The Cars

Performer: The Cars
Engineer: Geoff Workman
Producer: Roy Thomas Baker
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: The Cars: Ric Ocasek (vocals, guitar); Benjamin Orr (vocals, bass); Elliot Easton (guitar, background vocals); Gregg Hawkes (keyboards, saxophone, percussion, background vocals); David Robinson (drums, percussion, background vocals). Recorded at AIR Studios, London, England in Feburary, 1978. All tracks have been digitally remastered using HDCD technology. The Cars: Ric Ocasek (guitar, vocals), Elliot Easton (lead guitar, background vocals), Gregg Hawkes (keyboards, saxophone, percussion, background vocals), Benjamin Orr (bass, vocals), David Robinson (drums, percussion, background vocals). Recorded at AIR Recording Studios, London, England in February, 1978. Digitally remastered by Steve Hoffman (February 1993). Ric Ocasek's songs were influenced by the Velvet Underground and the punk rock movement, but had a slick pop/rock sheen which proved very successful. After a demo version of "Just What I Needed" became a listener favorite on WBCN in Boston (the bands' homebase), they were pursued by record companies. THE CARS was recorded in 2 weeks in London, England. This ranks as one of the best debut albums from a rock band. The Cars are filed under rock, but they are closer to power pop than any other genre. Ric Ocasek sounded like a cross between the Raspberries and Television, punk sound with a pop attitude. The giveaway was the irresistible harmony-ridden hooks in just about every one of his songs. Listen again to "You're All I've Got Tonight," "Just What I Needed" or "My Best Friend's Girl" and be thrilled. Lots of chunka chunka guitar and Mamas And Papas harmonies, and rarely a dull moment. They managed only six albums in 20 years, but they never bettered this.

Debuting in 1978, the Boston-based Cars managed to achieve both massive commercial success and New Wave credibility with their mix of power pop, Roxy Music-influenced art-rock, and melodic synth hooks. Despite his fame, leader Ric Ocasek proved to be a champion of the underground, producing albums by Suicide, Bad Brains, and Peter Dayton (later he produced hit records by Weezer and No Doubt). The band dissolved in the mid-'80s, and hopes of a reunion were complicated when singer/bassist Ben Orr passed away in 2000. Yet in 2005 the remaining members, sans Ocasek, enlisted the talents of pop guru Todd Rundgren and became The New Cars.

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