Customer Reviews

Flying High

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After Bob Dylan, Gene Clark was possibly the best American songwriter of the 60s. While it's easy to admire artists such as Brian Wilson, his particular genius was based more in his arrangement and production skills than in writing tunes which hold up when performed by just a singer with an acoustic guitar.

Clark was the most gifted songwriter in the Byrds, a fact obscured today by his early departure from the group, as well as the perception by many that Roger McGuinn was their leader, and the subsequent fame of David Crosby. Clark's gifts were many, but most important was his ability to write long and sensuous melodies which elevated otherwise verbose songs to heights that obscured just how difficult that ought to have been - try writing a concise and gentle melody to a line like "the first thing that I heard you say when you were standing there set in your way was that you were not blind". It's not easy. Clark's departure from the Byrds has been attributed to an unwillingness to travel and a fear of flying . . . but one wonders if there weren't other reasons, given that stellar Clark-composed tracks like "She Has A Way" and "The Day Walk" were left off early albums in favor of lesser songs and even cover versions like "Oh! Susannah".

Clark's early success was never matched commercially as a solo artist. His first album was released the same time as his former band's "Younger Than Yesterday" and it sunk like a stone, despite the fact that it was arguably the better of the two. Recordings Clark made after shortly the album's release remained in the can (until now - four are included, all better than what the Byrds were doing at that time), but later that year Clark teamed up with Doug Dillard (of the Dillards, famous for their portrayal of the musically amazing but socially backward hillbilly family the Darlings on "The Andy Griffith Show") to make two amazing albums for A&M. These too, failed commercially. Two previously unreleased songs from those sessions are included here for the first time.

His career continued along this path - great, even groundbreaking albums, followed by dismal sales, record company and promotional hassles and periods of inactivity, depression and alcoholism, which eventually contributed to his very early death.

But don't let the sordid details get in the way of this music. Clark's voice (at the meeting point between pop, country and Dylan) feels like an old friend. The arrangements are often full of orchestration, which adds a panoramic grandeur without ever overtaking the essential calm beauty of the compositions. If you like the Byrds, Gram Parsons or Bob Dylan, but have never heard Gene Clark, congratulations, you're about to discover a connection between all three which equals their best qualities.

This is an excellent place to start enjoying Gene Clark. If you dig this material enough to continue searching out the rest of his work, there is still enough fine and rare material here to prevent this from becoming redundant. After this, I'd recommend the A&M UK issue of the two Dillard & Clark albums (plus three 45-only tracks) on one CD. Beyond that, "Echoes", which combines some Byrds' tracks with his entire debut album (and three rare tracks), "White Light" (possibly his best solo album) and "No Other" (slightly flawed but amazing, and his most ambitious work) are all great.

To say that Gene Clark was The Byrds would be a disservice to a talented group with four strong songwriters. That said, Clark was the heart of The Byrds; his vulnerable songs recall John Lennon and Bob Dylan at their best while remaining uniquely his own. This terrific collection put together by Sid Griffin features key album tracks recorded with The Byrds, solo and with various collaborators over the years. Featuring a number of previously rare or unreleased tracks, "Flying High" may not be the ultimate Gene Clark anthology (it would take more than these two generous discs to do him justice), it's a great collection nonetheless.

Opening with "You Showed Me" (which Clark co-wrote and ultimately was covered by The Turtles), the CD moves sequentially through Clark's career with The Byrds (he appeared on three albums but departed during the recording of the band's third)moving through a handful of the band's classic Clark penned tracks. We get three previously unreleased recordings "Los Angeles", "I Pity the Poor Immigrant" and "That's Alright By Me". Moving into the groundbreaking country rock album that Clark recorded and released at the same time as The Byrds (now consisting of McGuinn, Hillman and Clarke)that Clark recorded as part of Dillard & Clark. We get a number of tracks from their debut and follow up album plus one previously unreleased track they recorded before their split. The first disc concludes with the single Clark recorded for A&M "One in a Hundred" and "She's the Kind of Girl" which ended up on "Roadmaster". These two are rare alternate mixes.

Disc two opens with key tracks from Clark's great album "White Light" including two tracks that appeared on the 2002 reissue as bonus tracks. From there we move to "The American Dreamer" a rare track recorded for Dennis Hopper's film and tracks from both the unfinished "Roadmaster" and the baroque-country-rock of "No Other". Three tracks from the MIA and excellent "Two Sides to Every Story" (which will hopefully see the lightof day on CD), a single track from Clark's album with Carla Olson and a single track recorded for the "True Voices" album. Finally, a bold re-recording of "Mr. Tambourine Man" featuring the verses cut for The Byrds' classic recording. The only material MIA that really matters are the tracks Clark recorded for "The Byrds" album for Asylum Records. While that album was a disappointment, Clark's tracks (including his remake of Neil Young's "Cowgirl in the Sand") were highlights that briefly revived his career.

The 16 page booklet features notes by Sid Griffin and a brief note by Chris Hillman. There's quite a few pictures from throughout Clark's career and a discography of the material this anthology was pulled from. A fine tribute to a great singer/songwriter who got lost midflight, "Flying High" redresses some of those wrongs.

Throughout Gene's stellar yet short career, he was often overshadowed by lesser talents. This collection goes along way in displaying just how incredibly gifted this former Byrd truely was. It was wonderful to finally hear many of the unreleased songs I had only read about over the years. This compelation is also the only opportunity for now, to hear cuts off of the "Two Sides to Every Picture" album released in the late seventies. I only hope that more of Gene's unreleased catelog can someday soon be released. I highly recommend this cd for Gene Clark and Byrds fans everywhere. It's worth every cent.

I've been a hard core Byrds freak for over 30 years and have always enjoyed Gene's music. However, he broke from the group so early that I lost track of him, instead focusing on the magic 12 string Rickenbacker and on Gram Parsons. This album (as well as Roadmaster) confirms that Clark was the genius all along. EVERYTHING on this album is brilliant - it's hardly worth singling anything out in particular. My God, what a gift he had and how great is our loss.

This is not some psycho review lamenting a lost artist. Just praising the virtues of a truly gifted songwriter. I bought this CD nearly four years ago and it continues to work its way back into my regular rotation. Gene Clark was an extremely gifted song writer who seemed to muck up a successful career over and over again. Thankfully, this album touches on his greatness. This album made me search out Byrds albums to find his other songs, which leads to a slight complaint. Some great Gene Clark songs on Turn, Turn, Turn! which I think should have been included, instead of the not-so-good remake of Mr. Tambourine Man. Other than that, I can't recommend this album enough. Please, buy it. If you are a fan of Gram Parsons, jump on board and listen to the originator of country rock.

He wasn't influential in the popular way ; and the only problem with this 'best of' is the difficulty of finding the two albums 'No Other' and 'White Light' to flesh out the best.

My favourite is 'No Other' - and the standout missing track from this compilation is 'Silver Phial'.

Gene deserves a better tribute than this - the two 'lost' albums didn't depend on Byrds/Dylan recollections.

Gene Clark was a truly great artist. He was awesome with the Byrds and he gets deserved accolades for his work with them (he IS in the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame after all!), but his solo stuff, basically neglected during his time is very intriguing and VERY GOOD (if not GREAT). He was every bit the "country-rock" pioneer as the better known Gram Parsons was and was pretty much up there in songwriting greatness as Bob Dylan, Neil Young, etc. He should have been HUGE in his day, but for various reasons (some of them brought upon himself) he wasn't. This two CD set is an excellent overview of his career and made we wonder what might have been had he been more appreciated in his lifetime.

The music on these two discs make one wonder why Gene Clark wasn't a solo star. He tasted solo stardom with the Byrds, but success on his own eluded him. On song after song, some previously unreleased, Clark mixes rock, folk, country, and even bluegrass into a brand of his own. This set covers his entire career, which can be looked at in its totality, unfortuately.

From "Set You Free This Time" to his cover of Phil Ochs "Changes", this is music performed with conviction. One note though, Clark did not write "The French Girl." It was written by Sylvia Fricker and Ian Tyson. Always give credit where it is due and that's a wonderful tune. My hope is that more listeners will discover the riches that Clark's recordings have in abundance.

As I was growing up during the sixties, I was always pulled to the Music of the Birds. It was layed back and moving. I always thought Roger McQuin was the mover and shaker of the band, now I know Gene Clark was the key stone. I listen to Rock such as Metalica and Pink Floyd. I listen to music for different moods I have. I bought "No Other" in England when I was station over there in 74-77. For Fathers Day I got "Flying High". What a great CD. It oozes something I haven't felt in a long time. It covers folk to folk rock. These are songs that you could play on a box guitar and feel very good about. These songs aren't Road songs, but sitting in the den or the back porch, slow times, just feeling good about life, and wondering how you live so long with out this CD.

Gene Clark was the original songwriter and lead singer of the Byrds. But a decision to cover Bob Dylan songs was perhaps the most significant event contributing to the relative obscurity of one of the sixties best singer-songwriters. Because Roger McGuinn sounded more like Dylan (a dubious claim to fame), McGuinn sang lead on the folk covers. Early Byrds singles tended to be folk covers with Beatlesque rock arrangements, relagating Clark's best songs to b-sides and limiting his album tracks.

After finally writing a major hit song, "Eight Miles High", for the Byrds, Clark left the band, but continued a musical odyssey which would be the prototype for artists such as Neil Young and Don Henley.

Clark's singing is consistenty sensitive and soulful, while his song arrangents are intricate and appealing. His melodies are generally bright (although often melancholoy), and his intricate lyrics are filled with emotional and spiritual soul-searching.

Flying High offers up many of Gene Clark's best recordings from the time he joined the Byrds in 1964 until the last release before he died in 1991.

The first disk starts with four of his very best original Byrds recordings, although "Eight Miles High" is unfortunately and inexplicably missing. However, "Feel a Whole Lot Better" and "She Don't Care About Time" are also Byrds classics. Six solo recordings, with the various aid of future Byrd Clarence White, Glen Campbell, Leon Russell, and Laramy Smith are of comparable quality. "Tried So Hard", featuring White's distinctive country picking, is country-rock at its best (and earliest). The next 11 songs are bluegrass-rock fusion recorded by the incredible Dillard and Clark Expedition. "Train Leaves Here This Morning" would become a minor hit for the Eagles. "Through the Morning, Through the Night" and "Polly" were recently covered by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. The last two songs on Disk 1 represent an early 70's reunion of the original Byrds (via overdubs) which should rank among the Byrds better recordings.

The first five songs on Disk 2 are from Clark's low-key, brilliant singer-songwriter White Light album sessions. "Spanish Guitar" has been singularly praised by Bob Dylan. There are three songs recorded from the country-rock Roadmaster album with a terrific band including guitar virtuoso Clarence White (then currently with the Byrds), fiddle virtuoso (recently of the Flying Burrito Brothers and formerly of the Dillard & Clark Expedition), pedal steel master Pete Kleinow (recently of the Flying Burrito Brothers), drummer Michael Clarke (Byrds, Dillard & Clark, recently of the Flying Burritos), session pianist Spooner Oldham, and (perhaps) bassist Chris Ethridge (formerly of the Flying Burritos). Clark's album masterpiece, No Other, is represented by three songs, including "Silver Raven", considered by many to be Clark's best song. The three songs from Two Sides to Every Story may belie the onset of Clark's personal and professional frustrations, but are all the more poignant because of it. "Fair and Tender Ladies" is a catchy arrangement of a folk standard, taken from the Gene Clark/Carla Olson album So Rebelious a Lover (1987), while "Changes" is a brilliant Phil Ochs cover by Clark/Olson released in 1990. The album closes with a powerful, melancholy solo performance of "Mr. Tambourine Man", released on Firebyrd in 1984.

Besides including many of Clark's best, Flying High includes a number of rareities (unreleased, underreleased, or outtakes) which are so good that they would be difficult to identify just by listening to the album.

While there are no real flaws with Flying High, there are a number of unfortunate exclusions, notably "Eight Miles High", "Changing Hearts" or any song from the Byrds reunion album, additional songs from No Other, "Won't Let You Down" or any song recorded with McGuinn, Clark, Hillman, and a few excellent songs from the 80s such as "Rodeo Rider", "Del Gato", and "Mary Sue".

But Flying High presents an absolutely terrific listening just as it is. Great performer - great collection of songs.