BIG RELEASE DAY TOMORROW INCLUDING THE RETURN OF THE CARS! NEW RECORDS FROM ANVIL AND BLACK LABEL SOCIETY AND A DVD FROM AC/DC.
The long awaited return of Singer/guitarist Ric Ocasek, Greg Hawkes on keyboards, Elliot Easton on lead guitar, and David Robinson on drums is over! Following up their multi‐platinum body of work that includes such indisputablemasterpieces as 1978’s self‐titled debut and 1984’s blockbuster HeartbeatCity with their first new studio record in 24 years. It’s The Cars!
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.’”
“The simplicity of us getting together and making a record was amazing to me,” Robinson adds. “When you’ve got the right combination of people, you can just start back up again.”
“It was very comfortable,” says Hawkes, “Everybody just returned to their old sense of humor.” Easton agrees, “It’s like a family. When you don’t see a family member for a long time, within a few minutes it’s like you never left. The years melted away and it just felt normal.” He adds, “We’re really good at being The Cars. We know how to do that.”
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.
“Garret turned out to be miraculous,” Robinson says. “Everything fell totally into place with him.”
“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.”
Hawkes says, “Garret really felt like a band member in a lot of ways. He’s a smart guy with a lot of good ideas. He really pointed us in a good direction.”
For his part, Lee declares working with The Cars to be “one of the best recording experiences I’ve had,” adding, “As a producer, you can’t want for anything else. 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.
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 songs dictated what they needed,” says Easton. “It seemed that going a bit more streamlined, a little less frilly, better fit the time we’re in. It wasn’t really calculated, it was just sort of the mood.”
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.
“We only put out six records in 10 years,” Robinson says. “I always thought, ‘Wouldn’t it have been great if we made a couple more?’ So it’s good to have a chance to add to what we did already.”
“Without wanting to brag, I think our music has held up pretty darn well,” says Hawkes 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.”
“It seems like The Cars are one of those bands that generations which follow seem to discover,” Easton says.
“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 horizon, 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.
Watch their new video here! http://www.mtv.com/videos/?artist=4096
The return of the long awaited Cars album is in strong contrast to the output that Mr. Wylde has delivered in his solo career. Black Label Society has churned out nine studio albums since their debut Sonic Brew in May of 1999 along with two live discs, two compilations, and two dvd’s. Nearly all of the work from Zakk’s band is quality stuff and this disc is a different take on BLS with a few unplugged versions of his best stuff and some other stuff they recorded over the years but never released. Including an interesting choice in Simon & Garfunkel’s folk/pop classic Bridge Over Troubled Waters.
For you beserkers out there it sounds like a must buy.
The next three releases span the hard rock/metal spectrum with another much anticipated release: Anvil’s Juggernaut of Justice. A solo effort from Allman Brothers/Gov’t Mule guitarist/vocalist and one of my favorite musicians Mr. Warren Haynes and another live DVD from hard rock kings AC/DC.
The one I’m most interested to hear is the new Anvil. After finally earning the long overdue recognition that should have been their’s decades ago with the fantastic documentary ANVIL/THE STORY OF ANVIL it’s time to see if they can finally capitalize on that recognition. From the first two tunes I’ve heard and you can find on this site, just search for Anvil, I think they have a real shot at selling some albums and downloads. “Fukeneh” is just pure metal fun and the title track shows some serious metal chops from long admired drummer Robb Reiner and lead singer/lead guitarist “Lips” Kudlow.
I’m rootin’ for ya boys!
Warren Haynes recorded this one live in studio as is his wont on most of his work with Gov’t Mule. He is one of rock’s most respected guitarists and has put together another stellar band to back him.
Ivan Neville on organ and background vocals, Ian McLagan on piano, Ruthie Foster on background vocals, George Porter Jr. on bass and Ron Holloway on saxophone. The album was recorded live in studio to capture all of the emotion, passion and spontaneity at Willie Nelson’s Pedernales Studios on two-inch tape with vintage tube microphones.
Sounds like it could be some of his funkiest work yet.
As for AC/DC’S LIVE AT RIVER PLATE, it’s a definitive live concert DVD documenting AC/DC’s massive Black Ice World Tour. Shot with 32 cameras entirely in HD in December of 2009, AC/DC Live At River Plate marks AC/DC s triumphant return to Buenos Aires where nearly 200,000 fans, and 3 sold-out shows, welcomed the band back after a 13 year absence from Argentina. This stunning live footage of AC/DC underscores what Argentina’s Pagina 12 newspaper reported by saying “no one is on the same level when it comes to pure and clear Rock n Roll.” Additionally the DVD contains a bonus feature titled “The Fan, The Roadie, The Guitar Tech & The Meat,” featuring interviews with AC/DC, their crew and fans among the excitement of the creation of the concerts and the city of Buenos Aires.
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