Gene Clark • White Light
 was slowly recovering from a
marathon listening event during which I played all of Mahler’s nine symphonies. The
limited-edition, 14-LP boxed set [Columbia GMS 765] features Leonard Bernstein conducting
the New York Philharmonic and London Symphony orchestras in, arguably, definitive
readings. So eager was I to listen that I could barely wait to cue up the records, one
after another. But it was a daunting experience both physically and emotionally and it
left me drained. I needed some quick musical relief from the potency and seriousness of
that experience. Ex-Bryd Gene Clark’s album White Light, arriving as if by
magic, was just the antidote I needed.
White Light received much critical acclaim when it was released in 1971. One reviewer referred to it as "one of the greatest singer/songwriter albums ever made." Yet, it vanished without a trace from the public consciousness. None of the album’s nine songs (eight of which are Clark originals) pushes the tempo much past a stroll or, with the exception of "Tears of Rage," ventures into unfriendly waters. The songs deal largely with love lost, found or unrequited. The ensuing ache of melancholy and self-doubt lends a wistful sadness to the lyrics and the almost whispered vocals. Clark was a contemporary of Yusuf Islam (then Cat Stevens), and the similarities in their vocal deliveries is striking, especially in "Because of You." The backing band lends impeccable and flattering support to Clark’s delicate vocals. Devoid of the often antiseptic character common to much current digital recording, White Light’s analog-tape heritage captures beautifully the unadorned timbre of simple instruments in intimate surroundings. You want real bass? Check out side two’s "Where My Love Lies Asleep," where the bass guitar grabs the air in the room and nudges it forward. Other surprises are the great guitar solo closing "1975" and the sudden fade on "Tears of Rage." With close to two decades of industry-related experience (at Vandersteen, AudioQuest, Stereophile Guide to Home Theater, Home Theater magazine and The Absolute Sound) Intervention Records’ founder Shane Buettner does not lack audiophile cred. And judging by the 20+ titles he’s selected for release so far, he has great taste in music. His propensity to uncover recordings at the edge of popularity and reissue them is enviable, especially given his stated goal: "to produce archive-quality LPs of music we love." To reach that noble end, Intervention unashamedly documents the evolution of each reissue from source (usually always the original master tape) to mastering (100% analog at Cohearent Audio) to pressing (180-gram vinyl at RTI) to the printing of the jacket (at Stoughton Printing Co.). The resulting product is easily among the best of the best of its kind in a growing market of artisanal vinyl reissues. With White Light, when the stylus hit the lead-in groove of the first side, all I heard was a "click" and then nothing, as if the occasional South Florida brownout had caused a loss of power. I checked the lights on the gear and they all shone brightly. It wasn’t a brownout causing the abrupt silence; it was the total absence of noise from the superb RTI pressing. There’s quiet and then there’s quiet. The surfaces of White Light were the latter. Intervention Records’ reissue of White Light
is, to me, a perfect album -- one of those rare recordings earning five stars for music,
sound and presentation. It receives my highest recommendation, and, in a manner of
speaking, it is an album you can curl up with. |
