The Clarks - Restless Days

Earlier this year, The Clarks released their 8th studio album of original material, Restless Days. It was their first CD of new music in 5 years, which was a painfully long time for fans of The Clarks. So, was Restless Days worth the wait? Should you go out and spend your hard earned cash on this CD? Let’s spin the disc and find out!
For those of you not familiar with The Clarks, they are a four piece rock quartet that has been together for more than 20 years. They hail from Pittsburgh, PA where they are celebrated like rock Gods. Think Bruce Springsteen in New Jersey. The Clarks are just good old fashioned blues bar rock and roll. That’s what makes them so amazing.

Restless Days opens with True Believer a rocking song in the style of classic Clarks. A foot tapping, put the top down and go out for a drive, grab your buddies and enjoy a cold beer on a warm summer night, True Believer is typical Clarks, and that’s a good thing. Scott Blasey’s lyrics are heartfelt, intense, and talented as always, which helps give the song structure and meaning. True Believer is an excellent opener and an excellent re-introduction to The Clarks after such a long hiatus.

Midnight Rose is a soft, melodic rocker that will have you hooked by the third listen. This is one of the best songs on Restless Days and it showcases The Clarks ability as a band.

The title track, Restless Days is another soft rocker that is very reminiscent of No Place Called Home from 1990’s Someday Maybe. A powerful, yearning voice erupts from Blasey for this song. There is need and desire in his voice and it translates perfectly to the urgency of this song. While the song is short in length, it is brilliant in ability. Quality over quantity wins big here.

Restless Days closes with a souped up, rocking cover of Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World. The band takes this jazz classic and turns it into their own by adding slick guitar riffs, a rollicking drum beat, and speeding up the tempo of the song. It’s the complete opposite of Louis’ version, which is what makes it so much fun.

Blasey’s vocals are so unique and always help to define every Clarks album. A true working man’s voice, Scott Blasey hits the higher octave and promotes passion and urgency with his singing. His voice conveys the feelings that are meant to be shown in each of the songs presented. The joy, anger, pain, and celebration all come through when they are supposed to, which helps solidify the amazing sound of The Clarks.

Then there’s the great guitar work Robert James. While not overly heavy on guitars, Restless Days does have its moments of masterful solos and great guitar genius. James really shines with his guitar playing ability and helps to give each song a unique feel. He is quite an amazing guitarist that deserves more recognition than he’s received.

Once again, The Clarks have delivered a masterpiece of great rock and roll. These 12 songs are an amazing collection of new material and just continue to boggle my mind as to why this band is not better known. Their music is incredible, their ability to rock is unprecedented; they are simply amazing. Restless Days is an incredible album that will have you rocking for days. Buy it, order it, whatever it takes, own this CD!

Want to know more about The Clarks? Visit http://www.clarksonline.com/

Ryo’s Rating: 8.5 (out of 10)

Restless Days Track Listing
True Believer
Inside
Trampoline
Midnight Rose
Soul and Skin
Sunshine
Come ‘Round Here
Restless Days
The Clowns
The Runaway
In Between
What A Wonderful World