coming June 15...from Omnivore. Pre order now!
Just had to repost. Getting excited.
Gene Clark — Gene Clark Sings For You | Omnivore Recordings



The legendary 1967 Gene Clark recordings. Also includes six additional previously unissued & unknown recordings

Gene Clark’s musical legacy is most certainly assured as a singer, songwriter and member of some xclusive company as an inductee to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a founder of The Byrds, and collaborator in groups such as Dillard & Clark, Gene Clark and the Gosdin Brothers, McGuinn Clark & Hillman and later as the duet partner of Carla Olson (The Textones).

His songs have been covered by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Iain Matthews, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, The Rose Garden, and Chris & Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes among many others. As well documented as Clark’s career has been, there have been remarkable discoveries over the years (see Omnivore’s Here Tonight: The White Light Demos for example), but now the Holy Grail of Clark’s post-Byrds career is finally about to see the light of day:



“For longtime Gene Clark fans and aficionados, the tracks on this remarkable archival CD are the stuff of legend. Since word first spread in the 1980s about the discovery of these 1967 recordings on a rare acetate in Liberty Records’ vaults, fans have come to regard Gene Clark Sings For You as nothing less than the Holy Grail of the singer/songwriter’s extraordinary body of work. Shrouded in mystery and the subject of much speculation and conjecture, few have ever had the opportunity to hear these forgotten gems from one of Gene Clark’s most prolifically creative periods. Until now.”



—John Einarson
author of Mr. Tambourine Man: The Life And Legacy Of The Byrds’ Gene Clark (Backbeat Books)



In addition to the 8 tracks from the Gene Clark Sings For You acetate, recorded in 1967 after he famously left The Byrds, there are an additional 5 previously unknown tracks from a further 1967 acetate given to the band, The Rose Garden, for recording consideration. This new compilation also includes a previously unissued demo rescued from a tape in the collection of John Noreen, member of The Rose Garden. This demo of the song “Till Today” is Clark running through the song for the band who would cut it on their only album, the 1968 self-titled effort on Atco Records (also being reissued and expanded at the same time as Gene Clark Sings For You).

Released with the full approval and cooperation with both the Estate of Gene Clark and the band, The Rose Garden, Gene Clark Sings For You is produced for release by Grammy®-winner, Cheryl Pawelski with restoration and mastering by Grammy-winner, Michael Graves. Liner notes by John Einarson, author of Mr. Tambourine Man: The Life And Legacy Of The Byrds’ Gene Clark(Backbeat Books) and previously unseen photos.

1. 
   CD / 2-LP / DIGITAL TRACK LIST:

1. ON HER OWN
2. PAST TENSE
3. YESTERDAY, AM I RIGHT
4. PAST MY DOOR
5. THAT’S ALIRGHT BY ME
6. ONE WAY ROAD
7. DOWN ON THE PIER
8. 7:30 MODE
9. ON TENTH STREET
10. UNDERSTAND ME
11. A LONG TIME
12. BIG CITY GIRL
13. DOCTOR DOCTOR
14. TILL TODAY
    

1. 
   LP does not include a download card.

Gene Clark — Gene Clark Sings For You | Omnivore Recordings

 

This is great news...new album after 30+ years!

The Textones - Blue Élan



For fans of The Textones, the arrival of a new album after a more than thirty-year wait may seem like nothing short of a miracle. There’s always been the feeling that after the release of their critically-acclaimed albums Midnight Mission (1984) and Cedar Creek (1987), The Textones, having helped define a new path forward for what became known as Americana music, had plenty of great songs still in them. Their new Blue Élan release, Old Stone Gang, confirms that suspicion in spades.

Bandleader Carla Olson has re-assembled her seminal group after several decades of her own highly-regarded releases, including albums with Byrds icon Gene Clark and Mick Taylor of the “mid-period” Rolling Stones – that includes YA-YAs, Sticky Fingers, Goats Head Soup, It’s Only RnR. (She’s also one of the few women to carve out a career in studio production, helming albums for a diverse clientele, including folksinger/actress Mare Winningham, jazz guitarist Phil Upchurch, rockin’ bluesman Jake Andrews and the former singer of sixties hitmakers Manfred Mann, Paul Jones — with Eric Clapton as special guest).

There were a few attempts to reform The Textones over the years, but as band members got married, had kids, moved to other cities and found other employment, it didn’t become financially or logistically possible until 2012, when four tracks featured on the new album started to take shape in the recording studio with the Cedar Creek line-up all accounted for.

“Recording as part of The Textones is a totally different mindset for me than recording on my own, or collaborating with Mick Taylor or Gene Clark,” says Carla. “Writing for The Textones is very different than writing for a solo record. It comes from a different place in my mind, and my heart. If I’m working on a solo album, I’m writing only for myself, and sometimes my husband will give me a lyric, or a news headline or somebody will suggest something — but when The Textones get together, we play and write as a unit. I don’t tell them what to play, we just play! And it’s a band! When I’m writing with George Callins, we might think ‘Oh, this’ll be a good section for Tom Jr. Morgan to play sax over.’ And if I’m writing with Joe Read or Rick Hemmert it might be ‘This would be a good chord progression for an open-G tuning, which George Callins is very good with.’ That’s why we can record across so many years and it still sounds like The Textones.”

One listen to the album confirms Carla’s observation. “One Half Rock,” which many years ago started with a lyric from former Textone Phil Seymour (“She’s one half rock/One half roll”) has been finished by Carla, features a Chuck Berry-inspired riff from Callins and a feisty Olson lead vocal . “For ‘Carly Jo’,” Carla says, “George put a really cool backwards guitar on it. It was almost an Applachian style track, with dulcimer and acoustic guitar and accordian, and he sent me some Yardbirds-style ‘Over Under Sideways Down’-type stuff! It sounds so good!”

“20 Miles South of Wrong” is a Springsteen-esque Callins-Olson original that features a terrific Tom Jr. Morgan sax solo, and a special guest, Poco’s Rusty Young. “Rusty is a Blue Élan artist,” Carla explains. “I first saw him play with Poco in a small psychedelic club in Austin in maybe 1970 – the classic Jim Messina, Richie Furay, Timothy B. Schmit and Rusty lineup. Buffalo Springfield are one of my favorite bands ever, and Poco were formed right out of the third Springfield album. I was talking to Rusty recently at the Blue Élan Christmas party: he’s the most delightful person, just so sweet. I was telling him about the Textones record, and said there was a song that could use steel guitar, and he said to send it to him, which I did. And he added banjo and mandolin as well, which fits with a great George Harrison-style guitar from George Callins.”

The new album once again shows the tenacity of a band with a long history, one of considerable achievement in the face of some tough breaks.

The original Textones formed in 1978 when Austin, Texas natives Carla Olson and Kathy Valentine – who’d already made some noise in their band The Violators – flipped a coin and Los Angeles beat New York as the target of their search for fame and fortune. Both were adept singers, songwriters and guitarists, with a knack for combining Merseybeat, punk and roots music. With David Provost on bass and drummer Markus Cuff, The Textones took the L.A. club scene by storm, eventually releasing a single on the seminal new wave I.R.S. label and a 3-song EP on the U.K. Chiswick imprint.

The Textones were, in Carla’s words, “A hard-rockin’ The-Who-Meets-The Stones kind of band, with a little Byrds or Beatles jangle thrown in.” But they had almost too much talent; Valentine left to join The Go-Go’s in 1980. (Her new band re-recorded several of the tunes she’d contributed to The Textones, including “Vacation,” a Top Ten hit for The Go-Go’s in 1982. She and Carla are still friends.)

After a few changes in personnel, a new Textones line-up eventually solidified under Carla’s leadership: former Dwight Twilley Band drummer and vocalist Phil Seymour, guitarist George Callins, keyboard/saxophone wiz Tom Jr. Morgan, and bassist Joe Read. All of them could write songs too.

Landing a major-label deal, that line-up recorded the powerhouse Midnight Mission for A&M Records. Carla’s old friend Don Henley contributed vocal harmonies, ace slide guitarist Ry Cooder and the great blues pianist (and album co-producer) Barry Goldberg contributed some tasty licks, and even Bob Dylan got involved, paying Carla back for appearing in his “Sweetheart Like You” video by suggesting she record his unreleased song “Clean Cut Kid,” which The Textones absolutely nailed. MTV featured the video for Midnight Mission’s poignant title track, the band toured the world, and the disc landed on many “best of the year” lists, but The Textones didn’t achieve escape velocity for superstardom. Sadly, during a tour Phil Seymour was diagnosed with cancer and went back to his hometown in Oklahoma (he tragically died in 1993 at the age of forty-one). The follow-up Textones album Cedar Creek on the Enigma label, with Rick Hemmert in the drum seat, was just as strong, but the group was hit with more bad luck and never produced a third album until this year.

“The Textones didn’t break up,” says Carla. “I got sick in December of 1987, when Cedar Creek was getting played on radio stations, and we were on tour. I knew I was losing weight dramatically, and having to drink gallons and gallons of water. When I went to the doctor I was diagnosed with type one diabetes mellitus. I had to stop everything I was doing, learn even more than I already knew about healthy eating, and learn how to take two kinds of insulin four times a day. It slowed me down considerably.” The Textones reluctantly scattered.

Over the years, continuing demand from Textones fans spurred the release of the Through The Canyon and Back in Time compilations of studio outtakes and rarities, but at last the way to really celebrate The Textones’ legacy arrives with the intense and joyous new recordings on their Blue Élan return.

“I think the new album is just as viable and important and relevant as Midnight Mission and Cedar Creek,” concludes Olson. “It sounds similar to what we used to do, but of course we are now older and supposedly wiser [laughs], and I like to think a little more sage. I don’t feel bitter about not becoming a huge band in the eighties. I enjoyed the moment, the great band, the great memories. We were right smack dab in the middle of something – but maybe too far ahead of our time or too retro to be appreciated for what we were doing. That’s okay, I’ll live with that. That’s just how life is sometimes. You can’t have regrets, because you become old and bitter and grouchy. I can do without that!”

.........................................

Carla & Gene..ahead of their time...and timeless! -LK

 

Gene share. He is awfully col here....

 

So I am returning my limited edition Full Moon release "Two Sides To Every Story" for the second time. The #*@#! 180 gram vinyl has had non-fills in the wax in both copies and the second is just awful! I am heartbroken as the remainder of the LP is wonderful audio pleasure.

Anyone else have this issue?? I am reluctant to give it one last try, but maybe third time will be the charm.

Also have the new one on order, "Gene Clark Sings For You". Should be at the Bull Moose store today when I am in Brunswick. Hopefully this will be flawless!

..................................

Reviews on this new set of demos from 1967??

Gene Clark Sings For You
2018 on Omnivore

 

My copy of "Two Sides" is perfect.

 

The CD edition is perfectly fine. That is always an option.

 

For the booklet for sure and it costs a lot less. Though I did get the download included with the vinyl before I returned it, which included the booklet as a PDF. And the bonus tracks and interview.

Fortunately I have the original vinyl in the shrink still (opened) and it plays fine.

 

Lucky you! Maybe the last few dozen of the limited edition run are not so good. Both LPs that I got were near the end of the edition's pressing.

Bull Moose recommended that I should forget it and not try for another at this stage. So I found a nice 1970 pressing of this original vinyl LP in their used vinyl section.... to sooth my soul:

a VG++ Cat Stevens' "Tea For The Tillerman". $4.97!

 

New article in Rolling Stone: Byrd Lives: Cult Hero Gene Clark’s 21 Best Songs – Rolling Stone

 

That's an old one! 2014...

 

OOPS....I just saw it! Sorry.

 

Another wonderful photo of Gene 1966 from Echoes (www.gene-clark.com)
August 1, 2018 vol. 2 no. 8

In front of the Whiskey A-Go-Go 1966

 

Gotta say I can't get enough of Gene Sing for You. Wonderful. So many of the songs could have easily fit in as top quality pieces on either with The Gosdin Bros. ot White Light. Really fine stuff! This is not one of those throwaway comps with songs that were never meant to be heard. These are legitimate wonderfully crafted demos If a bit raw, but that is what makes them precious.

Down On The Pier...this one kills me. So fine.

 

And this could have fit right in on White Light. Amazing -- Gene was and is such a treasure.

On Tenth Street

 

I'm so glad to hear someone say what I've been thinking all along! Not throwaways at all!

 

"non fills"? what the? I have both CD and vinyl of Two Sides and while I normally prefer vinyl over CDs, I have to say the Full Moon CD of Two Sides is stellar!

 

Pronounced "NONfuls" in most parts of New England....

 

I finally got a copy of Gene Clark Sings for You and I'm also very happy and impressed. I wasn't sure what to expect. Many of the songs feel like an evolutionary step forward from his debut album. I've only listened twice, but for a set of demos sourced from 50-year old acetates, I couldn't be happier. Buried treasure, for sure.

 

Yes. Really bad flaws in the wax (non-fills). I'll have to get the CD, to go with my original vinyl!
Thanks, Indigo!

 

Ayuh.

 

For October: great new pic from ECHOES...gene-clark.com
visit the site for more--link below!

Really enjoyed the interviews and memories this month. Thanks so much for the great reads!

Fantastic Expedition sessions: Gene Clark in the A&M studios circa 1969. (Photo courtesy of Virginia Howard.)​

This month Echoes celebrates the 50th Anniversary of The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard and Clark with rare photos and articles, a discussion with Byrds biographer, music historian and author JOHNNY ROGAN, recollections by Gene's personal assistant VIRGINIA HOWARD and an article on Doug Dillard by KEN CLAYBAUGH.

Be sure to check out @Neon_Brambleson Twitter and Instagram on October 15 for information on how to win a a copy of Sundazed Records CD reissue of The Fantastic Expecition of Dillard & Clark!


Echoes. gene-clark.com
October 1 2018 vol. 2 no. 10