Gene Clark: Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers [★★★½]

When Gene Clark left the Byrds in early 1966 after two albums (one reason being a fear of flying which apparently made touring difficult), every indication was that he would find success either in a group or solo. He had been the Byrds’ best songwriter, penning such classics as "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" and "She Don't Care About Time" and “Eight Miles High”, and his rock star looks and moody vibe led to a contract with Columbia Records; Clark is probably the first major rock musician to “go solo”. But instead of capitalizing on his Byrds fame, Clark took his time, spending most of 1966 out of the spotlight and waiting until late 1966 to begin work on an album.

This would turn out to be a mistake, as the Byrds would rise to the songwriting challenge for their 1966 Fifth Dimension album, and were already working on the follow-up to that record. Ultimately, Clark’s solo debut would be released on January 16, 1967, just two weeks before the Byrds’ Younger Than Yesterday and with little promotion, which naturally caused Clark’s record to get lost in the bins. Indeed, Clark’s post-Byrds career is full of such frustration, as his talent rarely got the audience it deserved.

Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers does not suffer from a lack of good material or shoddy production (although I think the vocals have always sounded a little muddy in the mix). The crew that recorded including the Byrds rhythm section of Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke, and session musicians included such big names as Leon Russell, Glen Campbell, and future Byrd Clarence White. At times it feels like there was perhaps too much fussing with the control knobs, with the florid, though lovely orchestral touches in Leon Russell’s arrangement of “Echoes” seeming out of place contrasted with the rest of the album’s Beatles pop and sprightly folk rock. “Echoes” may be a bit overcooked, but it’s a wonderfully unique piece of music, sounding like orchestral Dylan. More successful are the oft-covered country rock gem “Tried So Hard” (check out the great Fairport Convention version) and the amazingly compact "Think I'm Gonna Feel Better", which, like "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" before it, wears an uptempo, cheerful disguise over heartbreakingly sad lyrics. In an interview, Clark described his inspiration for the record to be the Mamas & the Papas and Rubber Soul, which is a pretty good description of what the listener will hear. Unfortunately, the Gosdin Brothers do not harmonize as well as the Mamas & the Papas, or the Byrds for that matter—the harmony singing on the record is efficient, but does not quite gel. And while everyone was crazy for the Beatles, a track like "Elevator Operator" comes off as a pale rewrite of “Day Tripper”.

Gene Clark’s best songs are full of yearning and ache, darkly romantic and wistful. His solo debut contains a handful of classics, with side one holding the highest concentration of goodness. But many of the songs sound like Byrds outtakes, and without the songwriting competition or Dylan covers, side two ends up feeling a bit listless and monochromatic. Despite a few shortcomings, the album’s highlights are as good as anything Clark would ever write, and fans of the Byrds should regard this as a mandatory addendum to the group’s canon.

This album has been issued in a variety of formats. The 1991 compilation Echoes remixes and reshuffles the album, also including a few of Clark’s Byrds tracks. The 2007 Sundazed edition has better sound, restored artwork, and some curious outtakes, including some rare tracks opulently produced by LA bubblegum auteur Curt Boettcher.

MP3: "Think I'm Gonna Feel Better"

Gene Clark: Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers (Columbia, January 1967)

Side one

1. "Echoes" (3:19)

2. "Think I'm Gonna Feel Better" (1:36)

3. "Tried So Hard" (2:22)

4. "Is Yours Is Mine" (2:28)

5. "Keep on Pushin'" (1:47)

6. "I Found You" (3:03)

Side two

7. "So You Say You Lost Your Baby" (2:11)

8. "Elevator Operator" (2:32)

9. "The Same One" (3:31)

10. "Couldn't Believe Her" (1:55)

11. "Needing Someone" (2:09)

Similar Recordings

Playing this record after Rubber Soul is somewhat unfair—who want to go on after the Beatles?—but it gives you a good idea of where Clark was coming from. Played after Younger Than Yesterday, it makes one really regret Clark’s departure from the Byrds, as many of these tracks would have sounded great on that album. Clark would later head in a more countryish direction, and if you like “Tried So Hard”, you’ll enjoy the two Dillard & Clark records he made in 1968 and 1969 with bluegrass banjoist Doug Dillard.