The Cars were in a peculiar position in 1987. After the huge success of Heartbeat City and some lesser success with various solo outlets, the band regrouped to work on a new album. Judging from the results, one could assume the band was torn between going back to basics or just throwing in the towel to give the people what they wanted, or assumed, from a Cars album. Door To Door is a strange beast - the first single, "You Are The Girl", was a shameless rewrite of "Tonight She Comes", a big hit from the Greatest Hits album that had some out a year prior, just slowed down a tad with some new lyrics slapped on. Not exactly a creative pinnacle.
In a complete turnaround, the second single, "Strap Me In", was a breath of fresh air, as the group shook off all the slick Mutt Lange/Roy Thomas Baker sheen they'd been shellacked in for years and delivered one of their rawer, rockier tracks, reminiscent of the Panorama era. The lyrical theme has changed somewhat - instead of Ric Wanting What He Can't Have, we now have songs about not only having it, but possibly regretting it, or settling in for the ride. Naturally, something as less slick and intriguing as "Strap Me In" tanked. After all, who wants to hear someone complain about being married to a supermodel?
Elektra wasn't about to give up on one of their biggest cash cows, however, picking the most Soft Rock/Adult Contemporary song in the entire Cars oveure as Door's third single. "Coming Up You" is almost sickly sweet, full of tinkly keyboards, shmoopy lyrics and, since he sang on their biggest ballad "Drive", Ben Orr vocals. Having said all that, I actually kinda like it and feel it should have been a much bigger hit than its paltry chart ranking reflects. I'm sure Elektra felt the same way.
But contrast it with "Strap Me In" or the album's title track, which is absolutely the thrashiest, punkiest song The Cars ever put to vinyl, and it's obvious Ric was having a serious identity crisis. Which Cars did he want to give us? The new, super-shiny plastic pop hits Cars or the New Wave/Suicide-influenced Cars of old? And what direction could The Cars go next?
Sadly, we'll never know. The Cars broke up just as "Coming Up You" was struggling up the charts, creating sort of a nice bookend for the New Wave era of the '80s.
"Strap Me In" peaked at #85 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #4 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks Charts in 1987. "Coming Up You" peaked at #74 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988. "Door To Door" was not a single.
After relative public indifference towards Panorama's experimentation (while the album peaked at a respectable #5, it failed to chart a single any higher than #37), The Cars regrouped and retreated back to fizzy New Wave pop with 1981's Shake It Up, arguably the most calculated and least essential Cars album (yes, I'm counting Heartbeat City and Door To Door in making those pronouncements). For every crowning achievement like "Since You're Gone" or "Cruiser", there were kiss-ass concessions to Top 40 radio (title track, anyone?) and just plain filler ("Maybe Baby"). Be honest - when was the last time you put this CD on? Do you even own it on CD? However, with the success of the title track, The Cars were back on the hit racetrack.
Which made the brave, experimental nature of Ric Ocasek's first solo album, 1982's Beatitude all the more surprising. Since he wrote all The Cars' songs, it would have been quite easy for Ocasek to keep in that creative vein, crank out a few more radio-friendly hits and bank all the proceeds for himself. Thankfully, this was not the path trodden.
Wellllll, except for that lead-off single. Alright, you got me. "Something to Grab For" is basically Cars-by-numbers (yes, Ric wants again wants something he can't have!), save for the stop/start beat of the chorus, vaguely reminiscent of Panorama's "Touch & Go". Unfortunately, it fared just about as well on the charts as that ill-fated single, despite a moody video played to death by MTV.
Two more singles were released to try to shore up the project - "Jimmy Jimmy" was a departure, since it focused on someone other than the narrator (!), in this case the boredom of disaffected Reagan-era teens, with the line "Nobody's gettin' off" summing it all up. The electro-pulse of the track is quite different than the Cars sound, emphasizing the dancier aspects of the song.
The third single, "Prove" sank without a trace, save for some dance chart action, but don't feel too badly. Ric ramped up The Cars yet again and produced one of the most successful rock albums of the 80s, Heartbeat City. But the solo thing appealed to other band members, too...as we'll see tomorrow.
"Something To Grab For" peaked at #47 on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart in 1983. "Jimmy Jimmy" peaked at #25 on the Mainstream Rock Chart and at #60 on the Club Play Chart in the same year.
Beatitude is out of print, but you can find used copies on Amazon and other Ric Ocasek tunes on
While this shambles its way across the country, embarrassing itself in half-empty sheds nationwide (as Molly Shannon's Marcy Darcy would say, "Don't even get me started!"), what better time to devote a week to the real Cars, the New Wave darlings who didn't necessarily want to be New Wave. This week, we'll focus on the band's lost gems, alongside some lost solo projects along the way.
Why not begin with my favorite Cars album, Panorama? The Cars' third album was their most challenging, mostly jettisoning the band's trademark happy skip/shuffle Crickets bounce and peppy melodies for a darker, more aggressive tone. Gone were the handclaps and shiny background singalongs, replaced by David Robinson's increasingly synth-aided drums (by Heartbeat City he'd be drummer in name only) and Greg Hawkes' menacing keyboards while Elliot Easton's always-innovative guitar solos and Ric Ocasek's Iggy Pop meets Buddy Holly vocal theatrics stayed pretty much the same, with a few minor tweaks.
Ocasek's lyrics for the Cars can mostly be pared down to a one sentence logline - Ric wants something he can't have, whether it's affection, a girl, acceptance, etc. I mean, just look at some of the opening lines on most of the songs on Panorama:
I'm gonna get what's comin' to me All I need is what you got I wanna shake like Liguardia It's my party, you can come(well, consider the song's title, "Don't Tell Me No") Do you have to be so hard to get?
Ric definitely stuck to a theme with the Cars - that would change after this album. But we're getting ahead of ourselves...
Panorama's first single, "Touch & Go" was a perfect summation of this theme, but its start/stop faux reggae beat prevented it from reaching any higher on the charts than a puny #37. Two follow-up singles, "Don't Tell Me No" and "Gimmie Some Slack" failed to chart. But the album's true teasures are its bookends, the fantastic opening title track and the album's closer, "Up And Down".
"Up And Down" is one of those shoulda-been tracks that had the potential to be an AOR monster, alongside "Moving In Stereo" and "Bye Bye Love". But alas, it was not meant to be, as Panorama eventually faltered, leaving the Cars shaken up (har), wondering what the next move would be.
But first, Ocasek had a few things to get off his chest. We'll deal with that next Monday.
"Panorama" and "Up And Down" were not released as singles.
* All songs are for sampling purposes only. If the album is currently in print, you'll see an Amazon link to purchase it. Supporting artists is a good thing, since labels are run by soulless whores. I KEED! Sorta. Look, if you like it, and it's in print, support 'em. If you're the artist or copyright holder, a quick e-mail to me will bring the song down ASAP. But compliment my writing first.
* Don't e-mail me asking me to repost dead links or to send you a song you can't find. Believe it or not, I have a life outside my blogging. I KEED! But don't do it.
* One more, and this is a biggie -- do NOT hotlink directly to my audio files and post them on your site, big shot. That's just disrespectful, rude, and a theft of my hard-earned bandwith.
Now, get readin', get downloadiN', and play nice. I loves me some comments. Bring it!
The Cars were in a peculiar position in 1987. After the huge success of Heartbeat City and some lesser success with various solo outlets, the band regrouped to work on a new album. Judging from the results, one could assume the band was torn between going back to basics or just throwing in the towel to give the people what they wanted, or assumed, from a Cars album. Door To Door is a strange beast - the first single, "You Are The Girl", was a shameless rewrite of "Tonight She Comes", a big hit from the Greatest Hits album that had some out a year prior, just slowed down a tad with some new lyrics slapped on. Not exactly a creative pinnacle. 
In a complete turnaround, the second single, "Strap Me In", was a breath of fresh air, as the group shook off all the slick Mutt Lange/Roy Thomas Baker sheen they'd been shellacked in for years and delivered one of their rawer, rockier tracks, reminiscent of the Panorama era. The lyrical theme has changed somewhat - instead of Ric Wanting What He Can't Have, we now have songs about not only having it, but possibly regretting it, or settling in for the ride. Naturally, something as less slick and intriguing as "Strap Me In" tanked. After all, who wants to hear someone complain about being married to a supermodel?
Elektra wasn't about to give up on one of their biggest cash cows, however, picking the most Soft Rock/Adult Contemporary song in the entire Cars oveure as Door's third single. "Coming Up You" is almost sickly sweet, full of tinkly keyboards, shmoopy lyrics and, since he sang on their biggest ballad "Drive", Ben Orr vocals. Having said all that, I actually kinda like it and feel it should have been a much bigger hit than its paltry chart ranking reflects. I'm sure Elektra felt the same way. 
Which made the brave, experimental nature of Ric Ocasek's first solo album, 1982's Beatitude all the more surprising. Since he wrote all The Cars' songs, it would have been quite easy for Ocasek to keep in that creative vein, crank out a few more radio-friendly hits and bank all the proceeds for himself. Thankfully, this was not the path trodden.
and other Ric Ocasek tunes on 
