Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers

Gene Clark

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 13, 2007)
• Original Release Date: March 13, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sundazed Music Inc.
• ASIN: B000MEYJ6U
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #107,551 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
On the first solo album by an ex-Byrd, Gene Clark doesn't stray too far from the nest. Cut in 1966 upon Clark's departure from the iconic L.A. combo, with current Byrds Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke forming the rhythm section, and spotlighting brothers Vern and Rex Gosdin, a pair of former bluegrass pals of Hillman's who chime in with sweet harmony vocals, Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers stands as one of Clark's supreme achievements. Add session guitarists Glen Campbell and Jerry Cole and future Byrd Clarence White and beautiful orchestration by Leon Russell to Clark's melancholy melodies and weatherbeaten voice and the result is a classic country-rock primer that sounded like nothing else in '67 and continues to astound and inspire today. Five unheard bonus tracks from the sessions only sweeten the deal of this eye-opening work.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great to have this available again, March 29, 2007

By	It's Me, "Really" (Houston) - See all my reviews

It wasn't immediately apparent to me that it is a big sonic upgrade over the "Echoes" CD, but no matter. This is an excellent album from the ex-Byrd and is essential for fans of the group or of Gene's later solo masterpieces such as "White Light," "Roadmaster," and "No Other." The liner notes and booklet layout are also better and more informative than was "Echoes."

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Through a different prism, April 24, 2007

By	Mr. John L. Ward "John Ward Byrd Brain" (Manchester, England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When in 1972 I paid 40 pence for a second hand copy of the original (and even then long deleted) album, I remember being a little disappointed. The music seemed dated by the standards of Gene's earlier work with The Byrds and certainly did not appear to bear any comparison with their contemporaneous masterpiece 'Younger Than Yesterday'. Since then it has been re-released in different guises, six times! During the early 70's it appeared in a re-recorded form as 'Early LA' - this version had one of the best songs 'Elevator Operator', inexplicably removed. Edsel/Demon gave the original album a UK release in 1988 and then followed this up some years later with an edition that was superior for its extensive information - including a rather touching letter from a female fan to a British pop music magazine. Whilst all this was going on Sony released 'Echoes' probably to compensate for the fact that (the by now late)Gene Clark had been under represented on The Byrds Box Set of 1990. Finally, just in case anyone thought that this music was still being neglected , Sony then released the original version of the album with a single bonus track. And now we have with this latest release on Sundazed, the best of all possible worlds. Bob Irwin's work on the original tapes yields stunning results. The packaging is certainly well up to the standards of the second Edsel release although Gene's poem which had featured so prominently on the back of the original cover has not been included. And as for the music - well to my ears now it sounds much fresher and more exciting than it did when I was an angst ridden student all those years ago - but then that's in the nature of musical appreciation.....isn't it?

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clark's first solo outing flies high, August 15, 2007

By	Mark Blevins (Lindside, WV United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Gene Clark left the Byrds in 1966, and this album appeared nearly a year later. He lost the momentum and push he could have received had this or a single appeared earlier, but that's neither here nor there. The album, as it stands, is a mix of folk-rock, nascent country-rock, and Beatles type pop. Several good songs are on the disc including the pop masterpiece "Echoes," the proto country-rock of "Tried So Hard" and the Beatles style "Couldn't Believe Her".

It's a strong record and certainly one of Clark's best. His best material came a little later with the Dillard and Clark project, along with the no other like it album No Other, but this is as a good an introduction to Clark the solo artist as any. It's the closest in the style of his former band, members of which he would work on and off through the rest of his professional life.

Also included are several alternate takes and versions along with mono versions of The French Girl backed by Only Colombe, a failed single that stayed in the Columbia vaults until 1991 when it was released on Echoes. The extras didn't wow me, but the original album sounds great and does contain many gems.