THE CARS: Roaring back into action with MOVE LIKE THIS

THE CARS

MOVE LIKE THIS

Stephen SPAZ Schnee waxes poetic about one of the most anticipated band reunions in recent memory.

Like many of you, I was there at the beginning.  Well, the 'beginning' for many of us means the release of their self-titled debut album in 1978.  There are plenty of folks out there in Boston, who were supporters of the band before their first album, but most of us first heard of The Cars when "Just What I Needed" broke the band on FM radio.  And what a glorious trip it has been...

While some initially lumped the band in with the New Wave scene, it doesn't take a genius to realize that The Cars were a band that straddled genres many genres so it was difficult to pigeonhole them into any specific one.  Like Cheap Trick, they were loved by the Classic Rock crowd, the Power Pop lovers, New Wave fans and those who followed the Top 40.  The Cars's unique style mixed a love of Rock 'n' Roll (from the '50s up through the '70s) with all the modern conveniences of the late '70s and early '80s music scene.  They were Queen without the Pomp, Elvis without the swiveling hips, The Clash without the political punch and The Osmonds without the sparkling teeth.  The Cars were one of the few bands that crossed over from Post-Punk cool to commercial superstardom without losing any street cred. In a nutshell, The Cars rocked and everyone listened.

While Ric Ocasek, Ben Orr, Greg Hawkes, David Robinson and Elliot Easton may have seemed like a bunch of ordinary guys: together, they made an extraordinary sound.  There were many 'quirky New Wave bands' that followed in their wake, but non possessed the magic that helped this Rock quintet become one of the most successful American bands of their era.

THE CARS 1979: (l-r) Orr, Ocasek, Hawkes, Robinson and Easton

While I loved their debut album, I was blown away by their 1979 sophomore album Candy-O.  That was when my infatuation with their music blossomed into true love. For me, that was when they truly gelled and created their own little musical universe. Every song on that album reminds me of a wonderful time in my life: young love, great music, few responsibilities (I was 16) and filled with optimism.  Here we are, over 30 years later and I may have plenty of responsibilities and I'm not so optimistic, yet every time I listen to the album, I can still remember and FEEL like I did way back then when I first heard tracks like "Double Life", "It's All I Can Do" and "Let's Go".  The album remains in my Top 25 albums of all-time.

Every subsequent Cars album was a joy. From the dark quirkiness of Panorama to the commercial sheen of Heartbeat City, the band continued to play with their sound, never sounding stale. I may be in the minority here, but my second favorite Cars album was their final release, Door To Door, released in 1987.  "You Are The Girl", "Leave Or Stay" and "Coming Up You" are a few of my favorite tracks in the band's entire catalog, although only "You Are The Girl" was a hit.  The band broke up shortly after the album's release and that was that.

While Ocasek continued to release solo material and produce other acts, the other four Cars members spent time out of the limelight. While they were away, their legacy began to grow but the band never seemed interested in reuniting. Unfortunately, bassist/co-vocalist Ben Orr passed away in 2000 and the idea of a Cars reunion seemed more unlikely than ever.  That is, until 2010....

When the band's four surviving members first started posting pictures and audio clips on their Facebook page in 2010, it seemed almost unreal. Could it be?  Was Rick Ocasek really involved?  Was that really David Robinson?  And Greg Hawkes?  And Elliot Easton?  Together? Thankfully, the answer was YES!

THE CARS 2011: (l-r) Hawkes, Ocasek, Easton and Robinson

On May 10th, 2011, The Cars release Move Like This, their first studio album in 24 years. From the opening track, "Blue Tip", it's obvious that the band have picked up where they left off so many years ago.

While their final release, Door To Door, may not have been a huge success back in '87, it found the band stepping away from the programmed sound of Heartbeat City and returning to the raw and organic feel of their earlier albums. Move Like This takes that same basic idea and gives it even more breathing room. This is an album that is very much a modern piece of work, yet it is firmly rooted in their past.  It's exactly what you'd expect from a new Cars album, yet offers so many surprises.

Ocasek has written a great batch of songs that are as timeless as anything in The Cars' back catalog. Yes, they sound like Cars songs, but they stand on their own feet.  In the past, Ben Orr would have handled lead vocals on at least a third of the tracks, but Ocasek sounds better than ever and he's more than capable of handling the tracks that Orr would probably have sung ("Soon", "Take Another Look" and possibly "It's Only" and "Free).

The album's first two singles, "Blue Tip" and "Sad Song", are absolute stunners and stand shoulder to shoulder with any single released during their heyday.

Every track here is filled with all the hallmarks that made The Cars one of the greatest Rock bands of our generation including Hawkes' keyboard swirls and blips, Easton's tasty licks, Robinson's steadfast beat and Ocasek's unique musical vision.

The buzz is already building on this release and the album more than lives up to the hype.  Welcome back, boys.  The world has needed new Cars music for years and now we finally have it. I only hope this reunion lasts and we get more new music in the future.

The Return Of THE CARS! New album, Move Like This, avaialable May 10th, 2011!

The Cars

Move Like This

5.10.11

Move Like This, The Cars’ first album of new music in many years, is a vibrant and ingenious collection that expertly extends their already extraordinary canon. Retooling innovative art rock, sleek New Wave, and punchy power pop in their own idiosyncratic image, The Cars’ groundbreaking sonic approach continues to influence artists and airwaves today. Singer/guitarist Ric Ocasek emerged as a master songwriter with his enigmatic integration of evocative, beat-inspired lyricism with radio-friendly hooks and harmonies, fueling a multi-platinum body of work that includes such indisputable masterpieces as 1978’s self-titled debut and 1984’s blockbuster Heartbeat City.

Move Like This reveals The Cars to be as creatively progressive and melodically poptastic as ever. Songs like “Blue Tip” and “Free” are invigorating and imaginatively wrought, with all the trademark elements in place, from Ocasek’s sardonic, man-machine vocalizing and Greg Hawkes’ swirling synths to Elliot Easton’s turbo-charged riffing and David Robinson’s pop-motorik beats. Brimming with confidence and imaginative energy, Move Like This boasts all the vitality and dynamism of a truly great rock ‘n’ roll band operating at the peak of their considerable power.

The project’s genesis came in the fall of 2009 as Ocasek considered how to proceed with his latest sheaf of songs, his first batch of material since 2005’s solo Nexterday. As he debated how to record – On his own? With a new group of musicians? – he realized that his best option was the three players with whom he had the most symbiotic relationship.

“I just thought, it’s been a long time since I played with these guys,” Ocasek says, “but they’re the ones that will do the best job. They’re the ones that I wouldn’t have to explain things to, they wouldn’t have to get used to the way I write, they’re already inundated with all that. I’ll just put out a feeler and see if they’d be interested in doing it.”

He reached out to Hawkes, Easton, and Robinson, each of whom was excited at the opportunity to play together again. In October, The Cars convened for rehearsals in bucolic Millbrook, New York, working at both Millbrook Sound Studios and Ocasek’s home Broken Beak Studio. After a few days of what Ocasek describes as “brushing off the cobwebs,” songs quickly began taking shape, including “Free,” “Blue Tip,” “Drag On Forever,” and “Too Late.”

“It totally clicked immediately,” Ocasek says. “Everybody got right into it as if we had never stopped playing. After two days I thought, ‘Oh yeah, this is going to be cool.’”

“It was very comfortable,” Hawkes says, “Everybody just returned to their old sense of humor.”

All four agreed from the start that there was no replacing the late bassist/co-lead singer Ben Orr, who passed away in 2000. Hawkes took on the bass duties.

“I felt it most when it became a reality that we were going to make a record as the four of us,” Ocasek says. “It was like, ‘Oh, I guess I’m going to have to sing them all.’”

Though the original plan was to self-record with no goal greater than releasing the results online, The Cars were so energized by the rehearsals that they decided to team up with an outside producer, someone who would allow the band to simply be a band while also adding a new perspective to the proceedings.

“If it didn’t go well,” Ocasek says, “we could blame it on the producer. Which I know from being a producer (Weezer, Bad Brains, Iggy Pop, No Doubt, Bad Religion and Guided By Voices among others) is a good thing to have around.”

Ocasek contacted Garret “Jacknife” Lee, whom he admired for his work with such bands as Weezer, The Hives, and Snow Patrol. An avowed Cars fan, the producer was thrilled at the opportunity to work with the band, who headed to Los Angeles’ Village Recorders for two weeks of sessions. Ocasek credits Lee as a “phenomenal” collaborator, arranger, and musician.

“As a producer, you can’t want for anything else,” Lee says of collaborating with the band and Ocasek, who he credits as producing some of his favorite albums (Suicide, Weezer, Bad Brains). “It was one of the best recording experiences I’ve had. There’s a freshness and clarity to The Cars and Move Like This that most new bands don’t have. That’s pretty special.”

“The Cars have always had a futuristic sound, and this is something we wanted to keep – tight, taut and lean,” Lee says.

“He was just perfect for this record,” Ocasek says. “He had stupendous ideas, he was technically on top of everything. He earns the name ‘Jacknife’ because he’s so quick. He knew right away if something worked or not.”

“Garret really felt like a band member in a lot of ways,” Hawkes says. “He’s a smart guy with a lot of good ideas. He really pointed us in a good direction.”

With five Lee-produced tracks complete, The Cars returned to Millbrook where they self-produced the remainder of the album on their own, ably assisted by longtime Ocasek engineer Stephen George. While lesser bands would’ve been content to simply coast on pastiche, The Cars’ determined focus all along was how best to put a contemporary spin on their timeless sound. From the swaggering fizz of “Too Late” and “It’s Only” to the lithesome melodicism of “Soon” and “Take Another Look,” Move Like This succeeds in spades, pulling off the uncanny trick of sounding simultaneously classic and emphatically up to date.

“We definitely wanted to bring a modern slant to it,” Hawkes says. “That’s what’s unique about this record. We tried hard to keep it from just being a nostalgia thing, which is obviously hard to do, because our whole history is in the past.”

The album’s lyrical content is equally contemporaneous, with songs such as “Sad Song” and “Blue Tip” born from Ocasek’s interest in how media influences the way people think. The songwriter sees the album as a significant progression from his remarkable catalog.

“I always used to say you write the same song all the time,” Ocasek says, “but I felt these songs were somewhat different from what I usually do. I felt the lyrics were more topical, a bit more poetic.”

Imbued with irrefutable energy and a lifetime of artistry, Move Like This marks a model addition to The Cars’ continuum, their exuberant electro-powered pop having long since become the very quintessence of modern rock ‘n’ roll.

“Without wanting to brag, I think our music has held up pretty darn well,” Hawkes says of the band’s legacy. “I’m always surprised and moved when I hear other musicians say how they’ve been influenced by The Cars. I’m very grateful for that.”

“Sometimes people will say, ‘So-and-So’s song sounds like The Cars,’” says Ocasek, “and I go, ‘Really?’ I think if you have a keyboard playing a counterline and there’s a quirky kind of vocal and some eighth notes, people will say it sounds like The Cars.”

Having come together solely for the purpose of making Move Like This, the band is now considering their next step. Live shows are on the table, though there’s little interest in hitting the road for a cash-in reunion tour. No matter what happens, Ocasek reckons the world has not heard the last of The Cars.