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Thumbs up. The New Cars is not a Cars "tribute band," but a new Cars incarnation. Ric Ocasek may not be present in body, but his songs and his vocal delivery are the foundation for everything good on this disc, and I bow before him -- and that goes for Benjamin Orr too, whose lead vocals graced so many of the Cars' biggest hits. Of course, if you're a fan of the original, you must be willing to accept that this is not the original, so don't expect it to be an exact copy.
Elliot Easton and Greg Hawkes of the original Cars wanted to keep the Cars' music going, and came up with the bright idea of contacting Todd Rundgren for frontman duties. As odd as it may seem at first, their outside-the-box thinking really paid off. 15 songs were recorded live, including two of Rundgren's, plus three they co-wrote and recorded in the studio, with Rundgren producing. Featured are the familiar hits from the early days of the Cars. They're the type of renditions that knock you back from the speakers with their intensity. Rundgren handles almost all the lead vocals and clearly has spent a lot of time listening to the Cars. Wisely, he doesn't try to imitate Ocasek or Orr, which would be impossible anyway, and his delivery is faithful to the originals without being a parody. He sounds like Todd Rundgren, which is, in itself, a very good thing. Easton reminds us how truly great a guitar player he is. Everything is taken up a few notches here, and while the live tracks lack the clarity and transparency that characterized the early Cars' recordings, they make up for it in sheer verve. This is a heavier sound, real blow-the-roof-off-the-building rock 'n roll. All I can say is WOW.
The three co-written bonus tracks are also fine, and have the kind of production values one associates with Rundgren. Too bad they didn't make an entire album of this stuff, because it is very good, "More," in particular.
Sadly, the touring aspect of The New Cars was cut short due to a car accident that sidelined Easton with a collar bone injury, and the enterprise came to a permanent halt. It's too bad, because I'd love to see these guys revive the partnership for another tour.
If you love The Cars or are just open to hearing some very well-done rock 'n roll performed by a group of veteran pros, "It's Alive" fits the bill in all respects.
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Frédéric MARCEL
The NEW CARS : des voitures... neuves !!!
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firestarter
New Cars? - dann doch lieber bei den "Oldtimern" bleiben!
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Antony May
'Much Better Than I Could Have Hoped!'
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