Gene Clark – No Other

As big a Byrds fan as I am, I’m surprised I’ve never covered Gene Clark. Recently, I’ve started to listen to more of his solo work. Clark was in the Byrds from 1964 to 1966. He was one of the main songwriters of the band, along with Roger McGuinn and David Crosby. He wrote or co-wrote songs such as I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better, Eight Miles High, She Don’t Care About Time, and more. One of the reasons he quit the band was that he would get physically sick while flying in airplanes. 

Aphoristical is one of the few bloggers who talk about him. I can certainly see why now, I went through a lot of his catalog, and it was hard to get it down to one song….so I added two. Great, singing and songwriting. I think he should, at least, get some recognition that past him by during his life. He has Byrds’ jangly music, Americana, Folk, Country, and more. 

I listened to his album No Other and was floored… It’s great through and through. I have the Spotify link at the bottom, and here is a link for it on YouTube. No Other was the title track from his 1974 album. I don’t talk about albums much, but I would consider this a masterpiece that wasn’t appreciated in its time but gained cult status years later. He blended rock, folk, country, gospel, and even a touch of funk and psychedelia. Jesse Ed Davis and Danny Kortchmar were on guitar, plus Jim Gordon on drums. The artist Beck has sited this album as a huge inspiration.

The other song, the 1970 song One in a Hundred sounds like The Byrds, and there is good reason for that. This was during Clark’s attempt to form a Byrds reunion with original members. All five original Byrds contributed to the track, making it the first time since 1966 that the original lineup recorded together. The song was unreleased for several years, as the reunion project failed without a label’s support. It was finally released on Gene Clark’s 1973 Dutch-only LP Roadmaster. The Byrds did reunite in 1973 but they didn’t match this song. 

No Other

All alone you say that you don’t want no otherSo the Lord is love and love is like no otherIf the falling tide can turn and then recoverAll alone we must be part of one another

All alone you say, the power is perfectionIs the power of peace or merely the connectionTo the God of love that powers the protectionFrom the tide of life that flows in each direction

When the stream of changing daysTurns around in so many waysThen the pilot of the mind must findThe right direction

All alone you say that you don’t want no otherSo the Lord is love and love is like no otherIf the falling tide can turn and then recoverAll alone we must be part of one another

When the stream of changing daysTurns around in so many waysThen the pilot of the mind must findThe right direction

All alone you say that you don’t want no otherAll alone you say that you don’t want no otherAll alone you say that you don’t want no otherAll alone you say that you don’t want no other

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

28 thoughts on “Gene Clark – No Other”

  4. Pingback: Gene Clark – No Other – MobsterTiger

    1. Graham really pointed him out to me…I’m floored…he has that much of good music. It’s not all jangly either as you see in the song I highlighted…. he should have had more recognition…

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      2. I know…it’s really sad that he passed in I think 1991 without being heard much. There is a doc I want to watch called “The Byrd Who Flew Alone” about him that could be interesting.

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  7. ‘No other’s sounds pretty good (haven’t listened to the other yet), pretty laid-back & introspective, seemed right for ’74 FM’ stations if not top 40. I can hear how Beck would like it- his ‘Sea Change’ album, which I like, has that kind of vibe.

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    1. I thought of you while I was doing it because I think you might like his solo stuff. His solo music is not like the Byrds as far as all of it. He does a lot of Americana as well.

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  9. Great songs, both. I have had Gene Clark come up on quite a few playlists for the past several months, and have always enjoyed what I’ve heard. Looked into his first couple of solo albums, but will listen to your recommendations. Also wasn’t aware of the 1973 reunion album until a song came up from it. Have listened to it several times and enjoyed it very much.

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    1. I’m happy that you know him! This album No Other is noticed as his masterpiece…it really is good to me anyway.

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  11. Yeah, I don’t know a lot about Gene Clark. I know about McGuinn…and I know about Hillman because of Gram Parsons, who I’m a huge fan of. Love The Flying Burrito Brothers.

    I really like both tunes. I wasn’t expecting that kind of a sound from No Other. I listened to the sample LP and it’s interesting. I hear some Steve Miller Band/Fly Like an Eagle LP in there, but more organic and soulful and there’s definitely some Gram Parsons era Byrds influence in there. I really like it. I’m going to listen to the whole album.

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    1. Pam I didn’t expect that sound either. I was expecting a form of the Byrds…but many of his songs are Americana and different styles. I feel like I found a lost gem in him. Not many things surprise me but he did.

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