| The
Review |
What's this? Todd Rundgren is the new lead singer of
The Cars? How does this work? Actually, pretty good in fact.
It goes like this: Boston's The Cars were one of the most
influential bands of the new wave era and had a ten year run
of classic singles and albums characterized by the fusing
of 60's pop elements, jagged-edged electronics, killer harmonies,
a cool and detatched image and deceptively simple yet ironic
lyrics bordering on Beat poetry. The Cars were artier than
some give them credit for- they delivered 3 minute songs of
the catchiest rock alive, like some of New Wave Buddy Holly.
But there also was a darker element which more than leans
towards the Velvet Underground, Roxy Music and Kraftwerk.***
The original Cars were lead by Ric Ocasek, who handled
all the writing, along with rhythm guitar and half of the
vocals. Ric was the modern beatnik side of the band, a driven
conceptualist and decent producer. Riding with him were bassist
Benjamin Orr, a rocker with pin-up good looks who brought
to the table a smooth melodic rock voice which acted as a
perfect counterpart to Ocasek's more neurotic and detatched
vocal style. Orr was the poop star side of the band. Keyboardist
Greg hawkes was the glue the music could hang on, his use
of electronics and occasional songwriting collaborations with
Ocasek were essential to the 'sound' of the Cars. His playing
was quirky and interesting, even using toy Casio keyboards
to create a cheezy, yet spot-on element which gave the band
its soul. Ever the hardware geek, Hawkes was omnipresent on
any Cars album, later adopting a more lush and symphonic sound.
Hawkes was the nerdy Kraftwerk side of the band. Elliot Easton
was the secret weapon of the Cars- a left-handed guitarist
who deliverd tasty in your face solos which were flashy and
emotional, yet economic and compact. He never wasted a note,
and stretching the solo on 'YOUR ALL I'VE GOT TONIGHT' an
extra minute live is as close as he ever got to endless noodling.
Each solo is hand-crafted and to the point, which made them
all so more effective. Easton was the Guitar God side of the
band. And drummer David Robinson, who acted as human metronome
in a band full of simple and rhythm-generated rock. Yet he
was also the most happening member who also had a heavy hand
in the artwork and visual direction of the Cars, especially
during the earlier years. Robinson actually was the new wave
side of the band.***
The Cars eventually fizzled out in 1988, after a tour
for their least selling and underrated DOOR TO DOOR album.
Ric went on to a sporadic solo career as well as productions,
and the others for the most part on to lower key existences.
In 2000, Benjamin Orr died from cancer. Ocasek had always
dismissed the idea of ever reforming, even before Orr's death.
2006 found Hawkes and Easton willing to tour again, but without
Ocasek, Orr or Robinson(who had aslo moved on and owns a restaurant,
I believe), the Cars were destined to remain in the driveway.***
Which brings us to now: maverik producer and innovative
artist in his own right Todd Rundgren comes in to replace
Ocasek, and does an admirable job. On IT'S ALIVE, the Cars'
first live album(strange how they never had one back in the
day), Todd sounds eerily like Ric, though with more of an
edge. He's least effective on the songs Ben Orr originally
sang, but aquits himself well. His former comrade from UTOPIA,
bassist Kasim Sulton, coming in as Orr's replacement, also
fits like a glove, if a little underused. He only gets to
sing the classic Orr ballad DRIVE, but I think he should have
handled all of ORR's song in general. And on drums is Prairie
Prince from THE TUBES, who kicks the drums into high gear.
Prince is a musician I respect, he's played with a lot of
the best, as well as his time with The Tubes. This is now
the NEW CARS, and are a beefy new model in thier own right.
These classics take on a slightly edgier yet identifiable
sound. ***
Though billed as The NEW Cars(they couldn't call it the
Cars, as it really isn't), and performing mostly Cars classics,
this is really a new supergroup comprising members of the
Cars, Utopia and The Tubes. Judging from the new album's three
new studio tracks tacked at the end, the potential is there
beyond the nostalgia summer tour circuit to produce some quirky,
catchy and rocking new New Wave music to provide some much
needed relief from a lot of the one-dimensional music out
there today. This could be a new band. I just hope they can
deliver. In the meantime, IT'S ALIVE provides decent renditions,
if a little biased towards the first album. Of the classic
Cars debut, 7 out of 9 tracks get the live treatment, including
classics like JUST WHAT I NEEDED, GOOD TIMES ROLL and MOVING
IN STEREO(what's up with Rundgren's manic laugh at the end
of that track?). Selected hits from the other albums also
represent themselves(SHAKE IT UP, LET'S GO, CANDY-O), though
not suprisingly nothing from the darker and moodier PANORAMA
or the aforementioned DOOR TO DOOR(which the band has largely
disowned) are anywhere to be found here(no TOUCH & GO, say
it ain't so). In true supergroup fashion, Rundgren also gets
in a couple of his, including the early NAZZ track OPEN MY
EYES, as well as the hit I SAW THE LIGHT, which features a
tasteful dual lead from Easton and Rundgren. Todd fits the
Cars vocals well, though it's on his own tracks and the New
Cars material that he's more his old self. He adds a different
element to the material, and doesn't actually mimic Ric, he
just fits. Same goes for Kasim Sulton, who's lone vocal spot
is the Orr spotlight DRIVE from the million-selling HEARTBEAT
CITY album. Though nobody can touch Orr's vocal or the lush
80's soundscape on this dreamy ballad, Kasim's sweet and almost
boyish vocal delivery against a changed backdrop of Rundgren's
acoustic guitar and Hawkes' more understated and more minimal
keys retain that certain sadness of the original. This DRIVE
is more stripped down and wispy. Eleven stars for trying.
Ric's solo tour in 1997 saw DRIVE being sung by HOLE's Melissa
Auf Der Maur, so it's clear that Ocasek meant for DRIVE to
be sung by Ben or at least anyone other than himself. On this,
Kasim does well.***
As for the 3 new songs, they are suprisingly good and
true to the original Cars sound. They really set up expectation
for a new full-length New Cars disc. These tracks are short
and well done.
They are: NOT TONIGHT: this is also the new single, and
has that instant Cars sound with a new twist. This probably
would have been a smash for the original Cars, had it been
released between 1981 and 1985, I'm sure of it, with Ric singing.
Think of TONIGHT SHE COMES. Elliot delivers a trademark compact
solo which is pure Cars. This is the studio version, of course,
as a live version appears earlier in the disc as well.***
WARM: this one is a lush ballad which recalls the dreamier
textures from similar material from DOOR TO DOOR or even Ric's
THIS SIDE OF PARADISE(1986). WARM sounds like more of a true
Cars/Rundgren collaboration than anything else on the disc,
as Todd drops the Cars/Ocasek vocal persona and sings this
as himself- with a soulful solo Rundgren sound.***
MORE: this one sounds more like an outtake from the PANORAMA
or SHAKE IT UP era, with some quirky-jerky rhythms and abrasive
synths and guitars, providing some of that punk spark from
their Roy Thomas Baker-produced years. Todd sings the word
'ex-cellent' with a snarl of vitality, something he probably
hasn't done for a while. This one without a doubt has a Benjamin
Orr stamp all over it, this is truely one Ben would have sung.
As the song says, I want MORE.***
The New Cars ain't the original Cars, as those colorful
80's days are gone, but there's more than enough gas in the
tank with this new incarnation with Rundgren. The real test
is whether they can follow up on the promise with an all-new
studio album and not treat this project as a one-off summer
tour money-maker. The current tour with Blondie is a great
start, but let's see if they can let the good times roll a
little longer.***
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