On the eve of what would have been American singer-songwriter and Byrds founding member Gene Clark’s 75th birthday, his solo album, No Other, is getting the deluxe reissue treatment by 4AD. The album, recently remastered at Abbey Road Studios, was re-released as a limited-edition boxed set, limited-edition 2-CD, single CD and single LP on Nov. 8.
The double CD edition comes in a hardbound book cover which includes a bonus disc of alternate studio versions of each track plus a recording of “Train Leaves Here This Morning” (an Eagles hit in 1972, written by Clark and Eagles founding member Bernie Leadon).
Listen to a studio outtake of the title track
Clark’s legacy includes his work as a singer, songwriter, founding member of the Byrds and collaborator in bands such as Dillard and Clark; Gene Clark and the Gosdin Brothers; McGuinn, Clark and Hillman; and later as the duet partner of Carla Olson (the Textones). Clark is also a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee whose songs have been covered by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Iain Matthews, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, the Rose Garden and Chris and Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes, among many others.
Gene Clark
Released in 1974 on Asylum Records, a year after the Byrds’ short-lived reunion, No Other is described in a press release as “a psychedelic rock, folk, country and soul record that famously cost a small fortune to make. Although received warmly by critics, it flopped and was soon deleted, a failure Gene never came to terms with. The New York Times wrote, around the record’s 40th anniversary in 2014, “hindsight has burnished No Other, as it has redeemed other albums that went on to be reconstructed as rock repertory, like Big Star’s Third/Sister Lovers and Lou Reed’s Berlin.”
Listen to “Silver Raven” from the new collection
The deluxe boxed set edition is an extremely limited item; it contains the LP, three SACDs (the original album in an authentic Japanese vinyl replica sleeve plus two more discs of session mixes), an exclusive 7”, a comprehensive Blu-ray disc that includes HD versions of all tracks, a stunning 5.1 surround mix of the album, the original 1974 vinyl master and an exclusive documentary by Paul Kendall (the director responsible for the acclaimed 2013 film, The Byrd Who Flew Alone: The Triumphs and Tragedy of Gene Clark), and a hardbound 80-page book which features essays, extensive liner notes and previously unseen photos.
Listen to a studio outtake of “Some Misunderstanding”
Clark reunited briefly with his Byrds-mates Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman on the 1979 album, McGuinn, Clark & Hillman. He was born on November 17, 1944. He died at just 46 years old on May 24, 1991.
Related: Our Album Rewind of the post-Clark Byrds classic Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Listen to “From a Silver Phial” from the new collection
2 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationAbsolutely a jewel of an album; sits comfortably next to Crosby’s “If I Could Only Remember My Name.”
Clark also did two albums with Doug Dillard.