Full Circle: A Tribute To Gene Clark
(Not Lame)
By Kevin Mathews
In Summary : Gene Clark's music legacy begins here.
Gene Clark's standing in pop history is inversely proportional to his current obscure status as a mere footnote in any retrospective assessment of the Byrds. Fact of the matter is, Clark was instrumental in the creation of many of rock's major stylistic changes. A musical pioneer in every sense of the word, his lack of recognition is a firm indictment of the vagaries of the rock business.Kudos then to Bruce Brodeen and his Not Lame Recording Company for investing time and money in an attempt to redress this injustice, with this 36-track 2 CD tribute set. Noted writer-musician Sid Griffin sums up Clark's value in the liner notes --"Gene was a wizard and a true star every time he wrote one of these classics and gifted it to all those who listened, be it the acolytes on this compilation or anyone who ever heard a Gene Clark song and felt just a little more at peace with the world. Or with himself."With the Byrds, Clark first fashioned"folk-rock,"melding the Beatles, Beach Boys, and Bob Dylan into a dazzling whole. Songs like"I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better"(Merrymakers),"She Has A Way"(The Idea),"She Don't Care About Time"(The Grip Weeds), and"The World Turns All Around Her"(Bill Lloyd) are representative of this era. Just before Clark left the Byrds in 1966, he significantly contributed to psychedelia with his lyrical ideas illuminating"Eight Miles High"(Myracle Brah).Conventional wisdom would have us believe that Clark disappeared off the face of the planet after that, but no. The truth is Clark, like Gram Parson's International Submarine Band, began dabbling in country-rock with"Gene Clark With The Gosdin Brothers"as the milestone setting result. With songs like"Couldn't Believe Her"(Barely Pink),"So You Say You Lost Your Baby"(Roger&Jim),"Why Not Your Baby"(Sid Griffin),"From A Silver Phial"(Chris Von Sneidern),"Train Leaves Here This Morning"(Last Train Home),"Tried So Hard"(Ray Brandes), and"With Care From Someone"(Ghost Rockets), Clark, in the following decades, set the tone for the generations of"Alt Country/No Depression"bands to emulate.In 1991, Clark died a few short months after he and the Byrds were inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame."Full Circle"is the consummate tribute album -- it honors Clark's underrated genius and will certainly inspire all who hear it to chase after every pearl, every nugget of Clark's musical legacy. It starts here.
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