Hand-Numbered, Limited Edition - 1200 Copies!
180g 45rpm Vinyl EP!
Mastered From Original Analog Tapes!
Silver Foil Presentation LP Jacket!
Gene Clark, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee as a member of the Byrds, struck out on his own in 1966. By early 1967 he was out on his own, looking for another label. These tracks are some of his efforts in recording as a solo singer/songwriter during that time. These recordings include backup by famous "L.A Wrecking Crew" (Leon Russell, Glen Campbell, Hal Blaine, etc.) along with special guest, Hugh Masekela.
First appearing on Sierra Records "Gene Clark-The Lost Studio Sessions" the opening track of "Back Street Mirror" begins with producer Jim Dickson and Leon Russell talking between takes before the 11th and final take is achieved.
Notwithstanding the excellence of the 11 songs selected for inclusion on Gene Clark With the Gosdin Brothers, Gene Clark's brief but accomplished solo debut, fans and scholars have always known of the existence of a trove of unreleased material recorded in the aftermath of Gene Clark's shockingly abrupt departure from the Byrds on February 22, 1966. Over the years, this cache of mostly unheard songs (dozens were published in '66 & '67) has retained a bittersweet mystique for devotees of Clark's work. After all, Gene Clark left the Byrds at their commercial peak - a band he had co-founded and for whom he'd written a string of significant, standout tracks. With the Byrds, he had stood center stage, a darkly iconic Prince Valiant figure who sang songs of unabashed chivalric devotion. He had contributed to their oly back-to-back no. 1 singles. At only 21 years of age, he had already penned tracks that helped define an era. And then, for all intents and purposes, he disappeared from the public eye.
Shortly after leaving what was arguably, at the time, America's biggest band, Clark left L.A. for a self-described 'retreat'.
When he returned to L.A., Gene Clark began to write, publish, and record at a prodigious rate. His low profile only added to the mystery: a handful of uniformly tentative live performances were given during this time, but no tour was ever mounted. In the years since his death in 1991, the collective efforts of authors Johnny Rogan, John Einarson, and others have managed to clear up some of the misconceptions about Gene's activities, recorded or otherwise, but many still remain.
It was, by all accounts, a period characterized by multiple false starts, whether in terms of his professional career as a bandleader and live performer (with the ill-fated Gene Clark Group) or as a recording artist (with Columbia Records). After Clark attained stunning success and sudden wealth within a year of co-founding the Byrds, the immediacy of his comedown as a solo artist had to have taken its toll. It would not be unreasonable to assume that generous helpings of frustration and self-doubt conspired to thwart an ego bruised by commercial indifference. But if Clark's hit-making potential had suddenly inexplicably dried up, then his songwriting muse was given free rein to indulge its genre-bending passions with impunity - and to a degree far greater than anything ever attempted by his erstwhile bandmates. This remarkable EP, then, stands as compelling evidence of Gene Clark's often-overlooked capacity for fearless musical experimentation, while his achingly poetic lyrics rhyme off a surfeit of clues regarding his headspace during this dark epoch.
Two tracks, "Back Street Mirror" and "Yesterday, Am I Right", were recorded during the Russell-Masekela Sessions, in January 1967.
'Back Street Mirror', overtly Dylanesque both in vocal delivery and lyrical complexity - essentially a sister track to 'Echoes', Gene's first solo single - features sprightly baroque touches from arranger Leon Russell and South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela. Its planned flipside, a driving, horn-heavy R&B track with gritty, soulful vocals, proves rather convincingly that Gene always strived to push his art in new directions.
The tracks 'If I Hang Around' and 'She Told Me' were published October 31, 1966 and testify to Gene's stunning growth as a lyricist and composer.
'That's What You Want' sounds eerily like a White Light-era demo circa 1971, but it was actually copyrighted in late 1965 - when Gene was still a member of the Byrds.
Features:
• Numbered, Limited Edition - 1200 Copies
• Hand-Numbered Silver Foil Jacket
• 180g 45rpm Audiophile Vinyl EP
• Mastered From Original Analog Tapes
• Analog Tape Restoration & Mixing: Mark Linett
• Metal Processing: Nipro Optics Inc., Irvine, CA
• Pressed at Hand Drawn Pressings, Dallax, TX
Selections:
Side One:
1. Back Street Mirror
2. Don't Let It Fall Through
3. Yesterday, Am I Right
Side Two:
1. If I Hang Around
2. She Told Me
3. That's What You Want
180g 45rpm Vinyl EP!
Mastered From Original Analog Tapes!
Silver Foil Presentation LP Jacket!
Gene Clark, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee as a member of the Byrds, struck out on his own in 1966. By early 1967 he was out on his own, looking for another label. These tracks are some of his efforts in recording as a solo singer/songwriter during that time. These recordings include backup by famous "L.A Wrecking Crew" (Leon Russell, Glen Campbell, Hal Blaine, etc.) along with special guest, Hugh Masekela.
First appearing on Sierra Records "Gene Clark-The Lost Studio Sessions" the opening track of "Back Street Mirror" begins with producer Jim Dickson and Leon Russell talking between takes before the 11th and final take is achieved.
Notwithstanding the excellence of the 11 songs selected for inclusion on Gene Clark With the Gosdin Brothers, Gene Clark's brief but accomplished solo debut, fans and scholars have always known of the existence of a trove of unreleased material recorded in the aftermath of Gene Clark's shockingly abrupt departure from the Byrds on February 22, 1966. Over the years, this cache of mostly unheard songs (dozens were published in '66 & '67) has retained a bittersweet mystique for devotees of Clark's work. After all, Gene Clark left the Byrds at their commercial peak - a band he had co-founded and for whom he'd written a string of significant, standout tracks. With the Byrds, he had stood center stage, a darkly iconic Prince Valiant figure who sang songs of unabashed chivalric devotion. He had contributed to their oly back-to-back no. 1 singles. At only 21 years of age, he had already penned tracks that helped define an era. And then, for all intents and purposes, he disappeared from the public eye.
Shortly after leaving what was arguably, at the time, America's biggest band, Clark left L.A. for a self-described 'retreat'.
When he returned to L.A., Gene Clark began to write, publish, and record at a prodigious rate. His low profile only added to the mystery: a handful of uniformly tentative live performances were given during this time, but no tour was ever mounted. In the years since his death in 1991, the collective efforts of authors Johnny Rogan, John Einarson, and others have managed to clear up some of the misconceptions about Gene's activities, recorded or otherwise, but many still remain.
It was, by all accounts, a period characterized by multiple false starts, whether in terms of his professional career as a bandleader and live performer (with the ill-fated Gene Clark Group) or as a recording artist (with Columbia Records). After Clark attained stunning success and sudden wealth within a year of co-founding the Byrds, the immediacy of his comedown as a solo artist had to have taken its toll. It would not be unreasonable to assume that generous helpings of frustration and self-doubt conspired to thwart an ego bruised by commercial indifference. But if Clark's hit-making potential had suddenly inexplicably dried up, then his songwriting muse was given free rein to indulge its genre-bending passions with impunity - and to a degree far greater than anything ever attempted by his erstwhile bandmates. This remarkable EP, then, stands as compelling evidence of Gene Clark's often-overlooked capacity for fearless musical experimentation, while his achingly poetic lyrics rhyme off a surfeit of clues regarding his headspace during this dark epoch.
Two tracks, "Back Street Mirror" and "Yesterday, Am I Right", were recorded during the Russell-Masekela Sessions, in January 1967.
'Back Street Mirror', overtly Dylanesque both in vocal delivery and lyrical complexity - essentially a sister track to 'Echoes', Gene's first solo single - features sprightly baroque touches from arranger Leon Russell and South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela. Its planned flipside, a driving, horn-heavy R&B track with gritty, soulful vocals, proves rather convincingly that Gene always strived to push his art in new directions.
The tracks 'If I Hang Around' and 'She Told Me' were published October 31, 1966 and testify to Gene's stunning growth as a lyricist and composer.
'That's What You Want' sounds eerily like a White Light-era demo circa 1971, but it was actually copyrighted in late 1965 - when Gene was still a member of the Byrds.
Features:
• Numbered, Limited Edition - 1200 Copies
• Hand-Numbered Silver Foil Jacket
• 180g 45rpm Audiophile Vinyl EP
• Mastered From Original Analog Tapes
• Analog Tape Restoration & Mixing: Mark Linett
• Metal Processing: Nipro Optics Inc., Irvine, CA
• Pressed at Hand Drawn Pressings, Dallax, TX
Selections:
Side One:
1. Back Street Mirror
2. Don't Let It Fall Through
3. Yesterday, Am I Right
Side Two:
1. If I Hang Around
2. She Told Me
3. That's What You Want
