My intention is to not flood this series with too many selections by the same artists, but it’s hard to cull Gene Clark’s overlooked catalog of great albums down to only a few. He was a restless, innovative musician and everybody more or less just expected that he would be famous once he left the Byrds, but that never happened. Some people attribute it to Clark’s fear of flying, and thus his inability to tour. Others claim that his drinking got out of hand and made him unreliable, and thus untouchable for most record labels. It just seems like too many mishaps happened simultaneously.

“With the Gosdin Brothers” is Clark’s first record after departing the Byrds under not-too-happy circumstances – bandmembers were vocally jealous of the extra income Clark pulled in as the band’s primary songwriter, while Clark himself resented the fact that Roger McGuinn was thrust into the limelight as the band’s de-facto leader and lead vocalist.

Vern and Rex Gosdin were brothers from Alabama who had come west to Los Angeles in pursuit of their own dream as an updated version of the Louvin Brothers. Clark had a distinct love for country-western styles and saw the brothers as an excellent fit for his solo debut. Clarence White was added on guitar, thus completing the spine for the lineup that would support Gram Parsons on “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” in one year’s time – you heard it here first, kids, but sadly, you probably never heard it at all, because nobody bought “With the Gosdin Brothers” when it came out.

Perhaps deliberately, the Byrds released their fourth album, “Younger Than Yesterday,” on the same day, stealing much of Clark’s much needed thunder. Within a year, he would be reconciling with the Byrds, but old problems immediately reared their heads and Clark was once again on his own. He subsequently recorded two excellent albums with Doug Dillard as Dillard and Clark, but neither of them made a dent, either, although superstars such as Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles subsequently covered a song each.

February 1967 - Billboard: Did Not Chart