Gene Clark – No Other

Former Byrd Gene Clark emerged as a brilliant countrified songwriter with the wonderfully laid back “White Light” album in 1971, but this 1974 album completely defied any expectations. The country swing is still happening, such as on the lovely opener ‘Life’s Greatest Fool’ and the country-psych of ‘From a Silver Phial’, but Gene sings in a hung-over drawl while the band choogles away in a delicious high haze and the massed gospel backing singers drive the songs home.
The entire album is sublime as a whole, but the real standouts include the amazing ‘Silver Raven’: all moody acoustic picking, ghostly slide guitar, tumbleweed drumming and Gene’s soulfully wracked vocal while ‘Strength Of Strings’ is a powerful, swirling mélange of cosmic vocals, lyrical bass, tumbling pianos and peals of fizzy guitar.

Gene stretches out on the title track which is a funky swamp-fuzz psych-out full of vamping organs, scorching guitar breaks and percussive breakdowns with a distorted, mournful vocal and ‘Some Misunderstanding’ is a slow-burning masterpiece with simmering synth backing and a mournful country-gospel vibe.

This album was supposed to be Gene’s defining statement with its lush arrangements, expansive contemplative songs and huge, clean production. At the time it really didn’t go down well and more-or-less sank as an expensive folly. These days it is one of those great albums that is finally being reappraised as classic buried treasure rescued from the mid 70’s LA cocaine blizzard!