The New Cars – It’s Alive – 2006
Okay, so this is a one off. But, I had to include it.
First off, Rundgren has Ocasek’s nervous, forced, paranoia voice down.
The backing harmonies, spot on.
Easton’s Roy Thomas Baker/Brian May inspired solo…..
The pulsating, driving beat…Hawkes’ layering synths…..the snarky lyrics……
THIS is what I have been waiting for since Heartbeat City.
I’ll leave the live portion of the album to you. I couldn’t care less. The three studio tracks are all i cared about.
The New Cars was really just Easton and Hawkes. Prairie Prince of The Tubes played drums. The aforementioned Rundgren on Rhythm and vox.
The irony here is that The Cars, a band I saw perform live at Madison Square Garden in 1980, was one of the most boring live acts EVER. I remember it vividly because there was no reason to see them. They sounded JUST like the album and nobody on stage moved. At MSG! And yet, the record they put out was 3 studio tracks and the rest was a live album. Hilarious.
“Not Tonight” is the lead single. And it’s one of my favorite Cars tracks…ever.
“Warm” is the “Drive” of the album. Mediocre but spot on.
“More” is the would-be second single. Fun and stupid. And makes me wish there had been a whole album.
Grade: B+
