The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark is a country rock album by Dillard & Clark. A&M Records issued the album in the US in October1968, and its release in the UK followed in July1969. The album was recorded in 1968, shortly after Gene Clark had departed the Byrds for the second time and after Doug Dillard left the Dillards. The album is hailed by critics and musicians as a unique masterpiece at the intersection of country rock and Americana.

Background

Clark's debut solo album, Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers, had been a commercial failure. After the dismissal of David Crosby from the Byrds, Clark had rejoined his previous band, but after performing only three shows, he left the tour due to his anxieties and fear of flying. He then signed with A&M Records and began sessions for his debut album on his new label with instrumentalist Douglas Dillard. Bernie Leadon co-wrote six of the songs and also performed on the album. Due to Clark's refusal to tour, a short series of shows at The Troubadour in L.A. was the only promotion for the album and, as a result, it too was a commercial failure.

Reception

Music critic Matthew Greenwald, writing for Allmusic, called the album "perhaps [Clark's] most brilliant recording... Graceful, spellbinding, and tasteful all at the same time. Absolutely essential."

Track listing

Side One: Side Two: The following bonus tracks have been included on CD reissues of the album: Digital streaming releases display the following track list, but only 5 of them (1-4,12) play the correct song. For the rest, the track number of the song actually heard follows in brackets.

Personnel

Adapted from Discogs.

Production

Sources