Gene Clark was never that successful as a solo artist, at least here in the United States. Despite being in The Byrds, an act that became a vanguard for the emerging genres of folk rock and psychedelia in the mid 1960s. Clark left the group just before Fifth Dimension, which means that he sat out my personal favorite era of the band, and began pursuing a solo career, to lacking success. White Light was his second full solo album - a largely acoustic, somewhat sparse production that's built mainly off of Clark's clean voice and introspective lyricism. Considering that Clark left before the country-rock days of The Byrds, I wasn't expecting the leaning towards that sound on this album, but it nevertheless suits it. Clark's clean, soft and confident voice is the perfect accompaniment to the rich, sometimes beautiful lyricism. Coupe in a consistent set of tracks, and you've got a pretty damn solid album from a vanguard figure in modern pop music.
I think that the strongest thing this album has going for it is largely Clark's voice - it's soft and gentle, and yet it can rise to the occasion to be powerful in its subdued quality. This is probably best demonstrated on the closing track "1975," which slowly and patiently builds towards a bold-sounding finale for the album, and Clark's voice matches the soft intensity of the song to a tee. Of course, Clark's music is the kind that's far more suited for gentler stuff, and generally the album doesn't go too far outside of that zone. Unfortunately with country, I feel that this can occasionally get into the territory of repetition, but I think Clark manages to keep things interesting enough to avoid this from happening. Largely, most of the album sticks around a warm kind of feeling, matching the dark sunset on the cover - "For a Spanish Guitar" is a lovely song, easily one of the best moments on the album, and it perfectly embodies the calm and warm soul of the album. Other moments like "White Light" showcase a more upbeat side of the album. Sometimes you get a "While My Woman Lies Asleep," a song that sounds far too much like the rest of the album to be distinct, but for the most part the album staying in its lane doesn't detract from the overall experience.
Clark may not have known the most success, but at least he knew how to craft some great tunes. White Light is a beautifully subdued album for the most part, and Gene carries it throughout with gentle vocal performances, creative songwriting, and typically lively, albeit maybe too straightly played, instrumentation. Country is typically something that needs to be just right for me to go crazy for it, and I can confidently say that I really enjoyed most of White Light. Just a very good album.
RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
Listen to White Light.
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