ric ocasek Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

The Cars “Shake It Up”

sfilzen — Mon, 16 Sep 2019 16:22:13 +0000

The Cars “Shake It Up” 1981. I’m spinning The Cars’ fourth LP in honor of Ric Ocasek who died yesterday at age 75 (b. Richard Otcasek 1944, d. September 15th, 2019). Ocasek wrote almost all of the tracks on Shake It Up (he shares writing credits with Cars’ keyboardist Greg Hawkes on “This Could Be Love”) and was the lead vocalist on six of the nine tracks on the album. Those tracks include all of the US-released singles (Benjamin Orr sings lead on the UK-only single “Think It Over”): “Shake It Up” was the first single and became their first US Top 10 hit (#4 on Billboard’s Hot 100, also charting at #2 on the Top Tracks chart and #14 on the Disco Top 80 chart) and its B-side, “Cruiser” (sung by Orr) also charted, going to #37 on the Top Tracks chart. Other singles from Shake It Up included “Since You’re Gone” (#41 US, #37 UK) and “Victim of Love” (#39 on the US Mainstream Rock chart). Those singles are my favorite songs from Shake It Up – it’s a pretty decent album overall: I also like the non-single, Tubeway Army-ish track “A Dream Away” and the swirling, almost Cure-like post-punkish (never thought I’d compare The Cars and The Cure) “Maybe Baby,” but I’m not crazy about the ballad “I’m Not the One,” which is a somewhat sappy simplistic synth light pop track.

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The Cars “Candy-O”

sfilzen — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 00:26:46 +0000

The Cars “Candy-O” released 40 years ago today, June 13th, 1979. The Cars’ second LP – featuring a commissioned Vargas painting on the cover – went to #3 on the US album charts and though considered pop/new wave at the time, many of its singles are featured today on classic rock stations (I’m looking at you WAPL). Those singles, written by either Ric Ocasek or Benjamin Orr, include the super-catchy tracks “Let’s Go” (#14), “It’s All I Can Do” (#41) and the not-quite-as-catchy “Double Life” which failed to chart. Also pretty great are the non-single tracks “Candy-O” with its crazy space-age laser effects and Elliot Easton’s “finest solo on the album, starting with a burst of speeding liftoff effects and then moving into Eddie Van Halen territory, ripping off a series of tight scorching trills that are quickly tucked into the next verse before wandering too close to ‘70s guitar virtuosity,” (Allmusic) and “Night Spots,” a driving 70′s heavy beats and guitar meets new wave synthpop beepbloops rocker.

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The Cars “The Cars”

sfilzen — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 18:22:23 +0000

The Cars “The Cars” released 40 years ago today, June 6th, 1978. The Cars’ debut album was a huge success, peaking at #18 on the US charts and still considered a rock classic, included on many best-of-all-time lists. The Cars spawned three hit singles (which can still be heard spinning on classic rock radio stations today): “Good Times Roll” (#41 in the US), “My Best Friend’s Girl” (#35 US, #3 UK) and “Just What I Needed” (#27 US, #17 UK). Being a primarily 80′s new wave fan, I’ve never considered – or understood – The Cars to be a new wave band, though rock critics always put them in that category. To me, they’ve always been classic or mainstream rock: good, rocking, but not new wave in my definition. I’m thinking Duran Duran, New Order, Depeche Mode, i.e. very British, very synth-heavy and very image-orientated. Ric Ocasek and the rest of The Cars just didn’t fit into this. However, upon listening to The Cars I’m starting to get it. While the guitar and rhythm section is pretty straightforward – and great – rock-n-roll, the use of new keyboard technology (for its time) and the cool, detached delivery of Ocasek’s and Benjamin Orr’s vocals makes the new wave inclusion believable. Besides the three hit singles, I also really like the swirling “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight” (I’m actually really surprised this wasn’t a single since I know I still hear it when I flip to a classic rock station), “Bye Bye Love” and “Moving in Stereo.” Allmusic says about The Cars, “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… With flawless performances, songwriting, and production (courtesy of Queen alumni Roy Thomas Baker), the Cars’ debut remains one of rock’s all-time classics.”

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The Cars “Heartbeat City”

sfilzen — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 14:06:43 +0000

The Cars “Heartbeat City” 1984. Today, March 23rd, is the birthday of Cars frontman Ric Ocasek (b. 1949). Honestly I’m not a big Cars fan but I’ve grown a bit nostalgically-fond of them over the years, mostly due to their omnipresence during the early/mid-80′s when I was glued to MTV. “You Might Think” (#7 on Billboard) and “Magic” (#12) in particular were fun and, for the times, innovative videos. I really didn’t like “Drive” (#3) and still don’t – too depressing – but the video is notable as it features model Paulina Porizkova who Ocasek would later marry, giving hope to awkward-looking men everywhere. “Hello Again” is pretty good and the video was directed by Andy Warhol, who makes a cameo appearance as a bartender.

Heartbeat City is The Cars fifth studio album and it reached #3 on the US charts, #25 in the UK. Most music critics place The Cars in the new wave category but I’ve always had a hard time with this description, despite the sleek and prominent use of synths typical to the new wave label. To me The Cars are fairly straight-forward 80′s rock-n-roll. For evidence, I’ll just cite the fact that the track “Stranger Eyes” was used in the trailer for Top Gun (though it did not make it on to the movie’s soundtrack).

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