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Tuesday, June 11, 2002

By Ed Masley, Post-Gazette Pop Music Critic

THE CLARKS: "Another Happy Ending." Razor & Tie.

Scott Blasey is the kind of guy who can sit down the night of Sept. 11, write a song about the way the day's events have made him feel and have it come out as hopeful -- as comforting even -- as "Hey You," the orchestrated lead-off single from the Clarks' new album.

	Audio (MP3 format) from The Clarks new album "Another Happy Ending" Clips are edited and optimized for the Web. "Maybe" (465K) "Hey You" (470K) Download MP3 players for Windows or Mac machines: Real Player Microsoft Windows Media Player WinAMP

That's why people like him.

Or part of the reason, anyway.

He's also got the perfect voice for securing a home on the dial for the radio-ready hooks his band has been refining since the '80s.

That's why even though he wrote or co-wrote only half the songs, it's Blasey's voice you hear on every track, including drummer Dave Minarik Jr.'s first appearance as a writer on a Clarks release, the surprisingly vulnerable "So You Can Sleep at Night."

Guitarist Rob James revisits the swooning summer days and summer nights of classic '60s pop on "Inside You." And Blasey himself has written a number of his better songs here, from the moody, contemplative "All the Things I Wanted" (with its psychedelic lead guitar and sweet falsetto break) to "Hey You" (Blasey's finest hour).

But the big surprise -- aside from the rapping, of course -- is just how much "Another Happy Ending," which arrives in record stores today, owes to the songwriting efforts of bassist Greg Joseph, whose fat, melodic playing really brings out all the sweet Costelloesque attractions of the funky, playful "Boys Lie."

But "Maybe" is better. The chorus alone should be enough to find him work if he ever decides he wants to help Santana, Aerosmith or Jon Bon Jovi write a hit. And it's not only catchy, it's good -- a breakup classic fueled by turns of phrase as inspired as "Maybe your mind plays tricks on me."

If this song doesn't break the Clarks on a national level, either nothing will or, as Blasey would write, there's always next time.

The Clarks' website: http://www.clarksonline.com/