Gene Clark
No Other

In the tumultuous artistic journey of Gene Clark, "No Other" occupies the role of the successor to the masterpiece "White Light." It is futile to follow up an album of such perfection, especially for an artist of this caliber.

From the times of the Byrds, Clark had shown his ability to explore ever-new musical paths while retaining his unmistakable trademark: delicate interweavings of a vigorous voice with soft guitar and organ flourishes.

"No Other" is a multifaceted gem, able to navigate with enviable ease through various genres. There are obviously traces of that country-rock of which Clark is universally considered one of the pioneers when he was among the first in the late '60s, along with Gram Parsons, to hybridize the bluegrass style of the fathers with the fresh instances of the most exciting rock around. This happened especially at the time of his post-Byrds collaboration with banjo player Doug Dillard: a "fantastic expedition" based on stunning inlays of fiddle, harmonica, and steel guitar, as ignored by the masses as it was crucial in the evolution towards what would soon become the canonical country-rock.
Episodes like "The true one" and "Lady of the North" (co-signed with Dillard) confirm our approach to country music: beyond the genre’s barriers, it becomes a cornerstone of music capable of distilling its lyricism, wrapped in instrumentality that liberates and emphasizes the song. A subdued and disruptive country in its introspection, capable of forging on "Lady of the North" an authentic and dark visionary seduction ("Ah, fine lady of the North, like silver on the ocean shore"), not unlike Dylan’s "Nashville Skyline".

By the way, it should be noted that in the same year of the release of "No Other," Clark recorded a new version of his classic country-rock "Train leaves here this morning", with which the Eagles, covering it, took flight towards stardom, capitalizing on the insights of the genre's pioneers. This version is present in the reissue of "No Other": one more reason to get this CD.
But "No Other" is above all the most ambitious album in Clark's catalog, due to Jefferson Kaye's intricate production. At times there are almost spector-esque expansiveness, with a particular profusion of gospel choirs. If the rhapsody of "Some misunderstanding" may indeed be slightly annoying, tracks like "Strength of strings" and "From a Silver phial" grow after a few listens. Enchanting melodies seemingly lost within the bark of highly calibrated arrangements, hidden only to suddenly emerge and quickly become memorable.

The Gene Clark we love most, however, is the bare and genuine one, capable of exalting that powerful and virile voice, turned into an instrument: simply sung. "Life’s greatest fool" and "No Other" are in this sense prodigious, while "Silver raven" is stretched towards free figures that enchant with purity and harmony, also thanks to lyrics that, as always, capture the sense of disillusioned understanding of the transience of things, masterfully avoiding the pitfalls of self-indulgence and rhetoric.
Like its predecessors, this collection of very simple, great songs remained ignored by the general public, definitively dragging its author towards oblivion.

In a better world, Gene Clark would have been at the gates of the pantheon of the divine twins, Dylan and Young. But in the end, as Gene himself sang in these grooves, "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".

Tracklist and Videos