Tuesday, 11 December 2012

Great Rock Albums of 1978: The Cars

Originally, I wasn't going to visit this album until I reached the end of 1978 because I didn't know of it until early 1979. It was sort of the same thing that happened to me in January 1978 with the "Out of the Blue" album by ELO. The first weekend in 1979, I was driving home from hockey practice (street hockey) and the song "My Best Friend's Girl" came on the radio. That became my first official song I liked for the year. So you may be asking why am I visiting this album now and there are still a lot of great 1978 albums left to see. Well the honest answer is, "I don't know." I just felt the urge to visit this album here and now.
Like in the case of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Patty Smith, some ill informed numpties branded The Cars a punk band. I remember back in the year, many disco lovers simply shrugged it off as such and The Cars were probably easy targets for the narrow minded. Their look was something I would definitely call unique for 1978 as was the sound on the album. It was definitely something I had never heard before, but what I did know was that I liked it. Ric Ocasek has a vocal that is truly unique and at the same time familiar. Definitely his talents are underrated.
Track Listing:
1. Good Times Roll
2. My Best Friends Girl
3. Just What I Needed
4. I'm In Touch With Your World
5. Don't Cha Stop
6. You're All I Got Tonight
7. Bye Bye Love
8. Moving In Stereo
9. All Mixed Up
The Cars
Ric Ocasek- rhythm guitar, lead vocals
Elliot Easton- lead guitar, backing vocals
Benjamin Orr- bass, lead vocals
Greg Hawkes- keyboards, saxophone, percussion, backing vocals
David Robinson- drums, electric percussion, backing vocals
As I continued writing this post, I remembered my incentive for posting this album now. A few days ago, I listened to their classic hit "Just What I Needed" on the car's CD player. Hearing that made me want to visit the album. Another song on the CD is also behind the next post. The debut album from The Cars established them as a serious act in the rock world. This is the first and arguably the best of many cool records from this memorable band.
Next post: Joe Walsh: But Seriously, Folks
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