Now available: Clarkophile in Shindig! Magazine #34


GENE CLARK
GENE CLARK hit it big with The Byrds in 1965, left them a year later and spent the rest of his life trying to replicate their success. His post-Byrds career is rife with false starts, blown chances and commercial failures. Critics labelled him an underachiever.
TOM SANDFORD examines the period leading up to Two Sides To Every Story, Clark’s last album for a major label, and comes to a very different conclusion. 


"Really thoughtful and wonderfully researched article."
Arranger | Composer | Conductor David Campbell
worked with Paul McCartney, Gene Clark, Beck, The Rolling Stones, Leonard Cohen, many others

"Great job."

 Peter Oliva, bass player for the KC Southern Band and the Firebyrds

"A great piece of writing. Brought back a lot of good memories from my L.A. days."

Jim Fielder, bass player, Blood Sweat & Tears, the Mothers of Invention, Gene Clark (Two Sides To Every Story)


Ordering info HERE.

Comments

billy said…
looking forward to getting this soon,got a lot of time for nilsson too,remember being intrigued by 1941 when i first heard that long ago .
billy said…
oh and 2 sides has been neglected for far too long ,was initially a bit disappointed on first buying it in77 but wouldn't be without it now, i haven't seen much evidence of many of those songs being performed live tho' hear the wind is on yt of course
The Clarkophile said…
Hope you enjoy it. billy.

I asked Peter Oliva, from the KC Southern Band, about what songs from Two Sides were played live. He ran down the list of songs and the only ones they didn't play were Silent Crusade and, I think, Lonely Saturday. I will check what he said.
billy said…
there was a lot of anticipation after no other but a long period of little info in the uk tho i remember quite a few imports started appearing eg early LA minus elevator operator and the dutch roadmaster with the bike cover. i remember corresponding with john rogan then as people were trying to get info,so it will be nice to see that period covered.yes that's interesting about those performancesi've heard a few of home run king etc in75 but for 77-8 on mc-c performancesi don't see any but don't think i've ever seen anything from76&early77
Lesley said…
Definitely grabbing a copy of this. Two Sides is a great album and I cherish my copy on vinyl. Sadly it got a bit lost between the drama of the No Other fiasco and the formation of McGuinn, Clark & Hillman. That Gene's son chose this one, of all of his father's albums, to perform in 2011 is a testament to how special a recording it was.
Rebecca said…
This was a great if sad issue (and not just because I had a letter of comment in it). I remember that Harry Nilsson worked on a new version of Silver Raven for some film, something Gene had been working on just before he was struck down.

I sure wish all the Sings For You tracks would come out, but great to see Two Sides getting attention finally, even Firebyrd seemed to get better treatment (and I remember when nobody seemed to know that worthwhile release existed). I do wish they could get Blue Raven a bit free of the flute, the track needs that 'no flute' button Nico wanted for playing her Chelsea Girl LP!
The Clarkophile said…
Ha, I must be the only person in the world who digs the flute in Blue Raven!
Lesley said…
Just a question...Does anyone know where some of these "lost tracks" are? I keep hearing about these wonderful songs that Gene recorded that have never been found after his death. Did Terri abscond with them, perhaps?

My biggest fear is that she stuck them in the attic of the Stanley Street house (which her estate still owns to this day), and they burned in that fire that happened there not long ago. Oh, the horror!!
The Clarkophile said…
Hi Lesley,

Only a very few insiders know the whereabouts of Gene's treasures. They're in the hands of private collectors, as far as I know.

I can't comment on what happened with Terri; I would only be speculating. It sounds like you know more about what happened with her than I.

As always, thanks for the comment.
Lesley said…
That is certainly a relief to hear. Hopefully one day those private collectors will make those recordings available to otheres. In the meantime, it's nice to know they are in the safe hands of people who truly appreciate them.
Rebecca said…
I stumbled upon an MP3 of Past My Door someplace before it was removed. Other than the widely available That's Alright By Me on that Flying High collection that is all I know of the Sings For You material, but both are major favorites of mine. I have heard rumblings of a 1966 Acetate with the Group being transferred by some very expert hands, but they were not too impressed with their own results (or 'the group') sadly. Gene later redid some of those songs for the 1967 debut LP anyway though. I'm thinking the 1966 acetates/tapes handed over to the Blokes/Rose Garden could be floating about someplace too. Things like Doctor Doctor, Big City Girl, On Tenth Street and Understand Me Too among them and never heard so far as we know.

By the way, I ordered a Sweetheart T-shirt thanks for that link! :^)
The Clarkophile said…
Hi Rebecca,

What is the length of your mp3 of Past My Door? The version posted on Facebook is about a minute shorter than the full-length version, which runs 4:24. For some reason, whoever posted it felt compelled to chop off the all-instrumental conclusion, which was a shame as it is both powerful and haunting.

Not sure you knew this, but it can be noted anyway that the version of 'That's Alright By Me' on Flying High is a completely different version from the one on SFY. These differences will be addressed in an upcoming post.

Re Gene Clark Group demos: When I spoke to Bill Rinehart, Joel Larson and Chip Douglas (on separate occasions) they all agreed that the demo session was premature, the results disappointing. They hadn't had time to gel as a unit, hadn't familiarized themselves with the material. Thing is, though, when I asked Joel if there's a chance that the material might have aged better than one would have guessed, he said it was certainly possible.
Let's remember that they would have been under extraordinary pressure to come up with something to rival The Byrds, and so their memories of the session may be affected by those initial pressures and subsequent feelings that they had failed to deliver. We'll never know, of course, since there's been no trace of them, not even rumours. They were most assuredly dumped many years ago.

I'm sure you're aware that Chip Douglas has a collection of about 14 Clark demos (one of which, If I Hang Around, saw release on Byrd Parts 2). Sadly, I was unsuccessful in my repeated attempts to convince him to do something with the tapes.

Those other demos you mention (Doctor, Doctor, etc.) do exist in the hands of private collectors whose identities are unknown to me.
Rebecca said…
Yes, that is the Past My Door I have, the 3:09 one. Good to know about that That's Alright By Me also. Gene is one of the few artists where I treasure material from both very early (Preflyte demos) and very late (Lover's Turnaround).

By the way, that Sweetheart shirt arrived today and is muy stylin'! :^D

I know it's a non-Gene album but I do love Gene's version of One Hundred Years From Now and a couple of other Gram songs.
The Clarkophile said…
I've ordered GC shirts from Peggy---she's awesome. Anyone who makes GC tees gets a free plug on my blog!

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