Gene Clark
White Light

"It was more like a dream than reality" (With Tomorrow)

A lonely man, intent on meditating against the backdrop of a Californian sunset. A "white light" filters through, revealing the immensity of the infinite. A simple typographical error deprives the album of its title.
The cover alone would be enough to justify the legend surrounding Gene Clark's solo debut, the undisputed leader of the Byrds until the psychedelic beginning of "Eight Miles High", when he left the group due to his disdain for stardom and chronic fear of flying. Since then, a career on the fringes of the Californian scene, up to his first solo step, released in 1971. It preceded by a few months two singer-songwriter milestones like "Harvest" and "Pink Moon", of which "White light" is certainly contemporaneous. Of Neil Young's most famous work, it shares the west coast spleen and dreamy country-rock touches, among organs, bottleneck, and exquisite breaths of harmonica. The engaging sonic and lyrical intimacy, the deliberately timeless atmosphere, and the minimalism of the compositions - although a typically Dylanesque vision permeates everything - make it the American equivalent of Nick Drake's masterpiece.
"White light" consists of nine episodes of adamantine beauty, where Gene's virile voice and his unique way of picking the 6-string charm whether they depict dry and poignant pictures as in "With Tomorrow" or "Where My Love Lies Asleep", or when they craft sparkling Byrds-like flourishes in "White Light" and "1975". Elsewhere, a visionary odyssey takes shape that, though calling upon the world's sorrows, resolves in a song full of hope, such as in "The Virgin", "Because of You" or "One in a Hundred". The cover of the Dylan-Band classic "Tears of Rage", reinterpreted with shining pathos, perfects the blueprint of the americana sound, of which this album is perhaps the cornerstone, while what can be said of "Spanish Guitar"? Dylan himself stated he wished he had composed it, and I don't think a greater compliment could be written.

Gene Clark's heart, exhausted from a life of alcoholic and chemical excesses, ceased to beat in 1991, ending the existence of one of the greatest outcasts in pop history. But that white light will always be able to pierce the darkness.