Cool, New Song: Parquet Courts "Mardi Gras Beads" (Official Video)

 My video of "Mardi Gras Beads" live in Santa Cruz, California, February 22, 2018: 

Top 2018 Indie Albums

Jack White Boarding House Reach (out now)

Arctic Monkeys Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino (May 11)

Parquet Courts Wide Awake! (May 18)

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks Sparkle Hard (May 18)

Courtney Barnett Tell Me How You Really Feel (May 18)

18 "New" Songs From 1967 By Byrds Co-Founder Gene Clark: The Holy Grail?

Amazingly, there are two new releases this year, Gene Clark Sings For You (Omnivore) and the Back Street Mirror EP (Sierra/Entree), with a total of 18 "new" Gene Clark songs from the critical 1967 era between them. This constitutes the closest to a "Holy Grail" that Gene Clark fans are likely to find at this point in time.

As a Byrd, Gene Clark harmonized with Roger McGuinn and David Crosby on the classics "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!", and was the principle writer of "Eight Miles High". He wrote some of the best Byrds originals including: "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better", "Here Without You", "Set You Free This Time", "The World Turns All Around Her", "She Don't Care About Time", as well as the lost gem "The Day Walk (Never Before)".

Gene Clark left The Byrds (which he co-founded) in 1966 for a solo career that never really took off, despite releasing several under-appreciated masterpieces such as White Light (1971) and No Other (1974), both with guitarist extraordinaire Jesse Ed Davis, and a marvelous collaboration with The Textones' Carla Olson: So Rebellious A Lover (1987). 

Hard to believe that more than a quarter of a century after Gene Clark's premature death, we are still hearing rediscovered "new" and "lost" material, most of which the general public has never heard.

In 2013, Omnivore Recordings released the White Light demos as Here Tonight, perhaps my favorite Gene Clark album of all-time (just Gene on vocals, guitar, and harmonica). Then in 2016, Sierra Records released GENE CLARK-THE LOST STUDIO SESSIONS 1964-1982, a fantastic collection of Gene Clark rarities (including several "instant classics" we had never heard before, most notably: "Back To The Earth Again", "The Lighthouse", "The Awakening Within", "Sweet Adrienne", "Walking Through This Lifetime", "The Sparrow", and "Only Yesterday's Gone", Gene solo with voice, guitar, and harmonica, recorded 1969-1970 in a transitional period between the Dillard & Clark albums and White Light).

Now with these two new 2018 releases, Gene Clark Sings For You (Omnivore) and the Back Street Mirror EP (Sierra/Entree), most of the important unreleased or unavailable Gene Clark material from the key transitional period when Gene had left The Byrds and was going solo, will be available, most of it for the first time ever. Between the two releases, there are 18 "new" (to us) Gene Clark songs for us to cherish.... Well, actually 18 performances of 17 songs, one of which ("Yesterday, Am I Right") there are two different versions of.

From Gene Clark Sings For You (1967 - all previously unreleased or unavailable):

• On Her Own
• Past Tense
• Yesterday, Am I Right
• Past My Door (leaked online in early 2000's)
• That's Alright By Me (different version on 1998 Flying High compilation; now out-of-print)
• One Way Road
• Down On The Pier
• 7:30 Mode

According to The Clarkophile, Flying High's "That's Alright By Me" is from a 1968 session and is different from the 1967 version on Gene Clark Sings For You.

Also on Omnivore's Gene Clark Sings For You, Gene Clark's 1967 Rose Garden Demos (previously unknown Gene Clark songs submitted to the band Rose Garden to consider recording; all previously unreleased/unavailable):

• On Tenth Street
• Understand Me
• A Long Time
• Big City Girl
• Doctor Doctor
• Till Today (Rehearsal Demo)

Available June 15 From Omnivore Recordings (Pre-order available now!)

From the Back Street Mirror EP (Sierra/Entree Records):

Side A: 1967 Sessions with Leon Russell, Hugh Masekela, et al

• Back Street Mirror (available on The Lost Studio Sessions)
• Don't Let It Fall Through (available on The Lost Studio Sessions)
• Yesterday, Am I Right (previously unreleased; different version than on Gene Clark Sings For You)

Side B: Three Previously Unreleased/Unavailable Songs Featured on The 1967 "Chip Douglas Tape"

• She Told Me
• If I Hang Around (previously unreleased original demo)
• That's What You Want

The version of "If I Hang Around" on the Back Street Mirror EP is the original demo without the vocal and instrumental overdubs added later by Chip Douglas. The Chip Douglas overdub version was on 2003 Byrd Parts II compilation; now out-of-print. 

The Back Street Mirror EP was a vinyl-only Record Store Day exclusive, but Sierra/Entree Records confirms it be will available later in 2018 on both vinyl and MP3. I hope the same is true about their other Record Store Day release of "new" material from a classic artist, Tim Hardin's Lost In L.A. EP. Sounds great!

UPDATE May 2018: The Back Street Mirror EP is now available for sale, on vinyl, to the general public. You can order it online here...

I'm really liking If I Hang Around, which I only heard for the first time recently. The version I heard is from the 2003 Byrd Parts II compilation, and contains vocal and instrumental overdubs added much later by Chip Douglas. I'm very interested in hearing the original demo without the overdubs on the Back Street Mirror EP.

I've enjoyed That's Alright By Now for some time. It's a great song. I stumbled upon Past My Door a month ago, which it appears leaked online in the early 2000's, and I dig it, but the chord changes are a little unusual and it feels unfinished. In fact, I've seen a few things online that imply that most of these "new" songs are second-rate, but we're talking about 18 songs, well 17 songs and two versions of one of the songs ("Yesterday, Am I Right"), and I've only heard three of the songs so far. Just by the law of averages, there's got to be at least a few good songs among them, and maybe even a couple of great ones.

I can't wait!

RELATED ARTICLE: "Gene Clark Sings For You" (1967) Album From Byrds Co-Founder Re-Discovered PLUS Rose Garden Demos PLUS Chip Douglas Tape

Note: The "Chip Douglas Tape" was a tape of Gene Clark songs given to Chip Douglas in 1967 to learn for Gene's new backing band he was forming at the beginning of his solo career. 

These songs were on the "Chip Douglas Tape":

1. I'd Feel Better
2. The Way I Am
3. If There's No Love
4. She Don't Care About Time
5. She Told Me
6. If I Hang Around
7. That's What You Want
8. She Has A Way
9. You Showed Me (with Roger McGuinn)

With the issue of the three "new" songs from the Chip Douglas Tape, versions of all songs on the tape are now available. It is not certain that they are, in all cases, the same versions. Songs 1, 2, 3 are on Gene Clark: The Lost Studio Sessions 1964 - 1982. Song 4 is on Turn! Turn! Turn! Songs 5, 6, 7 are on Side B of a vinyl-only release: Gene Clark, Back Street Mirror EP (Entree Records). Song 8 is on Preflyte and Mr. Tambourine Man. Song 9 is on Preflyte.

Patti Smith Live with Springsteen and Stipe at Tribeca Screening Of "Horses" Film: "Because The Night" & "People Have The Power" & "Horses" Trailer

Movie trailer for Horses

Parquet Courts Are "Wide Awake" Live On "Ellen"

Parquet Courts: The Best Young Rock Band in The 21st century (so far). Check out live videos featuring songs from their forthcoming Danger Mouse-produced album "Wide Awake!" ThisSmallPlanet Video: Parquet Courts live Santa Cruz, February 2018

Comedian Jim Carrey's Latest Political Art: Hannity, Cohen, Giuliani, Comey

Sean Manatee: some endangered species aren't worth saving! ;^P #SeanHannity

Is there a short bus to take "all the best people" to prison? ;^P

Auto-moronic ASSphyxiation. ;^P

Ghouliani: Finally, a face we can trust! 8^¥

The road to Trump’s White House was paved with good intentions. ;^\

More Political Art From Comedian Jim Carrey...

Cool, New Song: Bonnie "Prince" Billy "Wild Is The Will" (Susanna cover) For #NationalSchoolWalkout: Plus Interview With Billy 0n Susanna and Living In the Age of Trump & Parkland

Very powerful video! "The will of the woman with a heroic heart..." I thought of Heather Heyer, who died at Charlottesville (see bottom of page), I thought of Emma Gonzalez and the brave kids protesting gun violence today, April 20, 2018... and the kids who died that day in Parkland and all those other days... and Pussy Riot... and #MeToo and #TimesUp... and Sophie Scholl (below) of the White Rose group, executed for opposing Hitlerism...

Stream or Buy "Wild Is The Will" here...

Bonnie "Prince" Billy covers a Susanna (Norwegian singer Susanna Wallumrød) song "Wild Is The Will", accompanied by a new video. Billy covered an entire Susanna album (Sonata Mix Dwarf Cosmos, Billy's version is Wolf Of The Cosmos) in sequence in its entirety last year.

For me, it was one of the most striking albums of the year.

I questioned Billy about how the album seemed to address the stark divisions in our country currently. Billy responded:

"You've asked some of the very questions the record is intended to raise...." 

The conversation continued...

Why use footage from Charlottesville in the video "People Living"? Because it works.  We were mixing the record in mid-August.  During the mix for "People Living", the song was fucking me hard in a brand new way.  I asked Dan Koretzky from Drag City if he could find someone to pull footage from C-Ville to juxtapose with our jammer.  He found David Andalman and Andalman in turn hit it further and firmer than I had imagined possible.  And because for many people it's gone.  Charlottesville is history.  We can throw out a reminder that it hasn't gone anywhere, for those eager to move on. Would you care to comment on the current divisions in our country? There seems to be so much division today: rural vs. urban, North vs. South, The "Coastal Elites" vs. "Fly-Over" Country, etc. Rural places like Kentucky offer hateful public figures like Jim Bunning (who I saw pitch for The Phillies as a kid), his successor Rand Paul, and anti-gay clerk Kim Davis. On the other hand, there are plenty of Progressives from rural areas, such as Johnny Cash and Steve Earle. Even Kentucky's premiere artistic family, The Everly Brothers, were a house divided, with Don supporting people like McGovern and Bobby Kennedy, while Phil supported the likes of Goldwater and Nixon. What can artists do to heal these wounds? I'm trying to figure out if this is possible.  I am doubtful that any artist can heal the wounds you speak of. Why an album that is entirely covers of songs from someone else's album?  Because you hadn't listened enough to SONATA MIX DWARF COSMOS. What does Susanna mean to you as an artist? There's something in SONATA MIX DWARF COSMOS, and in Susanna's work with Morten Qvenild on the Magical Orchestra records LIST OF LIGHTS AND BUOYS and 3, that is close to the heart of what I recognize to be among the more compelling and valuable possibilities of recorded music.  The music's power leaves the artist and gets to the audience with very little interference.      Heather Heyer killed in Charlottesville, Virginia by a Neo-Nazi protester, August 12, 2017 Who is God and where is God  and what is he doing for you? Is it easy to pretend? Is it hard to look back at you? What is real and what is good for all of us? How can it be? That your convictions are gonna be valid to me... How can it be? People living on the outside Living on the wrong side Living on the outside Living on the wrong side What is true and who is true  and where is the truth now for you? Is it hard to confess to yourself? Is it easy to view? Who are wrong in your eyes and what will do to satisfy? How can it be that you want us to simplify? How can it be? People living on the outside Living on the wrong side Living on the outside Living on the wrong side... Susanna's cover of Leonard Cohen's "Who By Fire" cover (2015): An old favorite from Bonnie "Prince" Billy, "There Is No God" (2011): Two Bonnie "Prince" Billy videos I shot in Felton, California in 2015. His cover of The Everly Brothers' "It's All Over" and his own "Quail And Dumplings": Bonnie "Prince" Billy joined Johnny Cash at the end of this 2000 recording of Billy's breakthrough song from 1999 "I See A Darkness": Susanna's original version of "Lilly" (2007): Susanna and Bonnie "Prince" Billy together in concert in 2010:

First Listen: Prince Original Demo "Nothing Compares 2 U" (1984)

Cool, New Video: Courtney Barnett "City Looks Pretty"

"City Looks Pretty" is taken from Courtney Barnett's forthcoming album Tell Me How You Really Feel out on May 18, 2018. 

Pre-order here: http://courtneybarnett.com.au/pre-order/

Stephen Malkmus Salute To The Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia: "Bertha" & "Been All Around This World"

On March 30, 2018 at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles, several artists gathered together to celebrate life and work of The Grateful Dead's late guitarist Jerry Garcia.

Stephen Malkmus, seen here in fan videos, performs "Been All Around The World", and is then joined by Los Lobos' David Hidalgo in a spirited version of "Bertha".

Fans will recall that Los Lobos did a killer version of "Bertha" on the 1991 Dead tribute album Deadicated and have performed it in concert ever since.

Malkmus & The Jicks contributed a stunning 11-minute version of "China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider" for the 2016 Dead tribute album Day Of The Dead. They performed an even longer version at the second night of celebration of Malkmus' former Pavement bandmate Scott Kannberg/Spiral Stairs' 50th birthday extravaganza in San Francisco's The Chapel in 2016:

The first night at The Chapel, Malkmus & Scott thrilled the crowd with several Pavement covers:

Cool, New Music Playlist April 2018: What The Cool Kids Are Listening To...

Bob Dylan "He's Funny That Way" Universal Love EP

Unknown Mortal Orchestra Sex & Food

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - new album coming Sparkle Hard, singles out now... The Jicks perform "Middle America" Live On "Live From Here"... and Stephen Malkmus (solo acoustic) Live From Saint John's and Stephen live (electric) at Jerry Garcia tribute "Been All Around This World" and "Bertha" (feat David Hidalgo)

Manic Street Preachers Resistance Is Futile

The Lemon Twigs "Foolin' Around"/"Tailor Made", Brothers Of Destruction, and Do Hollywood

King Tuff The Other

John Prine The Tree Of Forgiveness

Gene Clark "If I Hang Around". Good News: 17 "New" Gene Clark songs coming out in 2018

Gang Of Four "Ivanka (Things You Can't Have)"

Jack White Live On SNL

Johnny Marr "The Tracers"

Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite No Mercy In This Land

The Vaccines Combat Sports

Jennifer Hudson: "The Times They Are A-Changin'" (Bob Dylan cover at anti-gun March For Our Lives)

Lost Highway Soundtrack: Lou Reed "This Magic Moment", Bowie "I'm Deranged"

Bonnie "Prince" Billy "I See A Darkness" from Now Here's My Plan EP. Have liked this song for a long time but had only heard the original version (and then one he did later with Johnny Cash). This version is totally different... and very cool....

Courtney Barnett - new album coming, singles out now... Also, love Courtney on "Never Tear Us Apart" (INXS cover for Aussie Apple ad)... and her album Lotta Sea Lice last year with Kurt Vile was so good too...

Parquet Courts - new album coming Wide Awake! (produced by Danger Mouse), singles out now... also love singer/guitarist A. Savage's solo album Thawing Dawn and his "Frightened" (The Fall cover, tribute to the late Mark E. Smith)

Jimi Hendrix Both Sides Of The Sky

John Parish & PJ Harvey "Sorry For Your Loss" (tribute to Sparklehorse)

Mike Bloomfield San Francisco Nights (live at The Old Waldorf, April 18, 1977) - stumbled upon this online and it got me on a major Bloomfield super session....

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band (feat Michael Bloomfield) Strawberry Jam (live 1966 - 1968), and Live Winterland, San Francisco, 9/30/1966

Bob Dylan (feat Michael Bloomfield) Live At Newport, July 25, 1965. Dylan Goes Electric: "Maggie's Farm", "Like A Rolling Stone", and "Phantom Engineer (It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry)"

The Pixies "Born In Chicago" (Paul Butterfield cover)

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks "Middle America" Live On "Live From Here", April 14, 2018

In addition to "Middle America", The Jicks also performed the new songs "Refute"and "Solid Silk", as well as "Jennifer And The Ess-Dog"...

Listen to audio of the entire show here: "Live From Here" with Chris Thile, live broadcast: April 14 with David Crosby, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, and Janeane Garofalo


Stephen Malkmus Plays 4 Cool, New Songs Solo Acoustic: "Solid Silk", "Shiggy", "Middle America", "Refute", & 2 classics: "Freeze the Saints", "Trigger Cut": Live from Saint John's Episcopal Rectory (2018)

RELATED ARTICLE: Cool, New Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks Song "Shiggy" Out Now; Album Out In May! PLUS Spiral Stairs w/Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks Live Videos 2016

RELATED ARTICLE: Stephen Malkmus Tribute To Lou Reed; Covers Velvet Underground "Beginning To See The Light" (2013)

RELATED ARTICLE: Could Pavement Reunite In 2019 For 30th Anniversary?

Malkmus Live Videos: "Stereo", "Stairway To Heaven", "Surreal Teenager", and "Mr. Soul"...

Free Concert To Celebrate 49th Birthday of Berkeley's People's Park April 29th

Gang Of Four Says, "Ivanka Trump Is Complicit!" + Cool, New Song "Ivanka (Things You Can't Have)" (Audio)

BoJack Horseman Rocking Out Backstage at Coachella During Beyonce's Set

@BoJackHorseman: 

beychella had me drunk in love waitnojustdrunk

Comedian Jim Carrey On Bombing Syria & Operation Desert Stormy Daniels

@JimCarrey: “Bombing Syria should interrupt the news cycle for a day or two, Mr. President. Moscow has agreed to act like they’re upset. We’ll call it: OPERATION DESERT STORMY DANIELS.”

More Political Art From Comedian Jim Carrey...

Jack White Live On SNL: "Over And Over And Over", "Connected By Love" & "Wedding Toast" (Comedy Bit): "Saturday Night Live", April 14, 2018

"Wedding Toast": a comedy bit featuring Jack White, sadly cut for time from the live broadcast, but posted on the "Saturday Night Live" website...



Jack White's last major tour and album were in 2014. Here's a ThisSmallPlanet.com original live video from his San Francisco show on August 22, 2014 featuring "Lazaretto", "Steady as She Goes", "Sixteen Saltines", and a snippet of Beck's "Devil's Haircut"...

Cool, New Video: Johnny Marr "The Tracers"

Comedian Jim Carrey Portrait of Steve Bannon: BEWARE THE UNLOVED

BEWARE THE UNLOVED

More Political Art From Comedian Jim Carrey...

17 "New" Gene Clark Songs Emerge: Legendary Lost "Gene Clark Sings For You" (1967) Album From Byrds Co-Founder Re-Discovered PLUS Rose Garden Demos PLUS Chip Douglas Tape

Gene Clark: Gene Clark Sings For You - Release date: June 15, 2018

From ThisSmallPlanet.com: 

As a Byrd, Gene Clark harmonized with Roger McGuinn and David Crosby on the classics "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!", and was the principle writer of "Eight Miles High". He wrote some of the best Byrds originals including: "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better", "Here Without You", "Set You Free This Time", "The World Turns All Around Her", "She Don't Care About Time", as well as the lost gem "The Night Walk (Never Before)".

Gene Clark left The Byrds (which he co-founded) in 1966 for a solo career that never really took off, despite releasing several under-appreciated masterpieces such as White Light (1971) and No Other (1974), both with guitarist extraordinaire Jesse Ed Davis, and a marvelous collaboration with The Textones' Carla Olson: So Rebellious A Lover (1987). 




Hard to believe that more than a quarter of a century after Gene's premature death, we are still hearing rediscovered "new" and "lost" material, both alternate takes of known songs and entirely "new" (to us) songs.

In 2013, Omnivore Recordings released the White Light demos as Here Tonight, perhaps my favorite Gene Clark album of all-time (just Gene, guitar, and harmonica). Then in 2016, Sierra Records released GENE CLARK-THE LOST STUDIO SESSIONS 1964-1982, a fantastic collection of Gene Clark rarities (including several "instant classics" we had never heard before, most notably: "Back To The Earth Again", "The Lighthouse", "The Awakening Within", "Sweet Adrienne", "Walking Through This Lifetime", "The Sparrow", and "Only Yesterday's Gone", Gene solo with guitar and harmonica, recorded 1969-1970 in a transitional period between the Dillard & Clark albums and White Light).

Now, Omnivore is releasing Gene Clark Sings For You (1967), mentioned extensively in the Gene Clark biography Mr. Tambourine Man, but not widely heard... until now.

Gene was at a crucial crossroads in his life and his career. He had left The Byrds, at the height of their success. Gene's first post-Byrds "solo" album, With The Gosdin Brothers was released in early 1967; the bluegrass/country-rock departures of Dillard & Clark were still to come. 

Gene Clark Sings For You captures Gene at this critical period. His writing skills are strong, but he's clearly casting around for his post-Byrds identity - Psychedelic Baroque pop crooner? Sensitive folkie/singer-songwriter? Country-rock Americana pioneer? He is all of these and more. This release is a must-have for any Gene Clark/Byrds fan or any discerning fan of Americana, Orchestral Pop, country, folk, and rock.

In addition to the 8 songs from Gene Clark Sings For You, this release also contains 5 "new" Gene Clark songs from the Rose Garden demo (Gene gave the band Rose Garden a tape of his songs to consider recording for their forthcoming album) and a rehearsal demo of Gene doing "Till Today" for Rose Garden. Furthermore, Entree Records (Sierra Records' vinyl imprint - see bottom of page) will release 3 "new" rediscovered Gene Clark songs on vinyl only that were on the Chip Douglas Tape, also from the crucial 1967 post-Byrds/going solo era - for a grand total of 17 newly rediscovered Gene Clark songs from a key moment in his artistic development that most people will be hearing for the first time... in 2018! I consider myself a super-fan, but I've only heard three of these 17 "new" songs so far... (Actually there's 18 "new" songs if you count the two versions of "Yesterday, Am I Right".)

And... is there even more Gene Clark material still in the vaults???

The floodgates are open... Let it rain!!!

from OmnivoreRecordings.com:

The legendary 1967 Gene Clark recordings. Also includes six additional previously unissued & unknown recordings

Gene Clark’s musical legacy is most certainly assured as a singer, songwriter and member of some xclusive company as an inductee to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a founder of The Byrds, and collaborator in groups such as Dillard & Clark, Gene Clark and the Gosdin Brothers, McGuinn Clark & Hillman and later as the duet partner of Carla Olson (The Textones).

His songs have been covered by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Iain Matthews, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, The Rose Garden, and Chris & Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes among many others. As well documented as Clark’s career has been, there have been remarkable discoveries over the years (see Omnivore’s Here Tonight: The White Light Demos for example), but now the Holy Grail of Clark’s post-Byrds career is finally about to see the light of day:

“For longtime Gene Clark fans and aficionados, the tracks on this remarkable archival CD are the stuff of legend. Since word first spread in the 1980s about the discovery of these 1967 recordings on a rare acetate in Liberty Records’ vaults, fans have come to regard Gene Clark Sings For You as nothing less than the Holy Grail of the singer/songwriter’s extraordinary body of work. Shrouded in mystery and the subject of much speculation and conjecture, few have ever had the opportunity to hear these forgotten gems from one of Gene Clark’s most prolifically creative periods. Until now.”
 

—John Einarson
author of Mr. Tambourine Man: The Life And Legacy Of The Byrds’ Gene Clark (Backbeat Books)

In addition to the 8 tracks from the Gene Clark Sings For You acetate, recorded in 1967 after he famously left The Byrds, there are an additional 5 previously unknown tracks from a further 1967 acetate given to the band, The Rose Garden, for recording consideration. This new compilation also includes a previously unissued demo rescued from a tape in the collection of John Noreen, member of The Rose Garden. This demo of the song “Till Today” is Clark running through the song for the band who would cut it on their only album, the 1968 self-titled effort on Atco Records (also being reissued and expanded at the same time as Gene Clark Sings For You).

Released with the full approval and cooperation with both the Estate of Gene Clark and the band, The Rose Garden, Gene Clark Sings For You is produced for release by Grammy®-winner, Cheryl Pawelski with restoration and mastering by Grammy-winner, Michael Graves. Liner notes by John Einarson, author of Mr. Tambourine Man: The Life And Legacy Of The Byrds’ Gene Clark (Backbeat Books) and previously unseen photos.

CD / 2-LP / DIGITAL TRACK LIST:

From "Gene Clark Sings for you":

ON HER OWN

PAST TENSE

YESTERDAY, AM I RIGHT

PAST MY DOOR

THAT’S ALRIGHT BY ME

ONE WAY ROAD

DOWN ON THE PIER

7:30 MODE

From "The Rose Garden Demos":

ON TENTH STREET

UNDERSTAND ME

A LONG TIME

BIG CITY GIRL

DOCTOR DOCTOR

Gene Clark Rehearsal Demo for the Band Rose Garden:se Garden

TILL TODAY

Even more great news for Gene Clark fans, we will also finally get to hear some of the famed "Chip Douglas tape", three previously unheard Gene Clark songs ("She Told Me", "If I Hang Around", and "That's What You Want") featured on the tape will be released on vinyl only by Entree Records on Record Store Day as the B side of the Back Street Mirror EP. (We heard that digital releases will be released in the near future.)

The A side of the Back Street Mirror EP contains two songs found on The Lost Studio Sessions - "Back Street Mirror" and "Don't Let It Fall Through" (feat. the late, great South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela) and a different version of a song from Gene Clark Sings For You - "Yesterday, Am I Right", also from the sessions with Hugh Masekela and Leon Russell (see below).

The "Chip Douglas Tape" was a tape of Gene Clark songs given to Chip Douglas in 1967 to learn for Gene's new backing band he was forming at the beginning of his solo career. 

These songs were on the "Chip Douglas Tape":

1. I'd Feel Better
2. The Way I Am
3. If There's No Love
4. She Don't Care About Time
5. She Told Me
6. If I Hang Around
7. That's What You Want
8. She Has A Way
9. You Showed Me (with Roger McGuinn)

With the issue of the three "new" songs from the Chip Douglas Tape, versions of all songs on the tape are now available. It is not certain that they are, in all cases, the same versions. Songs 1, 2, 3 are on Gene Clark: The Lost Studio Sessions 1964 - 1982. Song 4 is on Turn! Turn! Turn! Songs 5, 6, 7 are on Side B of a vinyl-only release: Gene Clark, Back Street Mirror EP (Entree Records). Song 8 is on Preflyte and Mr. Tambourine Man. Song 9 is on Preflyte.


More details on Clarkophile.Blogspot.com:

RECORD STORE DAY 2018 RELEASE! GENE CLARK — BACK STREET MIRROR E.P.

The beautiful artwork for the RSD exclusive by my
longtime friend and ally, Neon Brambles.

BACK STREET MIRROR E.P.

I'm delighted to report that Record Store Day (April 21, 2018) will see the release of a new E.P. featuring previously unreleased material by Gene Clark. The six-song E.P. features three previously unreleased songs, plus two songs that appeared on The Lost Studio Sessions ('Back Street Mirror' & 'Don't Let It Fall Through') and the original solo-acoustic demo of 'If I Hang Around' onto which Chip Douglas overdubbed bass/vocals for the 2003 Byrd Parts 2 release. The striking artwork—front, back and insert—was created by none other than Ms. Ingrid Neimanis, better known to Gene Clark fans everywhere as the ever-groovy, go-go-booted Neon Brambles, the online caretaker of all things Gene, and creator of the fab Gene-Clark.com site.

Side 1: The Russell-Masekela Sessions

Above: GENE GOES FOR BAROQUE
Hugh Masekela,  pictured in 1967,
flew in the Byrds' circle for a while
and lent a hand (and horn) to trumpet
news of Gene's new direction.

Original Producer: Jim Dickson

Music Arranger: Leon Russell

Horn Arranger: Hugh Masekela

Recording Engineer: Armin Steiner

Recorded January 26, 1967, Sound Recorders,         Hollywood CA

The session tape reveals that Gene was present for, and sang along with, each and every take with the Wrecking Crew.  He was focused, fully committed, and—as was once said of Dylan—"with every word."

Early takes of 'Back Street Mirror' reveal each musician's parts fully worked out prior to tape rolling. It is essentially a live-in-studio recording with no overdubs. 

Picture a studio full of musicians playing an assortment of instruments—including drums, rhythm guitar, electric guitar, piano, harpsichord, triangle, bass, flutes, trumpets and other horn instruments not listed on the official log (probably French horns and saxes*), someone playing bones—real ones!—plus Gene in the vocal booth, Armin Steiner (engineer) with Jim Dickson in the control room (the latter barking instructions to arranger Leon Russell)—and this takes on almost Spectoresque proportions.  

Leon Russell, 1967

Dickson must've had high expectations that Columbia would keep Gene on the label after the release of Gene Clark With The Gosdin Brothers, arriving the very next month. That Gene was so quickly dropped in the wake of his debut's commercial underperformance might lead one, at least cursorily, to second guess Dickson's belief in the 22-year-old ex-Byrd. But armchair criticism, especially this far removed from the events in question, is for the smuggest of fools. Rock writers are fond of contextualizing The Beatles' growth as artistes by comparing their earliest recordings to 'Strawberry Fields Forever' (recorded only a month earlier than 'Back Street Mirror'). In that same spirit, listen to Gene's exquisite, graceful reading of 'Back Street Mirror' and appreciate that the frenetic days 'Boston' and 'You Movin'' were only two and a half years before.

Dickson's belief in Gene was not misplaced, it was based on the knowledge that this kid was one of the finest songwriters of his generation.

Takes 1 through 10 of 'Back Street Mirror' were either incomplete or deemed unsuitable.  There is no great variation in performance from take to take; occasionally an impromptu drum fill will jump out as different from the pattern laid down on master take.  At one point Dickson can be heard issuing instructions to Leon Russell regarding the harpsichord part, to which Russell can be heard responding.  Ultimately, it was take 11 that proved to be best.

Similarly, 'Don't Let It Fall Through' required eleven takes (full or incomplete).  In the end it was decided that take 9 was the keeper.

Sadly, no details remain regarding the number of takes required for 'Yesterday, Am I Right' because the session tapes are long gone. Much perkier than the one recorded during the sessions that produced the "Gene Clark Sings For You" acetate, the January 1967 arrangement is another one of Gene's genre-bending exercises: it's both jazzy and in the Baroque style for which Gene had a frustratingly brief infatuation.

RSD FAQ:
Q. How can I get a copy?

For USA customers, here is the RSD link to stores, they can search by city, state, zip code:

Outside the USA: HERE

There is no way of knowing or guaranteeing that any specific store will order the album from the Alliance Entertainment Corp.  All orders for RSD must be placed with Alliance by March 15th!  RSD has limited the pressing to 1500 copies.

RECORD STORE DAY 2018 RELEASE: Side 2—The Chip Douglas Tape

1. Note: This is a continuation of my discussion of the Back Street Mirror E.P., an exclusive RECORD STORE DAY release, coming April 21, 2018. See previous post for further information. You cannot order this vinyl-only release; it must be purchased from bricks-and-mortar retailers.
   

   

   The Chip Douglas Tape

   1. If I Hang Around
   2. She Told Me
   3. That’s What You Want
   
   

   There are certain periods of Gene's career that, to this day, in defiance of biographers and internet searches, retain their mystery: when exactly was 'Communications' written? Who, besides Alex Del Zoppo, accompanied Gene on the Sings for You recordings? What songs were stolen from his home in the chaotic aftermath of his death? And what about those Terry Melcher recordings? 

   As longtime readers are doubtless aware, my personal era of never-ending fascination begins in early 1966, immediately after Gene's departure from the Byrds, and continues all the way up to the release of The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark in October of 1968. At first, my fascination was based on nothing more than the excellence of the LP that emerged from this period (Gene Clark With The Gosdin Brothers), my abiding love of turtlenecks and suede, and the slow dribble of posthumous releases that gave us a clue as to what Gene was up to (e.g. the superb, sadly aborted 'Only Colombe'/'The French Girl' 45; the David Hemmings version of 'Back Street Mirror').  Beyond that, there was nothing of substance, only an admittedly romantic notion that somewhere out there there must be a cache of lost recordings; a trove of songs that lay buried away in a vault.  For a time, the enduring mystique of the Sings for You acetate fuelled my passion. It had a name, it had unfamiliar song titles, and it had a legend.  What I sorely needed, however, was further tangible evidence to justify my obsession.
   
   The appearance of Byrd Parts 2 in 2003 then was ground zero for what was, for me, a major revelation: 'If I Hang Around'.  This single track solidified my belief, both in Gene's brilliance and the faith I'd held in my pet period.  I was in awe of 'If I Hang Around' back then—and that sense of awe has in no way diminished over the last 15 years. If anything, my admiration has grown.  I didn't care that it had been given the "Free As a Byrd" treatment by ex-Gene Clark Group bassist Chip Douglas, because I actually enjoyed his contributions; they were tasteful, and consistent with the mood of the song. And it was in the notes to this CD that I first heard about a tape Chip was given of Gene's material—a fact that beckoned the question: was there anything else on it?
   

   

   ABOVE: Chip Douglas (left) and Gene Clark
   at the Whisky A Go-Go in 1966 (note turtleneck)

   
   

   A Hollow victory

   In 2009 or thereabouts I stumbled across an interview with Chip Douglas, conducted by writer Christopher Hollow on May 13 and  June 4, 2004. It appeared in the Sand Pebbles online magazine, Tarantula (sadly, no longer up, otherwise I would give the link).  I was excited to see that the questioning, the pictures—everything—was specifically directed towards his days in the Gene Clark Group.  I didn't know who Christopher Hollow was, but the day I discovered his piece he became a bit of a hero to me.
   
   While reading—and then repeatedly rereading—the interview, I felt an immediate kinship with Chris (I'm delighted to say we correspond to this day). He asked all the questions to which I had been desperately seeking answers, and what's more, he wasn't afraid to push a third party—now several decades removed from a professional situation for which he expressed no overt fondness or sentiment—for information about Gene's songwriting.
   
   As my obsession with the '66-'67 period came to a boil, I began to formulate ideas for a feature story about the Gene Clark Group. With Chris' help I was able to connect with, and subsequently interview, Chip Douglas*.  I found Chip friendly, informative and very easy to talk to.  The one thing that irked me, and still kind of taints my memory of the chat, is that he seemed almost stubbornly reluctant to say anything the least bit complimentary about Gene's talents.  But I digress.
   

   Chipping away at the tape mystery

   To his credit, however, Chip gamely discussed the tape he had received.  As discussed in Chris' piece, Chip explained how the tape facilitated his acquisition of the words and music for the then-unreleased Clark-McGuinn composition 'You Showed Me', a song he saw performed by Clark, McGuinn and Crosby at the Troubadour, shortly before the formation of the Byrds. Douglas subsequently produced 'You Showed Me' for The Turtles (below), and, as everyone knows, it went on to become a huge hit in 1968 ((The Byrds' version of 'You Showed Me' would not be released until the following year, as part of the first Preflyte compilation, on Together Records.)
   

   

   The Nest is the Best: 'The Byrds'
   version of 'You Showed Me' first
   appeared in 1969 on the Preflyte LP
   released on Together Records,
   a then-fledgling label started by
   Gary Usher, Curt Boettcher and
   Keith Olsen.

   
   
   Unfortunately, further questioning about the tape yielded little in the way of new information, but he did say something rather intriguing about its containing 12 to 14 songs in total, although he couldn't remember the titles, and the tape was not close at hand.
   
   When it became apparent that I'd exhausted every possible line of inquiry regarding the tape, I muttered something about giving my left arm to hear it.  Astonishingly, and without prompting, Chip offered to make me a copy of the tape. Once I recovered from the shock, we continued on with the interview, but by then I had lost the thread of our discussion, and become hopelessly preoccupied with the tape.
   
   Over the next few weeks my obsession with hearing the tape grew—which was terribly unfortunate because it became apparent that Chip would not be following through on his offer to send me a copy.
   In fact, once we got off the phone, I would never hear from him again. He failed to respond to any of my subsequent inquiries (even though he had expressly instructed me to remind him about it because he would surely forget).  In the end, I could only assume that, after carefully considering the ramifications (legal or otherwise) of copying these recordings for a relative stranger, he had undergone a change of heart.
   
   And I had been so close...
   
   
   

    

   When I was asked to write the notes for the Gene Clark Back Street Mirror E.P. Record Store Day release, I felt as though whatever resentment I had been carrying for Chip had dissipated. Not only was I privy to the contents of the tape (see image below) I would be given the honour of writing about three of the previously unreleased selections, including the Chip-less version of 'If I Hang Around.'  I felt I'd at last come, as someone once sang, full circle.  I  had solved the mystery that had become such a huge part of my life.
   
   Now that we know the full contents of the tape, we may rest easy in the knowledge that, over the years, everything on it has been officially released.  For my part, a years-long quest to uncover its full contents has ended rather successfully, even poetically.
   
   But we aren't done here.  More mysteries remain.  After all, this is Gene Clark we're talking about.
   
   

   

   ABOVE: The Quest for the Holy Grail comes to an end:
   The tape Chip Douglas requested from
   Eddie Tickner and Jim Dickson
   
   This post is dedicated to Christopher Hollow

   *********************************************

   
   * Around the time I interviewed Chip I also spoke to drummer Joel Larson—even the reclusive Bill Rinehart.  Sadly, I couldn't generate any interest in the Gene Clark Group story, so I switched gears, tracked down Emitt Rhodes, and converted my research into a piece about The Merry-Go-Round, which, for some inexplicable reason, I gave away to Shindig! magazine.