Clear Light

Clear Light | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 13, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Collector's Choice
• ASIN: B0000631PB
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #175,285 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Black Roses

2. Sand

3. A Child's Smile

4. Street Singer

5. The Ballad of Freddie and Larry

6. With All in Mind

7. She's Ready to Be Free [*]

8. Mr. Blue [*]

9. Think Again

10. They Who Have Nothing

11. How Many Nights Have Passed

12. Night Sounds Loud

Editorial Reviews

Their psychedelia run amuck with twin drummers, creamy fuzz guitar and carnival-clatter keyboards, LA's Clear Light were a fixture on underground radio -- most memorably with their heavy-on-the-paranoia "Mr. Blue." Our reissue of their rare self-titled 1967 Elektra debut, produced by Paul Rothchild, features a non-LP bonus track ("She's Ready To Be Free") and liner notes that tell Clear Light's story in full, vivid detail. --This text refers to the Vinyl edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic!, April 23, 2002

By 

Fred Rayworth (Las Vegas, NV United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Clear Light (Audio CD)

A Classic!

In the sixties, I had a tendency to pick up albums based on the photo of the band. I figured if the band looked freaky, their music probably was too. I hated pop music so I always looked for the underground bands. The longer the hair, the uglier, the weirdest dressed, that was my incentive. Clear Light was in that category. They had long hair, one guy looked like Buffalo Bill, and there were six of them. Another attraction was their label. They were on the same label as the Doors and at the time, I was really into the Doors first album. So, I figured they had to be something like them.

Many people can see a nod to the Doors in Clear Light's music, but I did not. I was very pleasantly surprised at how good the music was. It was full of experimental songs, like Black Roses that had more time signature changes than cords. Then there was Sand, with a really good tempo shift guitar solo at the end instead of in the middle of the song like so many others. Everyone that knows this album refers to Mr. Blue. It was unusual for several reasons. It has some pretty neat drumming, great guitar effects and solos, and was over six minutes long. It was not quite Ina Gadda Da Vida, but still unusual for the time. My favorite song though is Street Singer, or as I call it the Organ Grinder Song. As a guitar player, I tried to learn the whole album note for note and actually came close a couple of times.

As with my other favorite albums of the time, I wore it out and was lucky enough to meet my wife in Spain (she's American) and she had a copy of the album too! I was finally able to purchase the Edsel version of their CD with the extra track "She's Ready To Be Free" on it from the movie "The President's Analyst." I have tried to keep up with what the members of the band have been doing over the years but the biggest mystery to me was Bob Seal, their guitar player and leader. He seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth, that is until I read the excellent liner notes Mike Staxx wrote for the CD. He interviewed Bob and there are some great anecdotes revealed for the first time.

For those of you looking for a classic sixties album, you can't go wrong with Clear Light. They produced a groundbreaking album that is well worth seeking out.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid second-line Elektra psyche offering, July 24, 2004

By 

Gern Blandton (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Clear Light (Audio CD)

I first bought this album when I was 14 years old, mainly on the strength of it being on the Elektra label, which up to that point had not issued a single bad album. I also recognized bassist Douglas Lubahn's name, as he had played bass on the first two Doors albums. And on top of all that, they had TWO DRUMMERS!!! How cool was that? (well, to be honest, you couldn't tell by playing the album, but the idea sounded great.)

I played this thing to death for well over a year and I often named them as one of my favorite bands. A nice mix of light weight psych with some occasional fuzz bursts from guitarist Bob Seal, who also sang one of the best tunes on the album. With 35 years perspective, this is not a classic album by any means, but for fans of Love and The Doors and that particular summer of love sound, this album holds many delights. Trivia note: The bonus track, She's ready to be free, taken from the James Coburn movie The President's Analyst, was actually sung by Barry - Eve of Destruction - McGuire in the movie. Watch for it on late night TV.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I really wish Clear Light made a second album!!, August 11, 2007

By 

Rodrigo Rivera (South Gate, Ca) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Clear Light (Audio CD)

But alas, they only made this self-tittled work of fantastic music. Im no music critic, but if your into psychedelic/garage rock bands from the 60's, then you wont be dissapointed by getting this album. Best freaking part about this group is that they have two drummers!!!!! Plus, havnt you noticed that the uglier the band memebers the better the music?