Gene Clark White Light A&M 1971

Gene Clark White Light A&M 1971 CAT# SP4292

The Bonner Springs graduate, Gene Clark, put out this, which is simply, one of the best American singer/songwriter efforts ever put out.

If Clark was only architect of the Byrds' sound and quit after creating highly influential country rock with Missouri natives, the Dillards, he'd have a pretty substantial legacy. But, White Light's blend of sparse country and cosmic folk put him into place. Masterwork type stuff.

The album jacket and the actual record never state that the album is called White Light, but it was released under the title. It's fitting as the album sold poorly and is rather hard to track down now, the title just kind of screams that it should be obscure. It was recorded while Clark was still trying to find himself in L.A. almost 5 years after he left the Byrds. There is an impressive list of players featured on the LP, all of which play as if they shared Clark's vision, the album should have been a bigger deal upon it's original release.

White Light

Brandon Butler Heno Private 2012

Brandon Butler Heno Private 2012 NO CAT#

Brandon Butler of Boy's Life released this on colored wax in 2012 as what appears to be a self-funded, private release. Butler had moved to the D.C. area after Boy's Life disbanded years ago and made great friends. J. Robbins of Jawbox fame helped record and produce the album along with some other D.C. area players.

However, as cool as the East Coast is, this album sounds awfully Midwest. Heno is bordering between the alt. country sounds of  and 90's No Depression scene and the American Cosmic sounds of Gene Clark. While DC is cool, perhaps an extended visit back to the Heartland could have brought a bit more space and loneliness, but regardless, it's a very good album.

It's surprising that no one cares about this release. There's still Boy's Life/Farewell Bend fans out there and all you can find on the LP is, "Is this any good?" on webboards. It's very good. The fuckers asking should just buy it already. The track "Dear Assassin" is just as perfect as anything found on the Canyon LP's. It's spread out and lonely, get's big at the end, it's an amazing song.

The only faults to the album are it's length, it's just 7 tracks, with lots of room to spare. Also, Butler's vocals do sometimes sound a little high and out of place on some of his country outings, it works well with the spread out songs, but the more uptempo tracks, the vocals need a bit more depth.

It'd be a shame if this was the last thing Butler puts out. Personally, I have this grandiose idea he should return to Kansas City with a grip of songs and just get everyone around to put out a double LP. A KC allstar outing of American Cosmic recordings, sure, like this, I bet no one would care, but it'd be the type of thing that becomes legendary years later.

Dear Assassin Live Recording
https://brandonbutler.bandcamp.com/album/heno

Rainmakers 25 ON Big Dipper Records 2011

Rainmakers 25 ON Big Dipper Records 2011 CAT # BDRLP091

Pretty rad that this band is was so big in Norway and Scandinavian countries that they still can release music there.  This is an import vinyl issue that I bought locally at Vinyl Renaissance fairly cheap, they could barely give the thing away.  Which typifies the KC scene.  You can be a KC band, be huge somewhere else and everyone back home either calls you a sell out or doesn't know who the fuck you are.

There are even a couple of tunes here devoted to Kansas City, like the band is begging the hometown to embrace them.  'Missouri Girl' (pronounced Misery Girl) is exactly what you'd expect, a song about a Missouri Girl (Walkenhorst's wife).  It's no 'California Girls,' but it's a solid attempt.  'Kansas City Times' talks about the back roads of surrounding towns, also a good outing.  You can't say the band ignored their roots, they were always proud Kansas Citians; even when their audience is almost entirely foreign.

Overall, it's a decent album.  You can't expect a masterpiece from an aging, semi-retired band.  The Americana they relied on in the late-80's is now highly pronounced and well developed.  Bob Walkenhorst's lyrics are still literate and clever.   The production is far better than it was in the 80's.  Walkenhorst still sings in a style reminiscent of the 80's, but you get used to it and it's toned down over the years.  If the legend is true and these guys are huge in the Slavic countries, this isn't a bad way to represent KC.

Kansas City Times (Live)
Turpentine (Live)
Missouri Girl (Live)

The Rainmakers S/T Polygram 1986

The Rainmakers S/T Polygram 1986 CAT# 0704

1980's production sucks.  Disco may have died, but the uber-slick production never went away.  In the 80's the slick production style dominated, wet drums, vocal effects, synthesized horns, and guitars that sometimes don't sound real.

This album suffers from that, a lot.  It's unfortunate, the songs, the lyrics, it's all there.  You sense the roots rock and you can tell what the Rainmakers sounded like live, but that part of the band gets lost in the production.

When starting this project, I was excited to explore this band further.  They are an 80's KCMO band that just recently released a new album.  Their lyrics were featured in Stephen King novels, they had moderate chart success in the states, they were featured in Rolling Stone Magazine and always well reviewed.  They were also absurdly big in Scandinavian countries, having the equivalent of gold records in Norway.

Having never heard the band, I was excited to find this at a good price ($5.99 at Half Price Books).  All the reviews talk about the roots rock appeal of the band and Bob Walkenhorst's literate lyrics.  The lyrical aspect of the band isn't lost in the production, even a dumb title like "Big Fat Blonde" drops J.D. Salinger into the mix.  However, I cannot stress how much the production lessens this LP's appeal.  You can tell the twang, jangle, and boogie rhythms were originally intended.  But, in the 1980's it was apparently only going to make it on the radio if you made things sound plastic.  The guitars don't rumble, they pierce.  The drums don't bang, they splash.  Good luck picking up on the bass, it's there, but as vanilla as possible.

Let My People Go-Go
Steve, Bob & Rich Pre-Rainmakers Live in 83 Big Fat Blonde