The
Dillard & Clark
duo was
Gene Clark
's most artistically successful post-
Byrds
collaboration, and his best venture into country-rock as well. With
Chris Hillman
and
Bernie Leadon
playing behind the duo throughout the first album, in many ways it is as much an offshoot of
the Flying Burrito Brothers
' work as it is of
the Byrds
, with more of
the Burritos
' feel. The standard of playing and singing on both albums is extremely high, but the ten songs on
The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark
are more impressive, both as recordings and compositions. The ten songs from
Through the Morning, Through the Night
fail to match the joyous quality or the originality of their predecessors and the sound is less unified, mostly due to the presence of a third singer in the guise of
Donna Washburn
. The mix of rollicking bluegrass (such as
"Rocky Top"
which is sung by
Washburn
) and covers like
the Beatles
'
"Don't Let Me Down"
the Everly Brothers
"So Sad"
is also less successful. But combined together, these 20 songs are an essential addition to any country-rock collection and are also indispensible to fans of
or
. The duo's two albums are combined on one CD, making for more than an hour of great listening. Mastered in state-of-the-art sound that still holds up years later, this is the version of the two albums to get. ~ Bruce Eder