Gene Clark NO OTHER (Asylum) 1974
Great paintings are like this, as are great books, films, sculpture, photography, and great music, be it opera, jazz, hip hop, or rock and roll. Great music moves beyond place and time, as well as point and purpose. Great music has the ability to shift moods, alter mindsets, and affect feelings. There exists a small group of rock and roll albums such as this, among them Starsailor by Tim Buckley, The Idiot by Iggy Pop, Rock Bottom by Robert Wyatt, Tonight's The Night and On The Beach by Neil Young, Pink Moon by Nick Drake, Closer by Joy Division, and No Other by former Byrds frontman Gene Clark.
When Gene Clark recorded No Other in 1974, the world at large was not ready for it. Capturing a certain mood in time that is also explored by Iggy Pop's underrated wasted in L.A. collaboration with James Williamson, Kill City (recorded 1975, released 1977), and Tim Buckley's booze soaked postcard from the depth Greetings From L.A. (1973), No Other is positioned from the point of Clark heading directly into the abyss. Endless pages could be filled the mood and textures of the eight songs that make up the record, but one thing is certain: this is a collection of songs that band together as one to paint a picture of someone standing on the edge, resigned to a destiny and surrendering to a fate that they know is ultimately inevitable. Though by all accounts
The album starts out deceitfully enough with the seemingly innocent "Life's Greatest Fool", though that title alone already lets you know what you are in for. A pleasant acoustic driven western swagger with chirpy pedal steel,
Some walk out winner of those who've lost
Can it be said at any price this is the cost
Hard is perception easier is blame
Is this the only life for everyone is it the same?
Children laugh and run away
While others look into the darkness of the day
Some streets are easy while some are cruel
Could these be reasons why man is life's greatest fool?
If you shudder reading those, they are even more jolting when sung by
Do you believe when you're all alone
You held the key to your destiny gone
Do you believe deep in your soul
That too much loneliness makes you grow old
You could easily put these words into a Joy Division song and they would fit perfectly. Though the backing has all of the footstomping power of a Southern Baptist revival, the uneasiness in the words lends a feeling akin to Flannery O'Connor's stories of evil in its all its forms and its relation to the human experience. This is where it starts.
"Silver Raven" follows, a song that became a bit of a signature for
Have you seen the changing rivers now they wait their turn to die
But they turn their tide upon you when the sea begins to cry
As reasonably positive as the first song is and contemplative as the second one reveals itself to be, the vortex at the centre of this album opens up with all its mite on the third, the title track of "No Other". Sparse electric piano notes emerge and flicker like distant shooting stars, while the rest of the instruments slowly rustle to attention. And suddenly, with no warning, a single, blubbering black synth note is hit and the whirlpool is suddenly sliced open dead centre. The electric piano picks itself up, the energy rises, and then Gene begins:
All alone you say that you don't want no other
So the lord is love and love is like no other
"Strength of Strings" closes the first side on a somber note, soaring soulful female backing vocals and affected electric and acoustic guitars leading the way in pensive figures.
On the cosmic range
I am always high
I am always low
There is always change
But despite all of this, the side still ends on an indeterminate note.
And that is just the first side. The next four songs take us further down into the abyss, with "From A Silver Phial", which was apparently inspired by a very bad night of too much cocaine, leading the way. The 8 minute plus "Some Misunderstanding" sounds like a grand confession of surrender, doubt, and the end of the road. More Joy Division comparisons can arise here, especially with lines such as:
We all need a fix
At a time like this
But doesn't it feel good
To stay alive
Is
If you sell your soul to brighten your role
You might be disappointed in the lights
"The True One" is the most country of the bunch, though the words owe a lot more to Charles Willeford and Jim Thompson than they do Louis L'Amour. Bright pedal steel balances out the question "which one is the true one?" while never quite resolving itself.
The gorgeous and beautifully dynamic "Lady Of The North" closes the album. A love song to be sure, the words describe a love and respect so great that they are near heavenly. Chipper piano plays throughout, and despite the fact that one of the figures quotes "Chariots Of Fire" years before Vangelis actually wrote that theme, the song holds up. Cool wah-wah guitar, cello, and violin all blend in to create a sort of other worldly plethora of sound, with some uneasy synth washes painting the underside in questioning tones. The very end of the tune closes in some further synth figures that would re-quote themselves the next year in "Master Charge" on Iggy Pop and James Williamson's Kill City, the last song on that record. In both instances it gives the visual of the figure at question, driving through the night, perhaps on his way towards destiny, or perhaps on his way towards change, but all the same, the resolution as we see it is ours to decide. All the same, the albums ends in the same take no prisoners way as it begins. It is your choice to decide if you want to be encompassed by the sheer mass of its sound and emotion, but even that can be unavoidable at times. No Other is truly one of the greatest records on the 20th century, bar none.
The Rhino/WSM CD re-issue adds an almost complete second version of the album (the Collector's Choice version, ironically and sadly, does not feature any bonus tracks). Early and very basic versions of six of the eight tracks of the album are offered up, all of which demonstrate the degree of change that Thomas Jefferson Kaye's production gave the songs. In some ways, these versions more closely resemble
Also included as a bonus is a version of Clark's "Train Leaves Here This Morning", first recorded by
Gene Clark – No Other
Originally released: 1974
Rhino/WSM Cd re-issue with bonus tracks released: 2003
Produced by Thomas Jefferson Kaye
Engineered by Tony Reale with Joe Tuzen at The Village Recorder, Los Angeles, CA.
Mixed at Wally Heider Recording, Studio D, San Francisco, CA. Engineer: Mallory Earl.
1. Life Greatest Fool
2. Silver Raven
3. No Other
4. Strength Of Strings
Side Two
1. From A Silver Phial
2. Some Misunderstanding
3. The True One
4. Lady Of the North
Bonus Tracks (Rhino/WSM CD re-sissue only)
1. Train Leaves Here This Morning (Previously Unreleased Outtake)
2. Life's Greatest Fool (Previously Unreleased Alternate Version)
3. Silver Raven (Previously Unreleased Alternate Version)
4. No Other (Previously Unreleased Alternate Version)
5. From A Silver Phial (Previously Unreleased Alternate Version)
6. Some Misunderstanding (Previously Unreleased Alternate Version)
7. Lady Of The North (Previously Unreleased Alternate Version)