(Way Cool/MCA)
Pittsburgh music fans will be likely to re-title the latest release by the Clarks Local Boys Make Good. The city dotes on hometown heroes, and The Clarks have given them something to brag about. Well known and loved for soldiering on the small club circuit for ten years, building up and extending their fan base, The Clarks now have a big time record contract to show for it.
The Clarks are four nice guys named Scott Blasey (vocals, guitar), Greg Joseph (bass, mandolin, vocals), Robert James (guitar, vocals), Dave Minarek (drums, vocals). The Pennsylvania/Ohio area is their region with Pittsburgh at its heart. Using their own label, they released four albums and built their following up to 40,000 unit sales worth - enough for Way Cool to pick them up. Someday Maybe , the band's self-released 1996 collection was remastered, rearranged and reissued by Way Cool.
The record company gave The Clarks a big push by throwing some experienced talent to work on their recording. Tim Bamba (Rusted Root, Gilby Clarke) produced; John Siket (Soul Asylum, Dave Matthews Band) was the engineer.
The Clarks style is a song-oriented, grassroots Americana guitar band. Their stock in trade are uptempo road songs, rocking love songs, acoustic serenades and always those catchy choruses. Cited influences include The Replacements, The Rainmakers, The Rave-Ups, and Tom Petty. The single, "Caroline", can be heard all over Pittsburgh radio, and it is the first single off the new album. But the 13 tracks include other possibilities and other local favorites, notably "One Day In My Life" and "Cigarette".
Not every song is a winner of course. If The Clarks have a fault it may be in lyrics which can tend toward the juvenile, e.g. "Courtney". Several of the songs have been remixed from the 1996 collection, and there are several that could have benefited. In some cases, the vocals are mixed so high that you wonder if the rest of the band is down the street. The album is uneven, but the high points reflect what has endeared the band to the 'burgh.
The Clarks are not currently on a national tour, but are continuing to develop their growing fan base in Pittsburgh and make the same national breakthrough as city-mates Rusted Root. This is a band worth trying if you like rocking, upbeat music. You can keep up with The Clarks story on their web site at http://www.clarksonline.com. Tip: Click on the Harley.
