Cars (Deluxe ed.)

In the late seventies, rock was fast losing its grip on the music industry, and a new style of music was conquering - disco. It seemed rock and roll may finally have been beaten out after a quarter century in power - but then, the rock and roll revival began. Bands like Boston and Foreigner began bringing rock back to the mainstream, and in 1978, an interesting little new band entered the mainstream - The Cars. These guys were an interesting band because they were the perfect fusion of rock and the new wave stylings that would dominate the next decade. How does the band's 1978 self-titled debut album measure up? Read on and you shall see.

The opener, Good Times Roll, is a solid classic rocker in which the band's new wave stylings are almost nonexistant. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, though. If you want straight-up classic rock, this song doesn't fail to deliver. My Best Friend's Girl is the band serving up a typical one of those "pop songs about losing a lover." Fortunately, The Cars take on this styling was several times better than that of other bands of the day. Just What I Needed was One of the biggest hits to emerge from the album. Though this one is, for the most part, straight-up classic rock, it's got that touch of new wave to it that makes The Cars so great a band. I'm In Touch With Your World, Don't Cha Stop, and All Mixed Up never became big hits, but they are just as good as everything else the album has to offer. Don't overlook them just because they never achieved any true popularity. You're All I've Got Tonight is an interesting little track. While the songs by The Cars generally tend to lean toward either rock or new wave, this little tune just happens to be the happy medium between the two stylings. The keyboards and the chorus in this track are just killer. Bye Bye Love is, for the most part, straight-up classic rock, but it's got keyboards backing it up - and they do a damn good job. An excellent song. Though Moving In Stereo was reasonably popular at the time of release, it wasn't until 1982, four years after the release of the album, that it gained extreme popularity, due to its being featured in an extremely memorable scene in the film Fast Times At Ridgemont High. The stylings of this song are similar to those of the previous track, but this one generally has a "darker" feeling to it. Excellent track, don't pass it by. All in all, a damn good album.

The Deluxe Edition of the album features a bonus disc of extra material. You get a live take on Good Times Roll, as well as early demo versions of the other tracks which are previously unreleased. There are even demos of tracks that never made the final version of the album! The album alone is five-star worthy, no question, but this bonus disc is the icing on the cake.

To put it simply, The Cars 1978 self-titled debut album is one of both rock and roll and new wave's greatest masterpieces. Ric Ocasek, Benjamin Orr, and all the rest certainly knew how to rock and roll, and this album demonstrates that beautifully, nine times over. If you don't like this album, you don't deserve to live!

But even more of a reason to own this is disc two. I am rarely one for bonus features on CD's, but this stuff is great. Basically, a demo for demo (excluding "Good Times Roll" played live) version of the album in its running order, it's a stunning look at the work in progress. Frankly, "The Cars" pre-label signing didn't sound that different from "The Cars" except with a better recording budget and a touch less polish.

For an album that still gets regular play on my stereo, that says a lot. If you love this album as much as I still do, pony up the extra couple of bucks and be prepared to be wowed, loud. Now how about deluxe versions of "Candy-O" and "Heartbeat City"?

This set is awesome. I was amazed at how much I enjoyed the Demo Disc over Disc 1. The bonus tracks are great too.

I've played this for 2 friends who then ordered their copies!