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 What are the best Clarence White recordings?
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| Author | Topic: What are the best Clarence White recordings? |
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Henry Nagle Member From: Santa Rosa, California |
posted 05 April 2006 11:38 PM
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What are the best examples of Clarence White's electric guitar playing? Thanks! |
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Keith Cordell Member From: Atlanta |
posted 05 April 2006 11:56 PM
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That's like saying what is your favorite way to collect a thousand bucks- it's all good, as long as you come away with the money. Seriously, though, I would feel like I was betraying all those other tunes if I picked one out of the pile. Clarence was just outrageous. |
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Dave Burr Member From: Tyler, TX |
posted 06 April 2006 06:30 AM
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Henry, The following are a few of my favorites. You can't go wrong with any of theses (IMHO). - The live album "Nashville West" http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000087LP7/qid=114432 9837/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-1469470-2488937?s=music&v=glance&n=5174 - The Byrds "Sweethearts of the Rodeo" http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000002AHB/qid= 1144329982/sr=2-3/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_3/102-1469470-2488937?s=music&v=glance&n=5174 - The Byrds "Untitled" http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004OCEN/qid=114433 0093/sr=1-8/ref=sr_1_8/102-1469470-2488937?s=music&v=glance&n=5174 I pretty much love all of Clarence' work - electric or acoustic. These just happen to be some of my favorites. You can also go to the Clarence White Forum to learn more about Clarence and his music. http://www.clarencewhiteforum.com/ Respectfully, [This message was edited by Dave Burr on 15 May 2006 at 11:12 AM.] |
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Mike Perlowin Member From: Los Angeles CA |
posted 06 April 2006 06:55 AM
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Long before Clarence became famous, he worked as a guitar teacher in a local music school, and I was one of his students. Before you guys turn green, I was pretty much a beginner, and he just taught me basic chords. I didn't learn any of the things he did later.
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Mark Lind-Hanson Member From: San Francisco, California, USA |
posted 06 April 2006 09:27 AM
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I would say Untitled -also Dr. Byrds and Mr Hyde, when the Stringbender was brand-new. He's not on a lot of the tracks on Sweetheart, actually, 2 or 3, I think. Everything before Dr. Byrds is conventional 6 string stuff. And everything after Untitled is also good, but the BAND aren't (IMHO.) Nashville West album is also good but again it is the conventional 6 string. ---Lucky you got to meet him! He passed away the week I turned 18. |
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John McGann Member From: Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
posted 06 April 2006 02:13 PM
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Don't overlook his acoustic work with The Kentucky Colonels and Muleskinner and The White Brothers (The Live In Sweden Rounder album is amazing!) ------------------ |
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Henry Nagle Member From: Santa Rosa, California |
posted 06 April 2006 06:18 PM
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Thank you! And thanks for the links, Dave. I'm pretty familiar with aome of his acoustic stuff. I even saw a video of a goofy tv show he was on, hosted by Bob Baxter. If you can track it down, check it out. It's kind of an instructional show and the guitar playing is great, but almost as fun to watch is the weird interactions between Clarence and Bob. |
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Stephen Gambrell Member From: Ware Shoals, South Carolina, USA |
posted 07 April 2006 02:36 AM
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There's a video going 'round, of a band put together with Clarence, Richard Greene, Peter Rowan, and I forget... Anyway, this band was assembled to back up Bill Monroe on the west coast, but Bill couldn't make it. But the band carried on, and it's killer video! |
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Jason Odd Member From: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
posted 12 April 2006 08:16 AM
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Muleskinner is the band with Richard Greene, Peter Rowan (both fresh from Seatrain) and Bill Keith and David Grisman. The live video/DVD and seperate CD of the show they did for television is available through Sierra Records, as is their sole 1974 LP (rec. early 1973) which is also on CD via Sierra and Water Records with different artwork and notes for each. All great. The expanded version of the Byrds 'Ballad Of Easy Rider' album from 1969 is awesome, Nashville West is fantastic. |
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Mark Eaton Member From: Windsor, Sonoma County, CA |
posted 12 April 2006 11:35 AM
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Mike P.- I turned green anyway- Clarence was one of my heroes! ------------------ |
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Joe Shelby Member From: Walnut Creek, California, USA |
posted 18 April 2006 10:27 PM
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Yes, to try and even list some great Clarence White for someone wanting to hear is extremely difficult-his recorded playing is incredibly consistent. Just as hard would it be to try and list a bad Clarence recording. His level of creativity was always on such a high level, along with the subtle things that he would change just on a whim...Well, you get the idea. That said, I would like to make a suggestion; "Oil in My Lamp," from The Ballad of Easy Rider (already mentioned here by Jason). There are two versions of this tune, the original (more straight-ahead rock in feel), and the second (more laid back, for lack of a better description). The first version is the one I reccomend. Clarences' tone is really gutsy and he's way up in the mix. It will start you're heart pounding, guaranteed. He never recorded anything else with quite the same tone. He drives that song and it's something to behold. Joe. |
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Henry Nagle Member From: Santa Rosa, California |
posted 18 April 2006 11:13 PM
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Thanks Joe... I'll check that out. |
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Lefty Member From: Grayson, Ga. |
posted 19 April 2006 05:24 AM
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Ballad of the Easy Rider is my favorite. Check out "Tulsa County Blue" and "Gungadin" for smooth playing. The Byrds live 69 album has some great pickin on it as well. Its all good. His acoustic playing is amazing. I saw the 69 Byrds tour with him, and it made an impact on me unequaled. Lefty |
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scott murray Member From: Orange Park, FL |
posted 19 April 2006 01:12 PM
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Definitely check out the Byrds 'Live at the Fillmore' from Feb. 1969. This was only released in the last 10 years, but it is a must-have, as is 'Nashville West'. Big Beat did a nice Clarence compilation called 'Tuff and Stringy' and reissued the Gosdin Brothers' 'Sounds of Goodbye' with a ton of Clarence (mostly on flatpicked dobro). Also check out his session work. Randy Newman's '12 Songs', Linda Ronstadt's 'Hand Sown', Johnny Darrell's 'California Stop-over' and more. There's also singles like the Everly Brothers' "I'm On My Way Home Again" and Arlo Guthrie's "Coming Into Los Angeles". Clarence played for a bunch of folks from Wynn Stewart to Ricky Nelson to Pat Boone. [This message was edited by scott murray on 19 April 2006 at 01:13 PM.] |
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Joe Shelby Member From: Walnut Creek, California, USA |
posted 19 April 2006 04:30 PM
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Scott--"I'm On My Home Again." YESSS! I've mentioned previously that IMHO this is one of the finest "country rock" singles ever released. It probably sold the least as well. The Everlys' were troopers in the recording Better than any OTC, prescription, or recreational drug available... Joe. |
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Chris LeDrew Member From: Newfoundland, Canada |
posted 19 April 2006 08:59 PM
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Buy the "Sweetheart" Deluxe Extended Edition........on the outtakes CD you can hear him, plain as day, tuning between takes while the other guys work out arrangements. It's very cool. IMO, this is required listening for Clarence White fans.........and you get to hear Lloyd and Jay Dee while you're at it. Now that's a nice bonus.  |
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Jason Odd Member From: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
posted 20 April 2006 12:58 AM
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Everly's "I'm On My Home Again." Some time around late May there's a tentative release date for a new Ace comp, COUNTRY & WEST COAST: The Birth Of Country Rock, that awesome Everly's song will be included. Ace's previous releases include Gib Guilbeau & Gene Parsons, Clarence White, the Gosdins Brothers, Bakersfield Rebels, etc as part of their country and country rock releases on Ace/Big Beat. The new comp will have tracks by Mike Nesmith with the First National Band, Byrds, Dillard & Clark, unissued Gosdin Brothers, a really rare Corvettes song (Chris Darrow, Bernie Leadon), Poco, Pure Prairie League, the Dillards, Dillard & Clark, Blackburn & Snow, Gram Parsons, the International Submarine Band, the Spencers, the Lovin' Spoonful, Jerry Jeff Walker, 'Papa' John Phillips, the Youngbloods, Johnny Darrell, Gene Clark, Clarence White, Ian & Sylvia, the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Guilbeau & Parsons. |
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Mark Lind-Hanson Member From: San Francisco, California, USA |
posted 15 May 2006 08:01 AM
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I just want to add, additionally, that there's two other CD's with Clarence's electric work which may interest you. One is "Tuff & Stringy- Sessins 1966-68" comprised of session work Clarence did in Bakersfield for the Bakersfield International label- some very interesting stuff on this- also, there's Arlo Guthrie's "Running Down the Road" (the "Coming Into Los Angeles record". If you like Clarence then ths should be a another mouthful for you to sink your teeth into. |
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David L. Donald Member From: Koh Samui Island, Thailand |
posted 15 May 2006 08:26 AM
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What John McGann said! And sweet heart is a fine album. |
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CHIP FOSSA Member From: Monson, MA 01057 U.S.A. |
posted 15 May 2006 01:16 PM
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Also, I believe the Byrds snuck Clarence in the back door on "Younger Than Yesterday". Listen to "Time Between" for example. Sure sounds like Clarence. No credits back then were put on the album, and also he was snuck in because record companies had a ban on their artist going over and recording with another company. Big no-no back then. |
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Jason Odd Member From: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
posted 16 May 2006 03:46 AM
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No probs with Clarence sessioning with the Byrds in 1966 (Time Between, issued in '67) as he wasn't signed as an artist.. the deal with Bakersfield International was in 1967 and he was a union session picker by then anyway. His previous recording efforts were mostly Bluegrass, and most of the labels signed his band for one-off deals, definately no need to sneak him in on Byrds dates and he's on pics I've seen on the session paperwork anyway. I'm only mentioning that as some dudes didn't always get a credit due to the Byrds habit of re-cuting and overdubbing so much in the 1966-67 period. Clarence appears on a lot of cool records, most of them have ben mentioned, a couple of my faves are the Gosdin Brothers '68 LP (reish by Ace), Gene Clark's 1967 set 'Gene Clark & The Gosdin Brothers' although he's only really obvious on a couple of songs. |
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CHIP FOSSA Member From: Monson, MA 01057 U.S.A. |
posted 17 May 2006 07:47 AM
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Thanks for clarifying that, Jason. My mistake. |
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Jerry Hayes Member From: Virginia Beach, Va. |
posted 22 May 2006 11:55 AM
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Hank, I sent you an email.....JH in Va. ------------------ |
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Drew Howard Member From: Mason, MI, U.S.A. |
posted 22 May 2006 03:26 PM
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The Byrds "Untitled" The Kentucky Colonels "Appalchian Swing" ------------------ [This message was edited by Drew Howard on 22 May 2006 at 03:28 PM.] |
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Jason Odd Member From: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
posted 25 May 2006 09:53 AM
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Hey Chip, the thing with those 60s records is that the labels didn't want people to know that session guys were used at all, the Doors utilised bass players on their albums, the first Byrds and Love albums all had session guys in some capacity. |
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CHIP FOSSA Member From: Monson, MA 01057 U.S.A. |
posted 25 May 2006 09:27 PM
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Yeah Jason, I think Glen Campbell actually was the bass player on the Byrd's "Mr Tambourine Man". All I can remember is when I first heard "Younger Than Yesterday" I said "who is that playing 'second' guitar?" I knew Mcguinn was a fine player, but this other guitar in there sure sounded like on some other plain. I just didn't think it was Mcquinn dubbing over. It had to be some kind of mystery player they 'let in the back door'. That distinct picking, and especially the timing, sure got my attention. |
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Jason Odd Member From: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
posted 01 June 2006 08:26 AM
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Chip, same for me, except the album for me was 'Notorious Byrds Brothers,' the one that first got me listening to pedal steel and Clarence White by default. |
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CHIP FOSSA Member From: Monson, MA 01057 U.S.A. |
posted 02 June 2006 02:47 PM
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Jason, Yup - just love the way the steel comes in on So when it came cutting through, it totally flipped me out. I was a bit, uh, stoned as well. Knocked me right out of my seat. I said, "Oh boy, the Byrds did it again; this is gonna be goodun'." That to me is one of the beauties of the steel - to come out of nowhere and incorporate the element of surprise. We all love being tricked [in a fun way]. We still do "Wasn't Born To Follow" and "Old John Robertson". |
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Mark Lind-Hanson Member From: San Francisco, California, USA |
posted 02 June 2006 03:48 PM
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I thought I read someplace way back then that the Doors used a pedal bass-keyboard on their records (Manzarek.) But then, it wouldn't surprise me if that was one of those industry cover-up lies, either. What's also really interesting is the "Change Is Now" basic track (titled Universal Mind Decoder). I always loved the way they used modal chords in it. Notorious Byrd Brothers IS a pretty overlooked, and interesting record- if only because it is the Byrds trying to be artsy... Lots of nice Red Rhodes pedal steel on it, too. |
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CHIP FOSSA Member From: Monson, MA 01057 U.S.A. |
posted 02 June 2006 09:12 PM
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Mark - liked your response. But...can you define or show what MODAL chords are. Modal tuning to me was just a hip term that folksingers [not unlike myself] back in the, once again, 60's, used to shove around in underground coffee houses to try to impress girls, and/or would be talent scouts. But, it is open tuning. So what else is new? Here it is - if you were in open tuning and had more predominant strings tuned to say G or D, then you were in a "true" modal tuning. The more G tuned strings was modal. The more D tuned strings was also modal. It's a moot point. Just like JI vs ET. Tune up to your ear, get up on stage, and give it the best you got. |
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Jason Odd Member From: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
posted 03 June 2006 01:25 AM
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Oh yeah the Doors live, no bass... they had it nailed, but on the albums, at least from the debut to Morrison Hotel, it's studio players. The reason I mentioned was to illustrate the classic 60s scenario of keeping a band image while not crediting session players. If I recall Clarence and the other session players all got credit on the Byrds' 'Sweetheart' LP. |
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Jim Sliff Member From: Hermosa Beach California, USA |
posted 03 June 2006 06:43 AM
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Jason is correct - credits are listed on "Sweetheart". For tons of Clarence info, join us benderheads at www.clarencewhiteforum.com. I'm "Silverface" there (and just about everywhere else on the web). It's a nice, small forum with a tremendous amount of info. You'll find recent pics or Muray Cullen's ele that Gene installed an exact cone of Clarence's original bender on...and even me playing my 400... It's a nice hangout for Clarence fans, bender players, and country-rock folks in general. |
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CHIP FOSSA Member From: Monson, MA 01057 U.S.A. |
posted 03 June 2006 07:37 AM
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If all these bands are great as we all think them to be, then why would they always use studio musicians to make the albums? They all sounded fine to me "live", so I don't get it. Thanks for the benderhead link, Jim. I'll be checking it out. |
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Jason Odd Member From: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
posted 06 June 2006 09:18 AM
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I think for various 60s bands (this example seems most relevant considering the topic and previous examples given) it was a case of the early records were basically the label and A&R guys felt more comfortable with studio cats on hand. Later as the bands got more ambitious, they added various session players for highlights, exotic flavors and sonic experimentation. |
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