The Cars

It was the late seventies and disco was in full swing, but something more promising was on the way. One look at the top 40 singles on AM radio in 1978 and you will understand how primed we all were for something new. Punk was too scary for 11 year old Jeff, but New Wave? I could handle New Wave. By 1979, the charts started to have a different look. Huge hits by The Knack, Cheap Trick, Dire Straits, Blondie, and Robert Palmer were making Top 40 life a little more tolerable. Although I still preferred my hard rock and heavy metal, great singles by Joe Jackson and The Cars began to make inroads. I favored The Cars because, although they had skinny ties and synthesizers, they were still rock and roll. Their guitarist, Elliot Easton, was always there with a raging guitar solo to comfort my rocker side.

(Side Note) - I worked in a guitar shop while in college and one day we heard that one of Easton’s crew was going to maybe come in to take a look at a sweet, lefty, 6-string Rickenbacker. The shop owner lifted the lid of the case so I could see, but not touch. This is the same guy who reamed me out for playing one of his many Hawaiian guitars. “Those are for display, not playing!” There were a lot of Spinal Tap moments during my stay there.

I finally made the decision to buy The Cars’ second album “Candy-O.” The cover was so racy that I had to hide it from my neighbor’s mom who took us to the mall to buy it. I was more interested in the back cover with all these weird dudes in the band. They had great singles that still sound current today. For evidence, just listen to their “Elektra Years” compilation, it has 40-some songs and you would be amazed by how many you can sing along to. A testament to their durability is that they are one of very few artists that everyone in my family likes - ages 14 to 51. In fact, just recently we were listening to a Cars CD on a road trip and played a game we call “Ric or Ben,” in which each person must yell out who is singing a particular track as soon as it starts. I never said we were a cool family.

I’ve included a great Ric track and a great Ben track. Can you tell the difference?