It's Alive

The New Cars | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 6, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Eleven Seven Music
• ASIN: B000F3AAWA
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #133,637 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

What stands out more when listening to this revival of the Cars and their cherished, iconic repertoire? The absence of the band's founding mastermind, chief vocalist/songwriter Ric Ocasek? Or the presence of Todd Rundgren, a semi-deified pop legend, as his replacement? It's Todd, by a landslide. Staunch Ocasek loyalists may argue that It's Alive--consisting of 15 live tracks (12 of them vintage Cars tunes) and three new studio cuts--is a disservice to the Boston band's legacy, but that looms as a minority viewpoint. Culled from three performances on a Southern California soundstage, the album unites two original band members (Elliot Easton on guitar and Greg Hawkes on keys--who, unlike Ocasek and original drummer David Robinson, still yearn to perform the group's music live) with Rundgren, bassist Kasim Sulton (who worked harmonic magic with Rundgren in Utopia) and drummer Prairie Prince (the Tubes). The result is an energetic paean to the Cars' power-pop heritage, capturing the band's classic feel-good vibe with all cynical subtexts intact. Rundgren, no stranger to creating mirror-like tributes to other artists' works (see 1976's Faithful), oversees almost note-for-note replications of Cars standards while slipping a little manic bite into selected lyrics ("You're All I've Got Tonight," "Bye Bye Love"). Two older Todd compositions--"Open My Eyes" (from his Nazz days) and "I Saw the Light"--make the cut, and amusingly it's the latter song, not a Cars track, on which he makes a brief lyrical flub. Rundgren is an inspired choice to fill Ocasek's role of wry lyrical observer, particularly with Sulton aboard as his heaven-sent harmonic foil. (The latter admirably handles lead vocals on "Drive," late bassist Benjamin Orr's signature song.) This disc's crucial new material--two thoughtful, midtempo, harmony-rich pieces and "Not Tonight," a witty, upbeat spin on 28-hour workdays--suggests the New Cars could be a worthy vehicle for Rundgren's polished pop instincts should the group stick together beyond summer touring. That may lead fans to start echoing the sentiment of this disc's closing track: "I want more." --Terry Wood

More from Todd Rundgren and the Cars

The Cars The Cars	Candy-O The Cars	Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology The Cars
Anthology (1968-1985) Todd Rundgren	Something/Anything? Todd Rundgren	Anthology (1974-1985) Utopia

Product Description

Let the good times roll - again. This ain't your father's automobile, or your older brother's for that matter, but the emergence of The New Cars, comprised of original members of The Cars. Joining Elliot Easton on guitar and Greg Hawkes on keyboards is an all-star group of rockers: Todd Rundgren, fellow Utopia bassist Kasim Sulton, and Prairie Prince, former drummer for The Tubes. Each shares a passion for recreating the groundbreaking music of The Cars, one of the most successful (and influential) bands of the new wave era.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you come to this without prejudice you'll enjoy it, June 15, 2006

By 

Quentin Deverill "QED" (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It's Alive (Audio CD)

This album feels surprisingly energetic and has a bit of a hard edge to the performances. If you remember The Cars the way they were back in the late '70s, before they started selling out as a more main stream pop band with overproduced albums with catchy hooks like Shake It Up and Heartbeat City, then you'll like this album. Look at the song list: it's most of The Cars first album. They even get lesser known (but liked by true fans) songs like Dangerous Type from Candy-O in here. I'm not saying I didn't like the later Cars years...I was overjoyed in the 80s when they hit it really big....I just like earlier Cars better. I feel they were more legitimate as 'Rock' artists with their earlier stuff. I also feel some may have fonder memories of the original Cars than they should. They always seemed to be a bit detached from the audience during live performances and performed songs exactly as they soudned on their albums. There's more energy here than the original Cars seemed to have with live performing and I like that.

Not Tonight is a single in the tradition of Tonight She Comes, Shake It up and You Might Think (all later Cars hits but some of their biggest). I'd be lying if I said I didn't think it was a great pop tune but is it a 'Rock' tune? Not really. I know what they're shooting for: something to rival their 'Magic' (pun intended) from Hearbeat City records sales with a similar sounding tune. Believe me, Not Tonight rivals anything the original Cars did with Ric on lead as a pure pop tune with an infectious hook "I wanna ride you til the early morn...but not tonight." I know my review seems a bit torn between the two sides of The Cars (pop vs. rock) but if you even remotely liked the Cars you'll like this new release.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Live Cars Release You'll Ever Hear, September 15, 2006

By 

Sir George Martini "Verbalosity" (Fromage, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It's Alive (Audio CD)

Ric Ocasek doesn't like to tour. Todd Rundgren had some bills to pay and he always liked the Car's music. I really don't care what his reasons were for joining Elliot Easton and Greg Hawkes, as long as it sounded good. I think it bothered me more when Easton played with CCR revisited, but it was the only way that CCR fans could hear their songs live at the time and somehow they sounded good without lead guitarist/singer John Fogerty.

I only have two complaints to make about this CD. First, Kasim Sultan is a good singer, but his voice sounds too pretty on "Drive" and it makes it sound like an Air Supply ditty. Second, they could have covered other Rundgren songs better adapted to the Car's sound like "Forget all About It" or "Couldn't I Just Tell You". The new song, "Not Tonight," is a perfect mesh of the original Cars style and Rungren's music, mainly because it sounds like it could have been released on one of his solo albums too.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The New Cars: Does It Work?, June 7, 2006

By 

Stephen Hyland (Fairfax, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It's Alive (Audio CD)

I must say that when I heard that Elliot Easton and Greg Hawkes had reformed The Cars under the guise of The New Cars and replaced original Cars members Ric Ocasek, David Robinson and Ben Orr with the likes of Todd Rundgren, Prairie Prince and Kasim Sulton, respectively, I was skeptical at best. Robinson maybe, but how could anyone replace Ocasek's or Orr's presence in the band? Will it work?

Well, the new serving from The New Cars "It's Alive" has answered that question and more. Albeit, this is primarily a live recording, and comparison of The Cars extraordinary studio prowess to this live recording is extremely difficult, but it is what it is. Fortunately, in "It's Alive" band has not tried to re-create live versions of The Cars studio tracks, but have taken the classic compositions, such as "Shake It Up", "My Best Friends Girl" and "Dangerous Type", and turned them into their own, wrapping new, harder riffs around the catchy melodies we all grew to love. The only disappointment would have to be the live version of "Drive" which sounds rather emotionless and quite empty. Although Kasim Sulton has a wonderful voice, matching the pure emotion and beauty that Ben Orr gave the song can't and will never be touched. A bonus is the inclusion of Rundgen classics "I Saw The Light" and "Open My Eyes".

As for the new studio songs, I have to agree with the previous reviewer that these songs show a great deal of potential for the future of the band, if they wish to carry on. "Not Tonight" is molded in a traditional Cars upbeat catchy melody with one of those trademark Elliot Easton compact solos. "Warm is wonderfully crafted and highlights the amazing keyboard skills of Gregg Hawkes and Kasim Sulton's exceptional voice. Finally, "More" is another song crafted in the early The Cars mold but with more modern edgy sound primarily due to Rundgren's grinding voice.

If you're expecting a live version of The Cars original tunes, this is probably not the CD for you. However, if you're looking for a more contemporary live interpretation of The Cars music this is definitely worth the investment. The New Cars: It Definitely Works!!