The Cars - "Move Like This" CD Review (Hear Music)

I remember liking The Cars in junior high as they were a welcome change from bands like Supertramp and Journey who seemed to dominate rock radio at the time. My interest in the band waned as the band seemed to lose their edge with each subsequent album as they went after a more mainstream sound. Ric Ocasek produced some brilliant punk albums in the early 80’s (Suicide’s second disc and Bad Brains’ Rock For Light) so I kept thinking there was something about the band that I was missing but, by the time I got to college, throwaway pop (and the accompanying “cheeseball” videos) like “You Might Think” finally made me write off the band completely. My opinion of the band has changed though as with their new disc, Move Like This, as I can finally hear the link to the jagged synth-punk of bands like Suicide.

Move Like This is The Cars’ first new disc since 1987’s Door To Door. After “The New Cars” debacle, it is probably important to start by noting that all surviving members have returned with uber-producer Jackknife Lee stepping in for Ben Orr (who passed away in 2000). Across this disc, The Cars don’t stray far from their roots (which is both a good and bad thing) as the material ranges from the edgy new wave sound of the band’s early days to the commercial pop of their late 80’s records. There are small snippets of riffs and musical structures that sound like they were lifted straight out of the band’s back catalogue but the overall tone seems darker and more moodily introspective than I ever remember The Cars sounding.

The disc starts out strong with "Blue Tip" (the disc's second single) which has the quirky rhythms, bleeping keyboards and taut guitar lines of the early Cars material. The disc's first single "Sad Songs" borrows ever so slightly from "My Best Friend's Girl" but takes the music in a different direction so that the tune is nostalgic without being derivative. On a similar note, "Free" brings back memories of "Bye Bye Love" (from The Cars' first disc). Staying within the framework of The Cars' sound, "Keep on Knocking" is a harder-edged piece that is driven by Elliot Easton's crunchy power chords. The disc falls a bit short when it take an ill advised turn into the 80's-style new wave ballads: “Soon” is being compared to “Drive” but unfortunately falls short and "Take Another Look" is a "Top Gun soundtrack" style cheese ballad.

Some of Ocasek’s obtuse stream of conscious lyrics may not lend themselves to easy interpretation and/or sing-alongs but (he isn’t trying to be Bono) this is a case where the textures of the music hold more weight than the lyrics.

There are some nice guitar licks on some of the songs but the heavy use of a variety of keyboard / synthesizer sounds and crisp drumming are a predominate part of most of this disc. As tight as the drums sound, it is hard to believe that David Robinson said in a recent interview (with Consequence of Sound‘s Cap Blackard) that he hadn’t played since 1987.

In the weeks leading up to the album’s release, what’s life been like?

We’re getting ready to tour and I haven’t played drums since 1987. So what we’re doing is relearning everything and I’m practicing to relearn how to play, basically. Also, we are doing a lot of stuff electronically; we aren’t going to use a bass player, so we have to program either bass parts or keyboard parts to play on stage and that requires click tracks that I play along with and percussion tracks and stuff like that. So, it’s a lot of work.

There is no mistaking that this new disc is a Cars album through-and-through. While some of the songs worked for me and some didn’t, this disc proved that The Cars aren’t back for a “greatest hits tour” cash-in and their new music is very relevant within today’s musical landscape.

On a related note, it is worth making a point of picking up the “Best Buy” edition of this release for the three bonus tracks:
- “Rocket USA” (Demo): A blistering Suicide cover
- “Hits Me” (Demo): Much looser and rawer than the "studio" version; I actually like this version better
- "One By One" (Demo): Previously unreleased and in the same style as "Hits Me" (Demo)



Links:
The Cars

The Cars Release Video for "Sad Song" Off Forthcoming Reunion Disc

In the late 90's, I remember sitting around with some musician friends and we were trying to come up with a list of "big-name" punk and new wave bands that hadn't ever reunited and the only two bands we could come up with were The Cars and The Clash. Ric Ocasek has consistently been saying no ("I'm saying never and you can count on that") to a Cars reunion so I was somewhat surprised when the band announced a reunion late last year.

It sounds like Ric Ocasek is taking the reunion one day at a time as he recently said to Rolling Stone "I looked at it like, "We'll make this record. And that's it. Maybe we'll make another one sometime." It wasn't anything like, "We're going to smash this thing through." I definitely had to explain this to Greg and Elliot. I can understand their position. They wouldn't mind being on the road for six months. I could never do that. It might be fun to do a couple of shows or something."

The Cars' new album, Move Like This, will be released May 10 via Hear Music/Concord Music Group and Amazon has up a pre-sales link.

The band just released the second video, "Sad Songs", from their forthcoming album:



Links:
The Cars

The Cinnamon Fuzz: Live Footage from NYC Debut Show at Arlene's Grocery, NYC 9-30-10

Boston power pop band The Cinnamon Fuzz made their NYC debut last week with an early morning show at Arlene's Grocery. (These post-midnight start times are going to kill me one day.) The band played a strong set consisting of "80's new-wave" sounding originals from their debut EP "Cruise of the Century" along with a well chosen Prince cover.



The Cinnamon Fuzz just released their debut CD as a pay-what-you-will download on Bandcamp and the disc captures some of the best elements of 80's new wave. The five tracks range from the funk/Nile Rodgers style guitar work on "Reboot My Heart" to the exuberant Kim Wilde syle harmonies on "Time Bomb Tickin'" to the Depeche Mode style melancholia of "Strangers".

Links:
The Cinnamon Fuzz

Boston Power-Pop Band The Cinnamon Fuzz Makes Their NYC Debut at Arlene's Grocery on Sept. 30th

DOWNLOAD: The Cinnamon Fuzz - "Strangers"

Boston's The Cinnamon Fuzz play synth-oriented power pop with a sound that falls pleasantly between The Cars and Fountains of Wayne. The band captures some of the best elements of 80's new wave on the disc's five tracks which range from the funk/Nile Rodgers style guitar work on "Reboot My Heart" to the exuberant Kim Wilde syle harmonies on "Time Bomb Tickin'" to the Depeche Mode style melancholia of "Strangers".

The band just released their debut CD as a pay-what-you-will download on Bandcamp (click on the CD cover to go over to the download site) and they are making their NYC debut at Arlene's Grocery on September 30th. White Collar Crime (9PM), Fosterchild (10PM) and The Golden Girls [x-Fixer](11PM) are sharing the bill and The Cinnamon Fuzz is going on at midnight.

Links:
The Cinnamon Fuzz

Wizards of Waverly Place Soundtrack CD Review (Disney)

When I was sent a review copy of the Wizards of Waverly Place soundtrack, both my kids acted like this was the biggest thing in the world (sort of like the Indiana Jones and Star Wars movie were when I was their age). I think I've been in the room when the show has been on but I've never really paid attention to it. Obviously this show is huge with the younger set as it ranked as TV's #1 scripted program among the targeted kid demographics in second quarter 2009.

As this CD is targeted to a tween audience, I asked my tweener to take the first shot at a review:
The Wizards of Waverly Place sound track is an excellent arrangement of music and all the songs are excellent. Selena Gomez really shows off her voice with her three songs that she sings by herself. She really shows off her real side instead of the side you see in the TV show. The other featured artists/bands are Steve Rushton, Honor Society, KSM, Meaghan Martin, Drew Seeley, Raven-Symone and Aly & Aj. The songs flow perfectly together with the theme of the soundtrack - Magic.

The soundtrack has some bonus features if you put the disk in your computer. The special features include an exclusive making of the "Magic" music video. There is footage of Selena Gomez and more. You can visit www.Disneychannel.com and www.disneymusicspot.com for more info and games.

Now from an adult's perspective...

The Wizards of Waverly Place soundtrack is a solid pop CD. The main attraction is obviously Selena Gomez and she has a good voice for this style of music. While some may dismiss this out of hand as being a "Disney CD", Gomez's style of music is no different than what bands/artists like The Graces, Natalie Imbruglia and Paula Abdul were doing twenty years ago. Gomez's three leadoff songs (which include a credible cover of Pilot's "Magic") set the tone for the rest of the disc.

The rest of the disc is a mix of covers (pop-rock interpretations of 70's and 80's tunes) and originals. Some of the covers work very well - Honor Society covers The Car's "Magic" and others are complete bombs - Steve Ruston's cover of ELO's "Strange Magic". I don't think a lot of songs from the 70's lend themselves to pop-rock reinterpretations but KSM do a bouncy, girl-group cover Stepenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride" that isn't half-bad.

One of the things that many movie, music and toy manufacturers seem to forget is that it is the parent who is doing the purchasing. I'm not going to buy anything that will annoy the living **** out of me when I have to see it/hear it for the 500th time. While this isn't my preferred style of music, I haven't lost my cool or my sanity after a dozen or so plays.

Links:
Wizards of Waverly Place