Gene Clark, "No Other"
Mitch takes us on a timeless flyte
Mitch’s Pitch:
The record company was freaking out - desperately wanting a hit after investing so much money in a promising act. His bandmates were flummoxed - understanding neither his behavior nor his artistic vision. And the music was otherworldly, different, modern and experimental. Ultimately, it ended in tragedy.
Obviously this is the story of Eddie Wilson, of Eddie & The Cruisers fame, from the 1983 cinematic masterpiece of the same name.
But it might as well be the story of Gene Clark, founding member and hit songwriter (“I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better”, “Set You Free This Time”, “Eight Miles High”) from the legendary American rock band The Byrds.
Gene spent a year writing and recording No Other with (quite literally) the best musicians in Los Angeles. He created one of the most timeless, innovative, and affecting albums of all time. It was ignored upon release and within two years his record company deleted the title from his catalog. Unlike Eddie, Gene didn’t have to fake his own death to maintain his artistic integrity; David Geffen had already killed him.
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While The Beatles and The Rolling Stones get all the credit for defining and popularizing the sound of modern rock and roll, those earth-bound bands could never reach the innovative heights of The Byrds. Originally led by Roger McGuinn, with his jangling 12-string Rickenbacker and philosophy of positivity; David Crosby, with his soaring harmonies and hippie contrarianism; and Gene Clark, with his beguiling melodies and vulnerabilities, The Byrds added a Beatles beat to Dylan’s poetry and changed music several times, inventing folk-rock, space-rock, and (with Chris Hillman, Gram Parsons and Clarence White) country-rock.
Gene got scared of flying and tired of fighting and left The Byrds early, but he never stopped seeking - looking for both the perfect sound and the meaning of life.
And he never got closer to the answer than he did with No Other.
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The cover of the album is baroque, and so is the music inside. At times it sounds quite Byrdsian (“Life’s Greatest Fool”) or like his Dillard & Clark work (“True One”), but most of the time it sounds like no other album made before or after. The lazy, languid trip of “Lady of the North” finds Gene flying again. “Some Misunderstanding” is a paean to artistic integrity. The proto-industrial “No Other” takes us down a dark path. “Silver Raven” became a Clark anthem, another birdy metaphor for the search for meaning in life. As always with Gene, the lyrics are concise, deceptively simple, and packed with profound observations on existence itself.
The heart of the album is right in the middle, representing the intersection between the three dominant forces in Gene’s tragic life: the power of music, the power of philosophy, and the power of addiction. “Strengths of Strings” has an almost religious fervor - an ecstatic declaration of the importance of music and his ceaseless need for artistic expression, while “From a Silver Phial” is perhaps the most gorgeous song ever written about addiction.
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No Other is the ultimate statement of artistic integrity. It’s a deeply personal album that addresses universal themes through evocative language and innovative musical expression. Its sound is truly timeless, and so is its philosophical perspective. It’s an album that burrows into your soul, becomes a part of you, and never leaves once you hear it.
In Eddie & The Cruisers, Eddie Wilson faked his own death and lived long enough to see his genius recognized. Sadly, real life isn’t always so kind, and Gene Clark never lived to see how many of us got it, how many of us were moved and affected by his powerful words and beautiful music. Let’s share Gene’s masterpiece with even more people by putting it in the Newbury St. Collection.
CJ’s Response:
I like to think my rock ‘n’ roll knowledge is pretty tight, as the kids say. I can trace the lineage of my favorite musicians back to the bands they started in high school. And I can connect the dots between groups whose members swap places like left-handed pitchers at the trade deadline. So, when Mitch referenced the Byrds I was pretty confident where he was going.
Certainly, I knew David Crosby because two of my best friends in college were huge CSNY fans and we spent many hours in altered states listening to their music. And I was no stranger to Roger McGuinn because of the profound influence he had on my Gainesville ace Thomas Earl Petty. But then Mitch says we’re doing Gene Clark’s No Other.
And man, I couldn’t pick Gene Clark out of a police lineup.
Opening my mind to new possibilities, I listened to the first track, “Life’s Greatest Fool” and thought, “Oh, nice. That sounds like a Byrds song.” Nice, but unremarkable.
Then without warning, Gene goes on a run like Tom Hanks in the ‘90s.
“Silver Raven” is a folkie throwback that somehow sounds contemporary. Next comes the title track, which is one of the most stirring spirituals I’ve ever heard followed by another hymnal that just so happens to have music as its deity. I’m glad Mitch mentioned the religiosity of “Strength of Strings” because I’m pretty sure I would’ve joined whatever sect Gene was selling after hearing this song.
“From a Silver Phial” reminds me of my favorite drug-era Stones tune, “Sister Morphine”. It’s sad and desperate and tragic. And the streak comes to a satisfying end with “Some Misunderstanding” which feels like a reconciliation with those Gene has hurt and who have hurt him.
I’d never thought about Gene Clark before this week. But No Other is so powerful and genuine that I’d be proud to tell people it was part of the Newbury St. collection.
David Geffen be damned!
Pitch Successful (No misunderstanding here)
Ken’s Response:
I bought Buddy Holly’s Greatest Hits when I was around 10 years old. I didn’t care what else was on it, but I thought “That’ll Be The Day” was quite possibly the greatest thing since peanut butter met chocolate, and I had to have it (on cassette, of course). The rest of the album turned out to be quite good, considering it was first-generation rock ‘n roll. There are songs like that; the ones that make you immediately go to it on whatever your listening device du jour was. Songs like “Jack and Diane”, “Crazy Train”, or “Don’t Stop Believing” sold so many albums just from those tracks. The funny thing is, the rest of all three of those albums are really good too (don’t debate me on Escape...it is what it is and we all love it for exactly that reason.)
But what’s great about EONS, is that every once in a while we can reverse-engineer that same phenomenon by putting the album first. So it goes with Gene Clark’s No Other, a truly great album from end to end. But what struck me upon first listen, is that “From A Silver Phial” is such an amazing song, I could immediately picture my teenage self running down to the record store to buy the album, not knowing or caring what the other tracks had to offer. It is one of rock’s greatest masterpieces, and even more so since I always root for the forgotten underdog.
Having said that, I’d be remiss to not point out that “Life’s Greatest Fool” is a wonderful throwback to the days of The Byrds, “Silver Raven” is a gorgeous tune, “Strength of Strings” perfectly captures Clark’s psychedelic rock roots, and putting a lovely bookend on the album with the Byrds-esque “Lady of the North” s a perfect ending.
I am so happy to say that not only will No Other be getting regular play in my rotation, but that it’ll also be easy to reach right up front in the Newbury St Collection.
Pitch Successful (this album is for the byrds)
Mitch’s pitch was successful and Gene Clarks’s No Other has been added to the Newbury St. Collection!
I’ll feel a whole lot better if you fly over to the comments section and let us know whether Gene Clark’s No Other is one in a hundred or should be left out on the side.
Please join us next week as Ken sits in traffic on the Long Island Expressway to visit Billy Joel and listen to his breakthrough album, The Stranger.
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No Other is just the tip of the iceberg in Gene Clark land. I would encourage people to take a deeper dive into his other solo work, he does not disappoint! Glad to see people are still discovering what many consider to be his masterwork!
www.Gene-Clark.com
I have to wonder if Mitch used to belong to the Columbia Records club and forgot to return the card on time - the result getting a cassette by Gene Clark. My mother once did that and wound up with Mott the Hoople, which to my delight, I found at the bottom of her stack. So now Mitch found No Other in the bottom of an old dusty box and threw it up here for entry to NS, surely no more than to get a reaction from you guys than anything else.
I, of course, new of Gene Clark through his work with the Byrds, and even possessed the McGuin, Clark, and HIllman album, which as I recall wasn't that bad. But I never knew Clark had done any recording on his own, which is surprising because I consider myself pretty much the king of '70's rock music - pre-disco. I have to wonder how that got by me.
Anyway, I've listened to this recording three times today much to the chagrin of the gal sitting outside my office, and I just don't see what you guys are gushing about. The first song, Life's Greatest Fool caught my attention so I looked up the lyrics. As a novel and commentary writer (not my day job), I can relate to the words penned by Clark.
After that, every song seemed the same to me, as if it was long boring rambling song - sort of like this rebuttal. The rest of the album reminded me of what the Tolbert brothers from Mason Proffitt might have sounded like...if they recorded while on Quaalude's. I would prefer Eddie & the Cruisers was the album Mitch pitched today, as I thought both the album and the movie were pretty good. But in my mind, others in this genre (Mason Proffitt, A. Guthrie, CSNY, Poco, D. Mason, Croce) are much more interesting. You gentlemen might have welcomed the late Mr. Clark on to Newberry Street, but you won't find him on Webber Way. So, I'll anxiously wait to see what is thrown up, no pun intended, next week.