Search - Gene Clark :: Roadmaster

GENUINE PRIME GENE CLARK

S. F Gulvezan | Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan USA | 03/25/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is made up primarily of sessions Gene Clark, co-founder of the Byrds, did on A&M records, which were abruptly cancelled by the record company. Several years later, some of the songs from these sessions, along with two Gene Clark songs recorded by the original Byrds, "One In a Hundred" and "She's the Kind of Girl" were released in Holland - where Clark has always had a strong following - under the title, ROADMASTER. Needless to say, the entire entire album is Gene Clark in his prime, once again ahead of his time with a soulful mix of country, folk, and rock sounds. Songs from this CD such as "Here Tonight" and "In a Misty Morning," have become underground classics, while the two Byrds tunes are considered by many to be the best reunion work the original group ever did. A classic."

A lost country rock gem

Steven Kosakowski | West Coast Jazz | 11/22/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A delightful odds 'n' sods collection; a couple of lovely tracks cut with the original Byrds in '69 or '70, one with the post-Parsons Flying Burrito Brothers, and eight tracks from a solo album attempt in '72 with various Byrd/Burrito types playing backup. 'In a Misty Morning' in particular will get right under your skin, and qualifies this for inclusion in any 'Grievous Angels' collection. Fans of Gram Parsons, early Joe Ely, and/or Whiskeytown will like this one."

Uneven but fascinating follow up to "White Light"

Wayne Klein | My Little Blue Window, USA | 04/17/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"While called "Roadmaster" this wasn't the album that Gene Clark had intended to release after "White Light" (aka "Gene Clark"). The "Roadmaster" sessions collapsed admit chaos due to drugs. Evidently Sly Stone came in while Gene wasn't working on the album and ran up the tab in the same studio (with Gene's producer at the helm)causing the project to go overbudget (food and drugs contributed to that) and A&M ultimately cancelled the album sessions.



It's a pity. Much of the material is promising. Sadly, this doesn't feature the mixes by co-producer Hindshaw which reportedly are far superior to the versions released here. As a result, the album, while featuring marvelous songs, sounds rather flat. The 8 tracks completed for "Roadmaster" are augmented by a single recorded the original line up of The Byrds and a track recorded with the Flying Burrito Brothers. While it's inconsistent, the glow of the powerful songs frequently breaks through the flat mixes. Hopefully, A&M will see fit to finally issue this on CD with Hindshaw's rough mixes augmented by the other tracks here as well. Then we'll have a version of "Roadmaster" closer to Clark's original vision."