FEATURE:
Good Times Roll
The Cars’ The Cars at Forty-Five
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THROUGHOUT the year…
I am marking big anniversaries for important albums. One I could not let go is The Cars. The eponymous debut album from the U.S. group, it is rightly regarded as a classic. Featuring timeless songs such as My Best Friend’s Girl, Good Times Roll, and Just What I Needed, it reached eighteen on the US Billboard 200 and has been certified six-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It is one of the forerunners and defining albums of New Wave. I am going to get to a couple of reviews for The Cars. Before getting to them, Albumism provide some context to the album’s release. It came out on 6th June, 1978. This was a time of change and shifting musical tastes. Maybe Punk was starting to lose ground and dominance to other genres. There was nothing quite like The Cars in mainstream music at that point:
“The world in 1978 was a sea of confusion and in search of an identity. The previous summer, the so-called King of Rock and Roll died on the toilet and his unfortunate demise was emblematic of what was occurring in the music world. The illusion of innocence was gone. It became increasingly evident that the business part of “the music business” was more important to the people who ran it. Music heads wanted more than what was being offered on the radio. Punk broadened the landscape, but many of us were not ready to swim that far out into the ocean. We craved something different and lucky for us it arrived late in the spring of 1978.
The Cars’ self-titled debut album was released in June 1978 and was critically well received. To this day it is considered the cream of the New Wave crop. The Cars is a nine song rock classic that expanded our sonic horizons. It was no longer just about the Eagles or Fleetwood Mac. Rock music was going in a different direction and the casual radio listener was ready to follow wherever The Cars were going to take them.
Even though Ric Ocasek was the main songwriter and leader of the band, Benjamin Orr was the group’s heart and soul. His performances on "Just What I Needed,” "Bye Bye Love,” "Moving in Stereo" and "All Mixed Up" personify the band’s sound and these songs are still being played on many classic rock stations today. The beauty of this album is that it came out of nowhere. The opening riff of "Just What I Needed” immediately transports me to a good place. I’m 13, in my room, listening to WNEW-FM and wondering “who the fuck is this?” The Cars’ debut album is everything good about discovering new music”.
There are a couple of features about The Cars’ debut album prior to getting to reviewers. The first, from Rhino, was published last year. I was not aware quite how influential and vital The Cars was. Maybe it is the impact and originality of the songs. Perhaps the album arrived at a time when something different was needed:
“In June 1978, the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack was nearing the end of an epic nearly six-month run at #1 on the Billboard album charts, ruling the roost from the end of January through early July. The biggest rock albums of the year where from Boston, flying high with the group's second LP, Don't Look Back, and Billy Joel, whose 52nd Street album grabbed #1 for the last seven weeks of the year.
Amidst that barrage of sonic bombast, on June 6, 1978, the Cars released the band's debut album, simply titled: The Cars.
“It was beautiful to put that first bunch of songs together,” guitarist Elliot Easton told Rolling Stone in 1979. “It was the first time it was so easy in any band I’d been in. We knew we wanted to stick it out. The way it worked was, it would either be on a cassette, or Ric (Ocasek) would pick up his guitar and perform the song for us. We’d all watch his hands and listen to the lyrics and talk about it. We knew enough about music, so we just built the songs up. When there was a space for a hook or a line — or a sinker — we put it in.”
The band's confidence was high, to say the least: “We knew we were good before we did our first gig,” drummer David Robinson casually added.
It was May 1978 when the Cars released the band's first single: "Just What I Needed." The song was a success, making a formidable impression across rock and pop radio with its stark and minimal approach. The catchy pop melodies combined with bassist Benjamin Orr's affected vocals and the track's inventive arrangement immediately stood out from the hit parade. On the charts, "Just What I Needed" cracked the top 30 to peak at #27 on the Hot 100 in September 1978.
With the lead single picking up steam, the Cars released the band's self-titled debut album on June 6, 1978. From the record's anthem-like opening track (and third single), "Let the Good Times Roll," it was clear that the Cars were driving towards new frontiers in the world of rock 'n' roll, and inspiring a sea of new bands in their wake.
With "Just What I Needed" rocking radio and the charts throughout the summer of 1978 and well into the fall, the group's second single didn't arrive until October of that year: "My Best Friend's Girl" was another instant classic in the Cars' canon, the top 40 tune peaked at #35 on the Billboard Hot 100, but has proven to be one of the most enduring songs of the entire 1970s.
"I began playing the demos of 'Just What I Needed' and 'My Best Friend's Girl' in March 1977 during my weekday slot, from 2 to 6 p.m. Calls poured in with positive comments," Boston radio DJ Maxanne Satori recalled. "The Cars' sound was fresh. It wasn't punk, hard rock or folk rock. I thought of it as pure pop for now people, the title of a Nick Lowe album."
The Cars was a breakout smash, cruising to peak at #18 on the Billboard 200 for the week of March 24, 1979. The enduring power of the record was evidenced a few years later in the summer of 1982. That's when deep album cut "Moving in Stereo" was used most effectively during the memorable swimming pool scene in teen coming of age movie, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. That scene would get referenced for a new generation during Stranger Things 3.
“I guess we do have a pretty good aesthetic sense,” the late Ocasek pondered back in 1984 during an interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune. “But, you know, pop music can be good, too. We just hope that the pop music we make has people think a little more than some of the trash that’s out there.”
"We used to joke that the first album should be called The Cars' Greatest Hits," Easton said in the liner notes for Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology. "We knew that a lot of great bands fall through the cracks. But we were getting enough feedback from people we respected to know that we were on the right track”.
There is a feature from a couple of years ago that underlines and emphasises the Pop mastery that is present throughout The Cars’ phenomenal debut album. Forty-five years later, it is still widely played and adored – and no doubt still inspiring bands coming through:
“At just over 35 minutes, The Cars in its entirety is about as lengthy as a standard lunch break, and if one’s attention wavers for even a moment they are liable to have missed half the experience. Rather than obstruct its appeal, however, the album’s brevity actually encourages repeat listens, which themselves often reveal previously undetected details with each subsequent review. The record is frighteningly easy to enjoy and is dripping with pop appeal, but also features incredible artistic interest and idiosyncratic expression which makes the record something of a musical equivalent to junk food in its enjoyability and addictive nature, but with the nutritional benefits of fruits and vegetables.
Having assembled just two years prior to the release of their debut album, the Boston-based Cars origins actually lie further west, with lead singer/rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek and bassist/occasional lead vocalist Benjamin Orr having first met in Ohio where the two were living at the time. The two would later reconnect in Columbus and would establish a collaborative partnership which would continue until the 1988 disintegration of The Cars. The pair soon relocated to Boston as a folk act under the name Milkwood, and would release one album which failed to make a discernible impact. This venture did bring them into contact with future Cars keyboardist Greg Hawkes, however, and soon after, lead guitarist Elliot Easton and drummer David Robinson would join the fold, solidifying the lineup of what would become the Cars.
Taking on a new musical direction, the band quickly began to pick up steam, performing in local venues and recording demos which would garner significant record label attention and result in a bidding war for the band between Elektra and Arista Records. Ultimately, the band opted to sign with Elektra, predicting that their fusion of electronic, rock, and new wave would attract greater attention among the label’s roster of more traditional sounding acts. Producer Roy Thomas Baker was urged by the label to attend a performance of the band’s, which prompted him to sign on as their producer, a role he would maintain over the course of their next four albums. With all the necessary elements in place, the band entered the studio in February of 1978 to record their first album.
The album opens with the slinky, single-note arpeggios of Ocasek’s “Good Times Roll,” a sardonic observation on the absurdity of celebrity status and the rockstar posturing which had become prevalent in popular music at the time. The lyrics can also be interpreted as an acceptance of the inevitability of chaos, underlined by the G major chord in the bridge – the minor 3rd of the song’s key, E major – which makes its appearance concurrently with the drums, sparking an atmosphere of unease and seemingly indicating the approach of something sinister. Elliot Easton establishes himself early on as an unsung hero of the album, as his understated lead guitar work weaves in and out of Ocasek’s chugging rhythm and peppers the backdrop with broad, mid-range swells which silently dictate the track’s mood. The critique of lifestyles glamorized by society and the media, but ultimately detrimental to the people living them, is a recurring lyrical theme throughout the album”.
There is no denying The Cars’ place in musical history. As one of the all-time best debut albums, you’d have thought there might have been an anniversary vinyl release. I have not heard news of what coming about. That is unfortunate. The reviews are available, and they are unanimously positive from what I can see. This is what AllMusic said about The Cars’ 1978 debut:
“The Cars' 1978 self-titled debut, issued on the Elektra label, is a genuine rock masterpiece. The band jokingly referred to the album as their "true greatest-hits album," but it's no exaggeration -- all nine tracks are new wave/rock classics, still in rotation on rock radio. Whereas most bands of the late '70s embraced either punk/new wave or hard rock, the Cars were one of the first bands to do the unthinkable -- merge the two styles together. Add to it bandleader/songwriter Ric Ocasek's supreme pop sensibilities, and you had an album that appealed to new wavers, rockers, and Top 40 fans. One of the most popular new wave songs ever, "Just What I Needed," is an obvious highlight, as are such familiar hits as "Good Times Roll," "My Best Friend's Girl," and "You're All I've Got Tonight." But like most consummate rock albums, the lesser-known compositions are just as exhilarating: "Don't Cha Stop," "Bye Bye Love," "All Mixed Up," and "Moving in Stereo," the latter featured as an instrumental during a steamy scene in the popular movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High. With flawless performances, songwriting, and production (courtesy of Queen alumni Roy Thomas Baker), the Cars' debut remains one of rock's all-time classics”.
I will wrap things up with a review from Rolling Stone. They highlight the insatiable and catchy melodies and that blends of eccentricity and accessibility. The Cars is a wonderful album that is coming up for forty-five years. We will be talking about it decades from now:
“The first sound you hear on "Just What I Needed," the single from the Cars' debut album, is the repeated thump of bass notes against the short, metallic slash of guitar. It's a magnificent noise: loud, elemental and relentless. But the Cars–the best band to come out of Boston since J. Geils–aren't interested in simply traveling the interstates of rock & roll. They'll go there for the rush, but they prefer the stop-and-go quirks of two lanes. Before "Just What I Needed" is over, guitarist Elliot Easton has burned rubber making a U-turn with his solo, and Greg Hawkes' synthesizer has double-clutched the melody. Leader Ric Ocasek once sang that he lived on "emotion and comic relief," and it's in this tension of opposites that he and his group find relief (comic or otherwise) between the desire for frontal assault and the preference for oblique strategies. This is the organizing principle behind not only the single but the entire LP, which is almost evenly divided between pop songs and pretentious attempts at art.
The pop songs are wonderful. (Besides "Just What I Needed," they include "My Best Friend's Girl" and "You're All I've Got Tonight.") Easy and eccentric at the same time, all are potential hits. The melodies whoosh out as if on casters, custom-built for the interlocked but constantly shifting blocks of rhythm, while Ocasek's lyrics explode in telegraphic bursts of images and attacks ("You always knew to wear it well/You look so fancy I can tell"). Neither Ocasek nor bassist Ben Orr have striking voices, but by playing off the former's distant, near-mechanical phrasing against the latter's sweet-and-low delivery, the band achieves real emotional flexibility.
As long as the Cars' avant-garde instincts are servicing their rock & roll impulses, the songs bristle and–in their harsher, more angular moments ("Bye Bye Love," "Don't Cha Stop")–bray. The album comes apart only when it becomes arty and falls prey to producer Roy Thomas Baker's lacquered sound and the group's own penchant for electronic effects. "I'm in Touch with Your World" and "Moving in Stereo" are the kind of songs that certify psychedelia's bad name. But these are the mistakes of a band that wants it both ways–and who can blame rock & rollers for that? (RS 274)”.
On 6th June, The Cars’ immaculate debut album turns forty-five. It is tragic that Ric Ocasek is no longer with us (he died in 2019), as his incredible songwriting defines the album. If you have not listed to The Cars before – or not for a long time -, then do carve out some time to do so. It is an utter…
WORK of brilliance.