Totally Obscure — Gene Clark (No Other)
Today’s Totally Obscure subject is not really that obscure but in spite of his history in rock music remains widely unknown and his landmark album, “No Other” is just now gaining the respect it has long deserved.
Gene Clark was born in Tipton, MO (not that far from where I was born in Sedalia, MO) and went on to become a founding member of the Byrds. He was responsible for writing such songs as “Feel A Whole Lot Better” and “Eight Miles High”. Because Gene did not play guitar and made more money as a songwriter in the group, there was much tension and Gene chose to leave the group in 1966.
Gene released several solo albums but struggled to gain traction in the business. In 1974, Gene recorded the album, “No Other” Gene was living in Mendocino, CA in a house overlooking the ocean and stated that this led to the birth of many of the songs for this album. Gene also noted that 2 specific albums influenced this album — “Innervisions” by Stevie Wonder and “Goats Head Soup” by the Rolling Stones. Gene understood the disparity of these albums but was impacted by both at the time.
This album featured such musicians as Jesse Ed Davis (guitar), Joe Lala (percussion), Danny Korchmar (guitar), Craig Doerge (keyboards), Leland Sklar (bass), Russ Kunkel (drums), Michael Utley (keyboards), Butch Trucks (drums), and Ben Keith (steel guitar). Backing vocalists included Clydie King, Claudia Lennear, Vanetta Fields, Cindy Bullens, and Chris Hillman.
The production featured intricate harmonies and was heavily overdubbed, making it much different than earlier Clark albums. The album was released in September, 1974 and was a commercial failure. Additionally, the critics completely dismantled the album for being “bloated and pretentious”. By 1976, “No Other” was deleted from the Asylum catalog.
In a series of fortunate incidents, “No Other” was remastered and rereleased in November, 2019. Critics had completely reversed their feelings about this great album and “No Other” is now considered a classic album.
This album has long been a favorite for Donna and me and we still listen to it frequently — we completely disagreed with the critics early on. Do yourself a favor and add “No Other” by Gene Clark to your streaming collection!
