Taking Sides - Gene Clark v. Gram Parsons

Solo: Parsons

The people who say Gram Parsons is overrated are seriously guilty of overrating Gene Clark.

By the way, they're both great, with Grievous Angel maybe being the best record either of them made (outside the Byrds, that is).

I don't know the Dillard & Clark records! I haven't seen em around, actually. I do like No Other, and I'd probably rate it above Burrito Deluxe and Safe at Home, but nothing else in the Parsons' catalog.. so... you know.

re: Parsons - The International Submarine Band's "Safe At Home" is a reasonably good album. His sole effort with the Byrds "Sweetheart Of The Rodeo" is fantastic both as finished product and in terms of his influence over the band - although he didn't actually contribute very many tunes (only two on the original album.) The first FBB album is an absolute masterpiece, and he cowrote 9 of the 11 songs. He contributed only about half as much to the next FBB album, a considerably weaker affair. His two solo albums are excellent efforts, though they both have only about 50% Parsons songwriting over all.

Clark was the best songwriter in the Byrds' early stages. (It's interesting to note that they never had a Top 20 hit after he left.) I think it's fair to say that he contributed much more to the Byrds than Parsons, and over a longer period.

I agree with the assessment of Dillard & Clark's two albums - the first one amazing, the second solid but a definite step down. I'd regard the first one as an equal to the first FBB album, the second one still better than the second FBB album.

In comparing the two artists, I'd only include the first three Clark albums as they were recorded before Parsons' death. Aside from the fact that there are three to Parsons' two, I like 'em better. Given that Clark wrote a higher percentage of the material on these albums than Parsons did on his solo albums, I don't see much of an argument against Clark's superiority as a solo artist. Clark also has many excellent and unreleased recordings from abandoned albums/sessions. A few of these - "Only Colombe," "The French Girl," "Los Angeles," "I Pity The Poor Immigrant" and "That's Alright By Me" - have seen the light of day on compilations and equal much of Clark's released work. Parsons has very little of value in the vaults.

Clark wrote mostly alone; Parsons generally cowrote, for what that's worth.

I love them both, but I suspect that the personal charm, premature death and rock star excesses of Gram Parsons gave him a big headstart in myth-making - but Clark will eventually catch up.

Also, for anyone who wants a fantastic but soul-crushingly depressing read, I suggest John Einarson's Mr. Tambourine Man. Relevant here b/c for those who think Gram's death was "Rock n' Roll" (Joshua Tree/Ice in the Posterior/Grand Theft Parsons), it's hard to beat Gene's friends and family making off with his demo tapes and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame statue while he's lying dead on the kitchen floor in a pool of his own vomit.

For that reason, I'd either start with a comp (as I did with Flying High) or Roadmaster, which has incredible songs ("One In A Hundred", "In A Misty Morning") but fleshed out by equally stellar arrangements/productions -- the first two even have the full Byrds on board.

FWIW, I believe Chris Hillman, who worked extensively with both, would be picking Gene, he has made that point several times in interviews.

_American Dreamer_ on Raven is an exceptionally well-selected one-CD Gene comp, and is cheaper and may be easier to find than _Flying High_.

I used to think the second dillard and clark album was a bit lame- and a fair bit of it is, but Polly and 'through the morning through the night' get me every time, as does the non album genius single 'why not your baby'

I've never really heard anything by Gram Parsons that does for me what Gene's music does- never makes me feel anytbing- and seeing footage of him makes me think even more that he was an arrogant fool who could 'pretend' at emotional singing, rather than sing from the emotional depths like Gene dig

gene. jams like "one in a hundred" are godhead. in comparison gram sounds bush-like, like he's trying too hard to be country to compensate for his trust fund

I love them both, but Gene. If we are talking about this from a songer/songwriter perspective, then it has to been Gene. He has contrinuted hundreds of great songs to the world.

"only colombe" is gorgeous

Gene Clark, for sure. I love Gilded Palace of Sin but I'm not a huge Parsons solo fan.

It's true that the two best Byrds LPs featured neither of them.

I'm really into the Gene Clark Gosdin Brothers record right now. That is right up there with the best Gene Clark music.

I've only heard about half the output of either but (1) I prefer Clark as both a singer and songwriter - and his songs were awesome; (2) the first Dillard & Clark album is much more enjoyable than "Sweetheart of the Rodeo", which despite its historical significance is overrated IMO, and is *not* the first country-rock album.

And which are the two non-Gene Clark, non-Gram Parsons Byrds albums everyone's referring to? I'm guessing "Younger than Yesterday" is one, but not sure the other. 5D?

And David Crosby is an equal in either in both talent and influence.

Notorious Bird Bros. is probably the at least one they're referring to

I don't know what two GH is referring to, but I would pick Younger Than Yesterday and, yes, Notorious.

Answer: Bernie Leadon

Clark actually did co-write the song "Get to You" on Notorious, even though he was not credited. This is discussed and verified by other band members in the Einarson book. Prior to Parsons' involvement, there was only one Byrds album Gene Clark did not contribute to, "Younger Than Yesterday."

Personally, I'd rank the first Byrds album as their best, and "Younger" as their second best. Notorious was first-rate though, as was the best material from "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and "5D," often contributed by Clark.

The Byrds material was among the best and most influential of the era. In my opinion, nothing Clark did outside the Byrds or anything Parsons did in general was on the same level, so that may not be a fair comparison.

Comparing everything Clark did outside the Byrds with everything done by Parsons is actually an interesting exercise. I would rate Clark higher than Parsons on the basis of songwriting and overall creativity. At times, Clark displayed a poetic gift that few could match.

I do think Parsons gets the edge if you're talking about influence on the country-rock movement in general. Many more have heard Sweetheart than the Dillard-Clark material.

Parsons may also have mastered the country-rock form better than Clark, as he was always much more aligned with (and dedicated to) the country-rock hybrid. Clark was bouncing all over the place, from British Invasion inspired material of the mid 60's, to some of the earliest psychedelia, to early forays into country-rock, to early 70's singer-songwriter music, to "No Other," which is rather hard to categorize. Although Clark did some of the earliest albums that could be considered "country-rock," it seemed that it was almost by default. Clark happened to hook up with musicians in that period that pushed his writing in that direction. On the other hand, Parsons seemed dedicated to that sound for his entire career.

As far as singing, for me it would be a toss-up. They were both good.

As far as who is more "genuine," that is very subjective area, and hard to discuss. The two did have extremely different backgrounds. Parsons had virtually unlimited income before he started in the music business, while Clark's upbringing was far more humble.

This is the one album which can truly be described as Cosmic American Music.

Gene Clark was the unsung genius of American music and this masterpiece proves it.

No Other is one of my Desert Island albums, alongside
A Storm in Heaven (The Verve)
Spirit of Eden (Talk Talk)
Lazer Guided Melodies (Spiritualized)