I’m not sure when I was first introduced to The Cars. I remember watching Friday Night Videos and the video for “Shake It Up” from 1981, so this was probably it. I was beginning at this time to really become aware of popular music at the time, I was about 14 or so, and had only really begun listening to radio on my own recently. Looking back, there were earlier songs by The Cars that I had apparently heard, but this was the first one I actively remember.
A few years later “You Might Think” would explode onto the scene and the music video got some heavy rotation. By this time I knew most of the band’s singles and had become a fan.
What is it about The Cars? They weren’t a regular rock group, and certainly not new wave. The band straddled the line between genres, which was largely unheard of when their debut album came out in 1978. Small tweaks to their formula with each album (such as the use of drum machines) did not diminish their sound.
Coming out of Boston The Cars took standard rock and roll, the two guitars, bass and drums lineup and placed keyboards and synthesizers in the mix on equal footing. The new sound at the time was obviously influential on the band, but somehow The Cars never fully embraced the synthesizer sounds of new wave.
“My Best Friend’s Girl”
The Cars started out popular with their debut album and did not suffer the “sophomore slump”. Actually, their next four albums proved to be much more popular than their debut, despite the number of “hits” on that album.
When the band’s Greatest Hits album came out it included a new song that wasn’t on an album, nor would it appear on the subsequent one. This might be the first time I came across such an instance. I didn’t like it then and still don’t.
After the Greatest Hits album, The Cars released Door To Door, their fifth album. It proved not as popular as their previous albums, and perhaps it was simply getting to be too much to continue on together, so the band called it quits after 10 years. In retrospect, some of the songs from Door To Door stack up readily against any from the band’s catalog (even if the ensuing music video is ridiculous).
Bassist and vocalist Benjamin Orr died of cancer in 2000. While many think of Ric Ocasek as the lead singer, in reality Orr sang lead on a number of the band’s songs, including “Drive” and “Moving In Stereo” among others. It wouldn’t be until 2011 when the band would get back together as a four piece (Ocasek witched from guitar to bass) for a new album and short tour.
I wish I had known they opened their tour in support of the album here in Seattle. I didn’t even realize they were performing live until it was too late. I would have liked to have seen them. After this short tour The Cars disbanded again.