Editorial Reviews

Gene Clark's luck was rarely good when it came to his career after leaving the Byrds, and though his 1974 album No Other would come to be seen as a neglected masterpiece years after the fact, by early 1975 it was considered an expensive flop that put Clark on the bad side of David Geffen, and Clark was doing club dates when and where he could to make a buck and keep his name before the public. On February 19, 1975, Clark played in Denver, CO at a club called Ebbets Field, where he shared the bill with Tom Waits. A local radio station recorded the show for later broadcast, and 33 years after the fact, this night in the life of Gene Clark has finally been given an authorized release on CD. Silverado '75: Live & Unreleased finds Clark backed by Roger White on guitar and Duke Bardwell on bass and acoustic guitar, and while the trio (who were billed as Gene Clark & Silverado) sometimes sounds a bit rough, as if they're mapping out their set on the fly, the harmonies are superb and White's lead guitar offers a fine counterpart to Clark's strong and emotive vocals, which are still striking despite the low-budget circumstances of the gig. Clark plays two numbers from No Other, and "Silver Raven" and "No Other" sound a great deal different in such stripped down form, but it seems clear at this point Clark was hardly bothering to support his new release, and this recording features several songs that slipped through the cracks and never made it onto a proper album (such as "Home Run King" and "Daylight Line"), two numbers reaching back to his glory days with the Byrds ("Here Without You" and "Set You Free This Time"), and even a pair of old country chestnuts ("Long Black Veil" and "In the Pines"). Silverado '75 often sounds casual, as if this trio was performing for a handful of friends, but Clark was in full command of his muse this evening, and if this isn't an essential moment in his career, it's a reminder of just how consistently remarkable he could be, even playing a little bar on a Wednesday night. Mark Deming, All Music Guide

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