1972 PROMO [Byrds] GENE CLARK 1967 ALTERNATE LP TAKES Rare 1st GENE CLARK psych

$

27

         RARE ORIGINAL PROMOTIONAL COPY!
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          G E N E   C L A R K

                 "Early L.A."

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               USA -Columbia Records - KC -31123 

SCARCE ~ ADVANCED RELEASE PROMOTIONAL !

This IS the 1967 Gene Clark solo album with great variations, read on:

After a week in CBS L.A. studios, where it all began almost six years before, Gene Clark emerged with an enormously improved, almost totally different album. Nearly all of the vocals were re-recorded, tracks were brightened, parts buried in the original mix were brought up (in some cases completely changing the sound of the cuts), and in re-sequencing the order of the sides they even removed one song, Elevator Operator, because with five years' perspective they felt strongly that the song did not measure up the others.'

In 1972, Columbia Records made an unprecedented move: They brought Gene Clark into the studio to "improve" his 1967 debut album GENE CLARK WITH THE GOSDIN BROTHERS. As that project had lost money for Columbia, it was an improbable business decision.

What made the decision unprecedented was having Clark record new lead vocals for most of the album. Artists had recorded new versions of their older hits, often for compilation albums where the artist or the record company couldn't get the rights to use the original tapes.

It was certainly a novel move by Columbia as Clark's voice and style had changed in the intervening years. It was more mature, more mellow. Gene's new vocals stuck close to the originals on most tracks, but the new version of "Echoes" was very different. On the 1966 version, Gene was clearly wearing a Bob Dylan mask; on the 1972 version, he was wearing his usual Gene Clark mask.

Here is how the new album varied from the original version in other ways:

• "Elevator Operator" was dropped from the album. It was probably the most derivative and weakest track on the original album, but there really was no need to drop it completely.

• An alternative take of "Tried So Hard" from 1966 was substituted. The alternative take is similar to the original but doesn't seem to have been EQed as much as the original, so it sounds crisper, livelier.

• Everything but "Tried So Hard" was remixed. The backing vocals by Rex and Vern Gosdin were placed further back in the mix. This new mix accentuates Clark's lead vocals and makes the recordings sound more like the solo album that it was supposed to have been.

Apparently, the point of this project was to display Clark's importance in the formation of country-rock, which was just getting its head in 1972. While this was a laudable effort, titling it COLLECTOR'S SERIES: EARLY L.A. SESSIONS could not have helped, as it identifies the album as archival, not contemporary.

Opinions vary on this one: While one may assume every Gene Clark fan likes the album, some hear it as inferior to the livelier, earlier (and younger) version. But there are considerably more than a few fans who believe it superior to the original album.
 
     Tried So Hard     2:20
     Keep On Pushin'     1:44
     Think I'm Gonna Feel Better     1:32
     Is Yours Is Mine     2:26
     Echoes     3:14
B
     The Same One     3:27
     Needing Someone     2:02
     So You Say You Lost Your Baby     2:06
     Couldn't Believe Her     1:52
     I Found You     2:58


CONDITION: The cover: Rated: is really clean M (-) No one could (?) be disappointed with this one, even the nit-picking audiophiles. Smooth & clean and stiff all over with same colors as it had 48 years ago! There is a unique radio station/D.J. STICKER showcasing the song titles that was not available with the stock copies in stores at the time in the early '70s. There are No split seams, no bends, no writing and NO delete marks = TOP COLLECTION COPY   

The vinyl: Rated: is glossy over both sides, "M-" full of pure clean shine = so expect: MINT enjoyable audio ...clean Columbia labels