Clear Light Review

 

by:

Matthew Greenwald

AII Music.com

Kind of a minor league version of the Doors, Clear Light were a West Coast phenomenon, and although they didn't last too long, were an interesting group. A very good slice of Los Angeles psychedelia, Clear Light were a six-piece band that combined folk, rock, psychedelia, and even a touch of classical to their sound. The end result, though, is a little ponderous and pretentious, but strangely listenable. The big hit off this album (produced by Paul Rothchild and engineered by Bruce Botnick) was "Mr. Blue," a psychedelic folk song written by Tom Paxton. It's over six-minutes long and a bit overbaked, but it does have an odd appeal. The finer moments are guitarist Bob Seal's psychedelic folk-rock songs, namely "With All in Mind" and "They Who Have Nothing." Singer Cliff DeYoung went on to have a successful acting career, bass player Doug Lubahn played on the early Doors albums, Dallas Taylor went on to drum for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and John Sebastian, and keyboardist Ralph Schuckett became one of the more popular West Coast session players and arrangers. A lot of talent in a short-lived ensemble. Dated but charming West Coast psychedelia.

THIS IS THE CORRECT ALLENTOWN PRESSING, 3RD EDITION IN 1967. 

Clear Light (2) – Clear Light (Details Courtesy of Discogs).

More images

Label: Elektra – EKS-74011 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Misprint, Repress, Stereo, Allentown Pressing, 3rd Country: US Released: 1967 Genre: Rock Style: Psychedelic Rock

Tracklist

Hide Credits A1 Black Roses Written-By – Clear Light (2), Dios* Written-By – Clear Light (2), Dios* 2:08 A2 Sand Written-By – Lubahn* Written-By – Lubahn* 2:37 A3 A Child's Smile Written-By – Clear Light (2), Ney* Written-By – Clear Light (2), Ney* 1:33 A4 Street Singer Written-By – Copeland*, Noonan* Written-By – Copeland*, Noonan* 3:15 A5 The Ballad Of Freddie & Larry Written-By – De Young*, Schuckett* Written-By – De Young*, Schuckett* 2:00 A6 With All In Mind Written-By – Seal* Written-By – Seal* 3:00 B1 Mr. Blue Written-By – Tom Paxton Written-By – Tom Paxton 6:24 B2 Think Again Written-By – Lubahn* Written-By – Lubahn* 1:37 B3 They Who Have Nothing Written-By – Seal* Written-By – Seal* 2:33 B4 How Many Days Have Passed Written-By – Seal* Written-By – Seal* 2:20 B5 Night Sounds Loud Written-By – Lubahn* Written-By – Lubahn* 2:25

Companies, etc.

• Pressed By – Allentown Record Co. Inc.
• Copyright © – Nina Music

Copyright © – Little Giant (2)

• Copyright © – Deep Fork
• Engineered At – Sunset Sound Recorders
• Record Company – Elektra Records

Credits

• Bass Guitar – Douglas Lubahn*
• Drums – Dallas Taylor
• Drums, Percussion – Michael Ney
• Engineer – Bruce Botnick
• Guitar – Bob Seal
• Lead Vocals – Cliff De Young
• Organ, Piano, Celesta – Ralph Schuckett
• Photography By, Art Direction – William S. Harvey
• Producer – Paul A. Rothchild
• Recording Supervisor [Production Supervisor] – Jac Holzman
• Vocals – Bob Seal (tracks: A1, A6)

Notes

Gold/tan Elektra label with Clear Light logo.
Allentown pressing, identified by the "AR" date-codes faintly etched in runouts.
Label variant: third Allentown version with:
• Corrected "Nina Music/Little Giant" publishing credits for track A1.
• Both labels (and jacket) are marked, "All songs © copyright Nina Music BMI, except where otherwise indicated."
• Plate/pressing date codes as early as 10/25/67 are known with this version.

The date-code (preceded by "AR", "ARC", or "ARↃ", which may appear as "ARO") was inscribed each time a new stamper was made; they vary considerably in style but it's all the same version: some dates have a MM-DD-YY format, but others use a pressing-plant MMDDY shorthand with only the final digit of the year. The first example here has a "/" separator (transcribed as a 1) "126/7", i.e. 12-6-67
All runouts also contain a tiny and indistinct set of initials that have not yet been identified. (RK, R10 and PY have been suggested.)

This variant may have been issued with a standard gold-on-white Elektra company inner-sleeve, rather than the printed black and white inner-sleeve that shipped with the pre-release pressings. CORRECT! - SEE MY PHOTOS

All songs © Nina Music except
"Black Roses" © Nina Music/Little Giant.
"Mr Blue" © Deep Fork.

Barcode and Other Identifiers

• Rights Society (A1 to A6, B2 to B5): BMI
• Rights Society (B1): ASCAP
• Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, variant 1): EKS 74011A (A) ARO12617 [minuscule initials]
• Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, variant 1): EKS 74011B (A) ARO12218 [minuscule initials]
• Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, variant 2): EKS 74011A (A) [minuscule initials] ARO 10/25/7
• Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, variant 2): EKS 74011B (A) [minuscule initials] ARO 9/25/7