Keys to the Rock Pantheon
A mate of mine said to me last week: "Gene Clark, fantastic artist, superb song writer: he out-Parsons Gram Parsons on every level yet Parsons gets all the plaudits, Why? I can only think its the cowboy-dandy clothes"
Gene Clark is all but forgotten, but my mate is right, Gene is way above Gram in the song writing & performing stakes. He's also got the tragic story to boot. How come Gram saunters into the Pantheon whilst Gene bangs his nose on the outside of the glass door & is denied entrance?
I'd add Colin Blunstone to the list. I think his early solo stuff works the same seam as Nick Drake, but knocks the spots off the Drake albums. Drake lounges in the Pantheon looking glum, whilst sipping hot sweet tea and munching a hob nob or two. Poor old Colin - not even recognised by the bouncers on the Pantheon door.
Anybody else that you think should be in the Pantheon, whilst lesser liter artists saunter in, unchecked?
- More from dolly.
- Login or register to post comments
Pantheon Entry Requirements
Death, and the manner of it, have a lot to do with it. Dying spectacularly, young and sexy make all the difference.
Gene Clarke: Natural causes in middle-age.
Gram Parsons: Drink and drug binge followed by failed ice-cube suppository revival attempt from a hooker, plus theft and incineration of corpse.
Nick Drake: Depression, despair, overdose.
Colin Blunstone: Very much alive.
This also goes some way to explaining the unfathomable critical popularity of Dennis Wilson's hopeless Pacific Ocean Blue.
The late Gene Clark
Sadly Gene didn't die from natural causes but had big drug problems and a bigger alcohol problem. Otherwise he might still be around.
I think the depth of Gene Clark's talent is demonstrated by David Crosby deigning to acknowledge that Clark was a better songwriter.
Yup - it's a death thing
This is obviously futile speculation, but would Kurt/Nirvana have the same place in rock's rich tapestry if he lived a long and happy one? Would James Dean be on the walls of teenage bedrooms today if he'd worn a seatbelt?
Conversely, how about a quick game of 'wouldn't it have been better if they'd died young?' - Mick Jagger, Macca, Marlon Brando, etc etc
You
are damn right about The Great Colin Blunstone. Everyone should go off right now and download as much of his (and The Zombies) stuff as you can. Englishness personified. Just listen to this, which he was confident enough to hide on the B side of his Neil McArthur remake of She's Not There. Some floppy-fringed acoustic-toting teenage sad sack would build a career out of a song like this today. Pass the hob nobs.
Gene
Totally agree on Gene Clark..White Light and No Other have been well and truly overplayed on my ipod. Any artist producing stuff like With Tomorrow, Hear the Wind or even Strength of Strings nowadays would be instantly hailed the new David Gray (errr...).
I suspect John Lennon would not quite have the untouchable godlike status he does now if he had survived....then again he would probably have ditched Yoko so.....
Sorry Fraser, got to take you to task on Pacific Ocean Blue: bloated?...yes; hopeless?...hardly.
POB
Probably harsh, true. I only like one track - Farewell My Friend - and find the rest entirely unremarkable. Which isn't really the same as hopeless.
Deja Vu
http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/pet-sounds-most-overrated-album-ev...
I'm Up For
allowing James Blunt into the pantheon if sudden death was to curtail his recording career in the next few weeks.
Gram vs Gene - the essential difference
One looked like this:
The other looked like that:
It's all pop music after all. Whenever Gram made a record he was on the cover. Whenever Gene made a record the sleeve designers said "what are we going to do with this guy?"
As hetrosexual male with an unblemished record*....
... I can't see a lot to choose between 'em.
* (c) Martin Kelner
Mullet
Parson's barnett is much more dodgy than Gene's. Seriously though, I think that Gene has suffered because No Other was such an expensive failure..and cos he was a bit tubby.
He wasn't, was he?
I thought he was dead thin, whereas Gram had a tendency to put on the suet. And expensive failures don't hurt these kind of reputations. However dying at the right time in the right circs can do wonders for your charisma.
I always thought they both looked great
apart from Gene's sartorial disaster on the back sleeve of No Other. I suspect Gram's slightly higher standing in the rock pantheon comes down to his association with Sir Keef, Exile, Wild Horses and drugs. When you add Emmylou (country cred) and Nudie suits he nudges ahead only in the rock myth stakes.
The crazy stories about Gene such as David Carradine trying to 'rescue' his corpse from the open coffin at his wake (chronicled in Johnny Rogan's book on The Byrds) show he led just as unstable and 'rock and roll' a life as Gram. Maybe someone should make a great biopic about him?
Nils Lofgren
I thought his 70s output was fantastic. He deserves better than to be regarded as a kind of sideman-deluxe.
has anybody stolen his place in the pantheon?
can we imagine a logfren-lite who is already booked into the pantheon ( i have to admit i dont know a lot about him).
i think a bit of healthy rivalry always helps these things!
Vaguely working
in the same area was Tom Petty. I rate Lofgren's work much higher than his.
Lofgren
I met Mr. Lofgren in the corridor of a Dublin Hotel last weekend and he was a real gent - class act.
I'm thinking here...
...thet surely all this praise for Clarke means he's in (on?) the pantheon? Word readers are a tasteful discerning bunch surely, and this amount of high praise can only mean he's right in there?
Or have I got it all wrong?
no but hopefully
as tastemakers (hmmm?) we are hereby propelling the clarkester up the steps of the pantheon simply by talking about him.
hope so.
Let's start by spelling Gene's name correctly
It's "Clark" without an 'e' on the end. And here's my top ten :
1. Mr Tambourine Man - the beautiful piano-led version from Firebyrd
2. Feel A Whole Lot Better - spawned many imitators,bands even genres
3. Silver Raven - best track from his most amazing album
4. You Showed Me - classic psychedelic pop
5. Why Not Your Baby - quality heartbreak tune
6. One In A Hundred - could have brought The Byrds new success
7. Spanish Guitar - close to Dylan
8. Hear The Wind - a beautiful folk gem
9. Backstage Pass (McGuinn, Clark and Hillman) very late 70s disco, surprisingly works
10. Sleep Will Return from Under The Silvery Moon.
Mr Tambourine Man
You're right about Gene's version. One would think that Mr Tambourine Man is a song you never need to hear again; then Gene Clark comes up with his brilliant version.
and Changes
Both Tambo and similar period "Changes" should by rights be late period middle age spread naff. But they are uplifting joyous two-fingered gestures to the grim reaper. Absolute gems both. Controlled knowing human statements with so little ego. Make me feel proud to be human, no less!
God bless clarko without the e
Good call
such a stately dignity to it and never fails to bring a tear to my eye. Best song Phil Ochs ever wrote too.
Lofgren
I cannot lave here without commenting that at the superlative Springsteen concert at the Emirates Stadium last night Nils Lofgren all but stole the show with his amazing guitar solo in Because The Night. I await his next round of solo gigs impatiently.
georgie fame
I love colin blunstone like a lass. I love gene clark like a cowboy loves his favorite spurs. But above both I love the absolute musical force that is the beyond great GEORGIE FAME.
And is he in the pantheon? No, he's probably on the motorway right on his way to doing a gig in bognor or birmingham or bury. Fag on the go.
Blunstones "caroline goodbye"
Clarks "changes" or "tambourine man"
And georgie fames "peaceful"
All 3/4 should be on the jukebox in the pantheon.
Fantastic stuff
georgie fame
I love colin blunstone like a lass. I love gene clark like a cowboy loves his favorite spurs. But above both I love the absolute musical force that is the beyond great GEORGIE FAME.
And is he in the pantheon? No, he's probably on the motorway right on his way to doing a gig in bognor or birmingham or bury. Fag on the go.
Blunstones "caroline goodbye"
Clarks "changes" or "tambourine man"
And georgie fames "peaceful"
All 3/4 should be on the jukebox in the pantheon.
Fantastic stuff
georgie fame
I love colin blunstone like a lass. I love gene clark like a cowboy loves his favorite spurs. But above both I love the absolute musical force that is the beyond great GEORGIE FAME.
And is he in the pantheon? No, he's probably on the motorway right on his way to doing a gig in bognor or birmingham or bury. Fag on the go.
Blunstones "caroline goodbye"
Clarks "changes" or "tambourine man"
And georgie fames "peaceful"
All 3/4 should be on the jukebox in the pantheon.
Fantastic stuff
I would say Gene is IN.
There is an inner sanctum, known by those in the know, so to speak. Gram is ubiquitous, alongside Jim Morrison, as doomed artist, known to many who know nothing of his music, just relishing the legend. Gene carried on living that life, poor bastard, till his rock bottom was lower by far, yet touched with probably a better talent, albeit known by far fewer. But I'll wager he and Townes Van Zandt are too picky for Gram to join their band. But Clarence White will be allowed in, and he died an accidental death.