Two Sides to Every Story

Two Sides to Every Story is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Gene Clark, released in February 1977. The album was Clark's first release since his 1974 album No Other. Notable tracks include "In the Pines" (traditional), "Kansas City Southern" and "Hear the Wind", both written by Clark, and "Give My Love to Marie", a song written by James Talley that tells the story of a dying coal miner.

Two Sides to Every Story
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 1977
Recorded1976
StudioFidelity Recording Studio, North Hollywood, California
GenreCountry rock, bluegrass
Length43:58
LabelRSO
ProducerThomas Jefferson Kaye
Gene Clark chronology
No Other
(1974)
Two Sides to Every Story
(1977)
Firebyrd
(1984)
Singles from Two Sides to Every Story
  1. "Home Run King" / "Lonely Saturday"
    Released: January 1977

The album was produced by Thomas Jefferson Kaye. Guest musicians are Jeff Baxter, Emmylou Harris, Byron Berline, Al Perkins and John Hartford.

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [1]
American Songwriter     [2]
Glide Magazine10/10[3]
MusicHound Rock     [4]
Popdosefavorable[5]
Record Collector     [6]
Uncut     [7]

Music critic Matthew Greenwald, writing for AllMusic, said: "the material is uneven, especially when Clark and the band try to rock out... But Clark's muse invariably guided him well even under awkward circumstances, and Two Sides has a number of superb moments... but if this is well short of a masterpiece, it's still clearly the work of a masterful singer and songwriter, and the best moments here are honestly magical."[1] Hal Horowitz of American Songwriter wrote, "It's a low key yet delightfully straightforward set that even rocks out occasionally and showcases Clark's lovely understated vocals."[2]

Reissue

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In 2011 High Moon Records announced that the label would be reissuing the album. In early 2013 the label reissued a vinyl version of the album remastered by Dan Hersch and Doug Sax. The vinyl included a download card for bonus tracks. High Moon reissued the album on CD (soft independent release to fans) with extra photos and a pdf booklet with a new essay written by Tom Sandford, along with bonus tracks in the Spring of 2014. In November 2014, the release was expanded to major markets and distributed worldwide.[8]

Track listing

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All songs written by Gene Clark, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Home Run King" 2:57
2."Lonely Saturday" 4:04
3."In the Pines"Traditional; arranged by Gene Clark4:22
4."Kansas City Southern" 4:38
5."Give My Love to Marie"James Talley6:05
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Sister Moon" 5:06
2."Marylou"Obie Jessie, Sam Ling3:31
3."Hear the Wind" 3:06
4."Past Addresses" 5:22
5."Silent Crusade" 4:12

2014 reissue downloadable bonus tracks

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Live at Ebbet's Field, Denver, Colorado, October 1975
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Life's Greatest Fool" 4:11
2."The True One" 3:16
3."The Radio Song"Clark, Bernie Leadon4:00
4."No Other" 3:21
5."Silver Raven" 5:25
6."In the Pines"Traditional; arranged by Gene Clark3:47
7."Hear the Wind" 4:28
8."I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" 3:04
9."I'll Be Back"Lennon, McCartney3:28
10."She Darked the Sun"Clark, Leadon3:28
11."Kansas City Southern" 4:52
12."From a Silver Phial" 4:45
13."Home Run King" 3:06
14."Sister Moon" 5:02
15."The Daylight Line" 3:41
Live at Mother Blues, Dallas, Texas, May 24, 1975
No.TitleLength
16."What Is Meant Will Be"4:25
17."Wheel of Time"2:19
18."Some Misunderstanding"6:36
19."She Don't Care About Time"2:59
Live at the Tango, 1984
No.TitleLength
20."I Saw a Dream Come True"4:30
Gene Clark Interview with B. Mitchel Reed, 1974
No.TitleLength
21."(Interview)"11:57

Personnel

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Production

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  • Producer: Thomas Jefferson Kaye
  • Executive Producer: Gary Legon
  • Recording Engineer: Joel Soifer
  • Art Direction: Ed Caraeff
  • Photography: Ed Caraeff
  • Design: David Larkham

References

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  1. ^ a b Greenwald, Matthew. Two Sides to Every Story at AllMusic
  2. ^ a b Horowitz, Hal (November 15, 2011). "Short Takes: Gene Clark, Carole King, Mott The Hoople and More". American Songwriter. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  3. ^ Collette, Doug (December 9, 2014). "Gene Clark – Two Sides to Every Story – Deluxe Edition (Album Review)". Glide Magazine. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  4. ^ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 186. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
  5. ^ Ross, Rob (December 17, 2014). "CD Review: Gene Clark, 'Two Sides To Every Story' (deluxe edition)". Popdose. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  6. ^ Houghton, Mike (November 2014). "Gene Clark – Two Sides to Every Story". Record Collector. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  7. ^ Torn, Luke (November 2014). "Gene Clark Two Sides to Every Story". Uncut. p. 104.
  8. ^ "main – High Moon Records". highmoonrecords.com.