No Other- Gene Clark
I love listening to obscure music. Or rather, I like finding the best in obscure music. Most obscure music is obscure for good reason. Others require a certain combination of the right attitude, taste and mindset to really appreciate. These usually have cult followings. And then there are a few special obscure albums that make one ask the question: “Why is this not popular?”
For No Other, the reason seems to be bad timing, so bad that it seems almost like a divine joke. The album was released at a time when overdubbing and studio effects were not accepted, especially from more folksy singers like Gene Clark. That’s the accepted narrative anyway, but I’m not sure how much I buy it myself. Brian Wilson was making similar music even before this, and the idea of a folk artist “going electric” wasn’t a new one thanks to Bob Dylan. Not to mention, the album doesn’t sound “electric.” It sounds…well it sounds like itself. That might be the reason more than any other you don’t hear No Other talked about in the same breathe as Pet Sounds or Revolver: the sound is too hard to pin down, and yet you leave it feeling as if you’ve definitely heard something unified.
Gene Clark was a founding member of The Byrds, and it shows on tracks like “Life’s Greatest Fool” which almost sounds like a country western song with a lot more polish. That sort of polished sound continues on “Silver Raven” then is replaced with the almost funky beat of “No Other.” After that, the country elements take a back seat to something approaching rock but even that becomes an inadequate descriptor, as more instruments are layered one on top of another. The album comes to a head on “Some Misunderstanding.” “Some Misunderstanding” is the centerpiece of the album, and it is as expansive and as intricate as a gothic cathedral. All one can do is stand in wonder.
A quick note: The lyrics on this album might be called “mysterious” by a kind critic, “nonsensical” by a cruel one. I tend towards the former in that I think that there is meaning to the lyrics, a very important one, but those lyrics are as responsive to interpretation as the blocks of that gothic cathedral. In short, there is a meaning, but I don’t know what it is, only that it is important. This goes especially for “From a Silver Phial” and “Some Misunderstanding.”
No Other is a long album, even an exhausting one. It took a couple of listens before I decided that I loved it. But now its one of my favorites, and certain lyrics (“She was fire on the borderline”) are now among my favorites.
5/5 At least go listen to “Life’s Greatest Fool,” “No Other,” and “Some Misunderstanding.” The rest of the album can take a while to appreciate.