The Clarks – Born Too Late….Power Pop Friday

This is a great sounding song. He mentions historical figures by first name…I think John Lennon, Jerry Garcia, Vincent Van Gogh are among them and includes more…I love the guitar sound. I would recommend checking them out. Thanks to Hanspostcard for pointing them out.

This is a local band out of Pittsburgh that formed in  the mid 80s at  Indiana University of Pennsylvania where most of them were enrolled. They started out as a cover band and soon began playing original songs.

They were on their own label while making their first albums and then MCA took notice. They signed with them in 1996 but MCA started to pay more attention to their label mate Blink – 182 and didn’t push The Clarks. They signed with  Razor & Tie after MCA and achieved success locally but not nationally.

The Clarks who play Power Pop have released 12 studio and live CDs selling nearly quarter of a million copies.  they have built a fan base from over 20 years of performances an  they sell out 7,500 seat venues in Pittsburgh and venues in the East coast and Mid-West.

This song was on the Let It Go album released in 2000.

It originally appeared on singer Scott Blasey’s 1999 solo album, Shine, but was then reworked by the entire band for its appearance on this album.

Dave Marsh Rock Critic: “They’ve got first-rate songs, they play together the way only bands who’ve truly lived with each other’s chops can, they can sing, and as far as I can tell, at the end of the story, they get the girl. What more do you want?”

Born Too Late

Vincent will you teach me how to paint
Teresa will I ever be a saint
John I really think your songs are great
I was born too late

William will you teach me how to write
Cassius will you show me how to fight
Thomas A. I think I see the light
I was born tonight

I’ve had a hard time leaving this town
I’ve been losing everything that I’ve found
I’m gonna search the sky, kiss the ground
Build it up and tear it back down

I’ve had a hard time leaving this place
I’ve been counting all the lines on my face
I’m gonna curse the sky, hit the ground
What goes up comes tumbling down

Jimi show me how you play that thing
Elvis will I ever be a king
and Jerry all the joy and love you bring
I was born to sing

Martin Luther King show me the way
Jesus Buddha teach me how to pray
Christopher I think I see the bay
I was born today

…

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

28 thoughts on “The Clarks – Born Too Late….Power Pop Friday”

  4. An interesting post! Never heard of them, I find it amazing how there still are such regional discrepencies within the country in this day and age when it comes to music… 7500 seats in Pgh and probably opening for a bar band in a saloon in Baltimore or Cincinnati. I read how Bob Seger was like that in the early-’70s, selling out the Silver Dome in Detroit but playing small bars in most other cities. Kind of a shame but then again, rather encouraging that our culture isn’t 100% homogenized coast to coast yet.
    As for the song, not bad… quite like the jangly guitar, lyrics aren’t bad either. Voice reminds me of who? Creed maybe? Not too sure.

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    1. Their other stuff is some excellent power pop. The singer doesn’t…but the band kinda sounds like Sloan on their other stuff.
      That guitar is really good…they have better songs but this one was in my head after I heard it.

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      1. Yea his voice sounds like that…I agree…the music though is different. That is the sound I’m trying for on my recordings.
        Do you like it?

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      2. Oh, HELL, yeah. His voice, the composition, the wah-wah pedal… It has soul…texture… Lyrics will always be secondary to me. One of my absolute favorite songs is Driver’s Seat by Sniff ‘n the Tears. The lyrics are about driving…nothing particularly poetic…but, the music and singing is awesome. If lyrics are great to match great music, that’s just dessert.

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  5. Ive followed them for 30 years- one of those shake my head–how they didn’t become bigger but they are still out there doing concerts and making new music. I think sometime around the turn of the century they had a push into the big time but for whatever reason they didn’t go over big.

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    1. I read where some of their songs have been in movies…but still no attention. MCA was probably their best chance but they were not pushed.
      I just pick a song randomly…and it’s quality.

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      1. The music, itself, doesn’t remind me of Far Too Jones out of Raleigh but, their plight, does:
        https://www.allmusic.com/artist/far-too-jones-mn0000143621/biography

        Even Ken’s godson Ronnie, while touring with Queensryche and Three Doors Down, couldn’t get Echo7 out of the South Carolina region. Hootie & the Blowfish got out but, Ronnie’s band couldn’t.

        A lot of bands crashed when Mammoth Records shut down:
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammoth_Records

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Oh yea I remember reading about him. With power pop bands it’s a familiar story. Ronnie of course wasn’t not power pop…it sucks knowing you have the talent but not a break

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