Customer Reviews

No Other

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this record when it came out in 1974 because that was my summer of full immersion in Southern California country rock.Having been a Byrds fan, and because the record was released on Asylum records I guess I expected something different from what I heard when I played the thing. Well I don't rember disliking it, but it never got heavy rotation on the turntable, and somewhere down the line it kinda disappeared from my collection.Over the years fans and revisionist reviewers started gushing over this great "lost" work of art, comparing it to Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks' (um...no.)or Skip Spence's Oar (only in the sense that neither sold, cuz Oar is awful). So when 'No Other' finally got it's CD release, amidst glowing reviews, I had to check it out again. Well folks what we have here is a little masterpiece of SoCal country rock with gorgeous singing and playing and I can't remember why I didn't love it thirty years ago. The reason it didn't sell is because most people didn't know who Gene Clark was, not because of some kind of weirdness in the music.Neil Young sold tons of records that were far stranger and less accessible than anything on here.Promotion might have done the trick, but there was none, so it sank without a trace. Here thirty years later, and too late for the sadly deceased Gene Clark, is another chance for country rock fans to hear a work of great emotion and heartbreak that should have been a contender. It's, I repeat, a great ,great country rock recording, by a very talented singer songwriter, and that's all. And that's enough.

When The Byrds reunited for Asylum Records there was the hope that the original quintet would recapture the magic they generated with their first couple of albums. It didn't happen. While The Byrds (which is still out of print)suffered from an overabundance of ambition, production and egos, Clark's solo effort for Asylum had all the ambition and production of the previusly mentioned album but with the inspiration necessary to pull it off.

This is Clark's most "produced" effort. For that very reason, there are some Byrds and Clark fans that can't stand it. Looking past the ambitious production, the songs are what really matter. At its core, No Other features some of Clark's most sublime material. Many folks have compared it to Van Morrison's Astral Weeks but I'd venture to compare it to Lennon's Imagine. The heartache, pure emotion and powerful performances at the core of the album benefit from the production.

Rhino has done a terrific job of remastering the album. While I can't detect a huge sonic difference between this and the fine Collector's Choice edition, it does benefit from the inclusion of alternate versions and a bonus track not available on a legit CD before.

Gene Clark was always the most vunerable of The Byrds. That was reflected in his powerful, emotional songs as much as his emotionally naked vocals. It's about time that this great album got the deluxe treatment it deserves. Certainly if you're a Byrds/Clark fan pick this up. Even if you're not, it's well worth purchasing. Like Neil Young's wounded On the Beach, No Other is a classic album that stands outside of its time but was also made at the wrong time. Perhaps it'll finally get some appreciation.

Just recently getting into Gene Clark's impressive body of solo work, I started with White Light and (after only one listen) was initially unimpressed. To tell the truth, I can't think of a Gene Clark album that actually wowed me on the first listen. After a few spins though, White Light found its way permanently under my skin as a fantastic exercise in poetry, delivery, and the possibilities of folk-rock production (it's got some pretty gnarly yet subtle electric guitar). Gene's songs are instantly understandable and accessible, but only to a point--eventually there's a final barrier of mystery in the words and in the sentiment, and that's what keeps me coming back to his music. It's wonderful to puzzle over just what he means and feels, and it's a hallmark of great songwriting when a song doesn't mean just one obvious thing and it's up to the listener to interpret. So, White Light is a fantastic (if commercially unsuccessful) record--enter No Other.

With No Other, Gene fleshed out his songs with lavish ensemble production (check out the bonus tracks for more stripped-down versions), including several female background singers, multiple guitars and keyboards, and some surprisingly different (for Clark) effects. With all due respect to some of the other reviewers, "country-rock" is a pathetically inadequate attempt to describe the sound of this record. No Other has its country-rock moments, but the entire album is so far-ranging that any attempt to classify it wastes words and detracts from enjoyment--I'd rather let the genre-bending sounds just wash over me.

Gene's voice is in prime form--the torture and emotion in his vocals is totally enthralling, and his strained, tentative delivery is still something I've only heard done well by Clark himself. The album opens with "Life's Greatest Fool," a country-rocker in which the easy-going music belies the large-scale wondering that Clark's doing. The production is admittedly quite different from Gene's earlier, more stripped-down records, but I think it works. The other instruments never detract from the force of his songs, they just make them (deservedly) more grand. "Silver Raven," sets a darker tone, one which will permeate most of the album, with a somewhat bleak poetic vision. "No Other" is one of my very favorite tracks, bearing little resemblance to "country-rock," or any other type of rock, for that matter--the fuzzed-out bass charges the song with an urgency supported by Clark's words--"all alone we must be part of one another." Chills.

Impenetrable poetics fill the album, as on the colorful "From a Silver Phial." "Some Misunderstanding," is yet another highlight--the album's epic centerpiece and one of Clark's most compelling soul-searching works of art. In the cascading wall of sound that the song conjures, Clark cries "we all need a fix at a time like this, but doesn't it feel good to stay alive?" Wow again. More of the same, high-caliber songwriting and performing closes out the album.

No Other resonates very strongly with me on a personal level (such a subjective criterion, I'm sure everyone doesn't feel the same way), but whether you find Clark's poetic explorations relevant or not, these are well-written songs with great lyrics, one of the most original voices in rock history, and some great music to go along with it all. If you already own Clark records, you MUST get No Other, and I also recommend it to fans of all those sub genres like folk- country- classic-rock and everything in between. It's time Clark found his audience.

As a Gene Clark fan from the Byrds period, the "Gene Clark and the Gosdins" album failed to live up to my expectations at the time: I missed the jangly 12 string Rickenbacker and the more rock driven sensibility behind the classic "Feel a Whole Lot Better." I found it way too demanding then to reappraise the artist within a solo context and turned my listening attention instead toward "Younger than Yesterday."

By 1972 I was ready to try again when I purchased the "Gene Clark Collector Series: Early L.A. Sessions." I was feeling nostalgic for the era, a feeling exacerbated by the release of Lenny Kaye's "Nuggets." Still rather put off by the laid back country material, I discovered vestiges of that brooding poetic genius in songs such as "The Same One" and "I Found You." That record stayed in my collection until, by 1991, I bought the "Echoes" CD. The acoustic version of "So You Say You Lost Your Baby" really impressed me. This, along with the studio version of the tune, with its awesome string arrangement by Leon Russell, enhanced my burgeoning reaffirmation of the man, his music and legacy.

Finally, I happened to come across a copy of "No Other" listed as a reissue of his long lost masterpiece. Upon first hearing the record, I felt a sense of closure in such songs as "Strength of Strings" and "No Other." What he alluded to in his scatter blot imagery of "So You Say You Lost Your Baby," a musical tale told in a little over two minutes, now seemed reconfigured into a definitive musical statement.

The eight songs for me represent a kind of interlocking tone poem. Each song, like the "notes that roll on winds/with swirling wings," segues into the next as naturally as our moods change according to circumstance. Each song is distinct, a world unto itself, yet finds itself somehow linked to the others by the finest of threads. From "Life's Greatest Fool" to "Lady of the North" Clark brings a deceptively simple yet elegant humanity into the emotional texture of his work. He sings of life's extremes, fraught with anger and disappointment as "Some Misunderstanding," the sorrowful polarities of relationship in "Silver Phial," the thoughtful paradoxes of "The True One," and the complex unity that only the "Silver Raven" seems to know.

I begin to understand now why "No Other" is highly regarded. Gene Clark is a significant musical poet laureate of our generation; the quintessential Byrd. Like the archetypal cowboy balladeer of old, what appears unassuming or naive, is redeemed by his unschooled common sense, authenticity and genuine effort. Appreciation for the artistic achievement on this album will only increase, I suspect, through time. I'm sorry I have only these posthumous words to share.

Wow, this is an awesome album. I can't say much that hasn't been said before about this masterpiece from an artist who deserved much more success than he ever got. I agree that this may sound over-produced at first for those used to Clarks more folk rooted work but give it chance and it will sweep you away and stun you with its brilliance.

In terms of the production, this is certainly one of Gene Clark's most uncharacteristic albums. His mournful, mystic Country influences are there but it's all buried under a lavish sea of decadent 1970's style production. The resulting sound is can only be described as Neil Young meets Fleetwood Mac on mescalin. And believe me, that sells it short.

Along with fellow Byrd alumi, Gram Parsons, Clark pioneered Country Rock in the late 60's with his now classic, FANTASTIC EXPEDITION OF DILLARD & CLARK. Yet despite wonderfully understated works like WHITE LIGHT, Clark's slow, eerie croon & dense poetical leanings failed to land a commerical audience.

NONE OTHER, seems to be Clark's bid for just that. Sadly, it only proved to be the final nail. It's the same old story: Gene Clark was simply a touch too out of step & ahead of his time.

Judging from his back cover photo, Clark seems to have been reaching for a wider audience. Gone is the introspective Country/Folk troubador. Almost shockingly, Clark is effeminently decked out like a Glam Rock Lord Byron complete with flowing locks, mascara, lipstick and---is that nail polish? In an era where T-Rex, Bowie & androgyny were all the rage, it appears Clark's record company was out to update his image.

"Greatest Fool" is a deceptively jaunty opener but "Silver Raven" went on to be Clark's signature tune & is easily among the album's highlights. Yet, the centerpiece remains,"Strength Of Strings". Along with "8 Mile High" it's probably Clark's most well known song. The Art Rock collective, This Mortal Coil's did a faithful rendition in th elate 80's but there's no improving the original. Let's just say it's as close as Clark gets to Neil Young's "Cowgirl In The Sand" . As ethereal as its epic.

Throughout, Clark's lyrics remain compellingly ambiguous, which is one of the things that sets NO OTHER apart. Yet, beneath the album's lush exterior, songs like a "A True One" & "Lady Of The North" reveal themselves to be good old fashioned Country weepers.

True, by today's standards, the production is a little dated over the top. But placed in context of it's era, NO OTHER remains an original piece of work. In a class all it's own.

Afterwards, Clark seems to have sadly decended into alcholism, occasionally reuiniting with The Byrds. But perhaps, NONE OTHER is not the last chapter. If TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY ever becomes re-released, it's back to roots aethetics are certain to cement Clark's cult legacy. A legacy that can be heard today in the likes of Wilco, My Mourning Jacket, Ryan Adams & The Ladybug Transistor.

...and you are lucky enough to have music, "No Other", should be with you. I guess this is Gene Clarks' masterpiece, but it's hard to know for sure since he wrote so many great songs in his too short life. What makes "No Other" different is that in addition to the songs, the production by Thomas Jeffereon Kaye is quite elaborate. This song cycle does not have a single bad track and the bonus songs are incredible too. The last track on the CD, "Lady of the North", is in my top 10 favorites, right up there with "A Salty Dog" by Procol Harum and "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" by Sandy Denny. Folk, rock and psychedelic never merged so perfectly, Gene Clark was a genius, and in my opinion should be compared to Bob Dylan and Neil Young. One difference is that Gene Clark was a better singer!

I don't know whether I agree with fans who feel that this album was Gene Clark's masterpiece. However, this CD version with the added tracks is definitely the definitive version of "No Other." Indeed, I prefer the songs in their earlier, more simple format, with Gene's spirited singing, softer guitars, and the absence of the choir. It should be noted that this album far exceeds anything being done at the time, or since, by McGuinn, Crosby, and Hillman. A must buy!

For those who enjoy Gene's sparser, more acoustic, country-tinged work, an initial reaction to his 1974 "No Other" is that it is overproduced. With subsequent listening it proves itself to be a complex and richly rewarding work. Other reviewers have commented to the effect that "No Other" may be the epitome of the "Cosmic American Music" Gram Parsons hoped to create. Here the folk-rock, country-rock, singer-songwriter genres collide and then coalesce with gospel, soul, funk and even hints of 1970's progressive rock. Thomas Jefferson Kaye's ambitious production and arrangements are epic but never bombastic, occasionally busy but rarely cluttered, and they don't detract from the strong songwriting. The sound quality is excellent. This was a very well engineered album, and the CD has warmth and depth. If it is a "concept" album, its musical and lyrical theme is one of embodying the excesses of the era while also striving to transcend them through spirituality and a return to simplicity. This remastered and expanded version is especially valuable for its bonus tracks which include earlier alternate takes of several "No Other" songs, recorded with a small band in arrangements more akin to his "White Light" album. No matter how much you have come to like the production and arrangements of the originally released versions, these alternate takes prove that the strength of the songs did not depend on those embellishments. A lower budget "No Other" would have still been a great album. As I understand it, Gene Clark intended "No Other" to be his grand statement, and he felt deeply discouraged by its commercial failure. How sad, because "No Other" could easily hold its own against any other "classic" 1970's album. In a just and perfect world it would have been a massive seller, routinely appearing on those "100 Greatest Albums" lists, and would still be in heavy rotation on the "classic rock" stations.

Some of us followed the heady days of the Byrds for the splendours of Gene Clark's writing and singing. Possessed of one of the era's truly great country rock voices, (Steve Young is his direct male equivalent)when Clark soared, we flew with him. As a Byrd apart, the stellar career one might have assumed would follow, was thwarted by mis-timing and mixed managerial direction from his musical marketeers.'White Light' is graced with many fine tunes, but its melancholy shifting melodies failed to break the charts.'No Other' found Clark, the cosmic cowboy, in full career. Production by Thomas Jefferson Kaye (he of the eccentric and affable,'First Grade', which I doubt ever made it to CD format) was a pulling-out of all stops. Appalling lack of support again dogged this often brilliant album. I'm thankful 'Collector's Choice' sought to reissue it.'Life's Greatest Fool','Silver Phial', and'Lady of the North' don't extend him. But in each of the remaining five songs, Clark's crooning is simply the best of his career. Russ Kunkle sits in for most of the drumming. Craig Doerge does some keyboard tinkling. Chris Hillman some mandolin. Jesse Ed Davis and Danny Kooch share guitar credits. Such were Clark's magnetic credentials. Some think 'No Other' is Baroquely excessive. Others, that the very mouthing of such loaded words as'magic','cosmic' and their ilk is wishy washy and bombastic. Perhaps I'd conceed this. But,strangely, they don't date the work or in any way diminsh Clark's conviction which I still find transporting.