Just what we needed ...

[uwe]

It's 1978 all over again!




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvMNeLXhMOs&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpJQWGA1O8s&feature=related

I always had a soft spot for them, especially before they became too bloated with Heartbreak City. Touch & Go is by favorite nerd track.



I remember being in Detroit in 1980 or 81 and this came on the radio all the time. That guitar solo is sheer bliss.

[Chaser001]

The Cars, hello again. 
 

[Hornisse]

Their first 3 LP's were great.  Started to get too slick for me by the 4th Shake It Up.  I bought it and Heartbeat City anyway.    Still love that bass tone on Magic.  I guess by that point Mutt was using all electronic drums for them. 

[Basshappi]

"The Cars" and "Candy-O" were part of the soundtrack of my youth. They were one of those few bands that had a sound all their own.

[ack1961]

"The Cars" and "Candy-O" were part of the soundtrack of my youth. They were one of those few bands that had a sound all their own.

So true - those two albums were really fun and a bit different. The cross-fade from Shoo Be Doo to Candy-O is still a favorite.
The Cars also had the label of being a terrible live band - I saw them open up the Byrne Arena in the Meadowlands about a million years ago, and they were fine.  I've certainly seen lots worse.

[Barklessdog]

 Benjamin Orr did some nice bass work, he will be missed RIP

[Highlander]

"Drive" kind of symbolised an era over here...

[Freuds_Cat]

Isn't the guitar1st from the cars playing with Creedence Clearwater Revisited these days?

[ack1961]

Isn't the guitar1st from the cars playing with Creedence Clearwater Revisited these days?

After reading your question, I looked it up. Apparently, he was playing with CCRv, but the surviving members of The Cars reformed to put out an album (due to release in May 2011). 

[Dave W]

Benjamin Orr did some nice bass work, he will be missed RIP

IMHO The Cars without Benjamin Orr aren't The Cars.

[uwe]

Ok, he sang Drive (which is a lovely song) and a couple of other songs such as the likewise great I don't mind you coming here, but all the quirky nerd appeal of the Cars came from Ric Ocasek (and 90% of the songwriting too with the other 10% mostly from the keyboarder). Orr - the Eternal Lord of all us four stringers rest his soul and I really liked his voice - could have played and sung in any melodic rock band. It's sad that he's gone, but the band can (and under the circumstances: must) carry on without him. Ocasek is to The Cars what Tom Scholz is to Boston or what David Byrne was to The Talking Heads. And The Cars are kind of an unlikely mix of both! 

[Dave W]

It's not about bass prowess. He sang their two most iconic songs, and he and Ocasek were a team well before that.

[OldManC]

IMHO The Cars without Benjamin Orr aren't The Cars.

I feel the same way. I thought he balanced the weirdness a bit and always loved his voice.

[Dave W]

"Sonically, this retooled quartet was satisfying even though the bass and some drum parts were recorded."

They didn't even have a bassist! 

[Barklessdog]

"Sonically, this retooled quartet was satisfying even though the bass and some drum parts were recorded."

They didn't even have a bassist! 

Why is it that bands feel the bassist is disposable or not worth equality of the rest of the band?