Dez's Top Rock/Pop, #20: The Cars

ABOVE: The glorious Phoebe Cates emerges from the pool in 'Fast Times At Ridgemont High' to the seductive sounds of The Cars's "Moving In Stereo"

Sophomore Slump?

The sophomore slump is a phenomenon that can occur in many walks of life. The second year of college when students relax a little too much. Film sequels that do not live up to the original. And, of course, music is littered with disappointing follow-up records. Disappointing either in the sense of quality or sales, or perhaps both, when compared to what came before (Meatloaf's Dead Ringer, Asia's Alpha, Stone Roses's Second Coming, Terence Trent D'Arby's Neither Fish Nor Flesh...take your pick). The reason for the Slump is quite obvious. When an artist puts together their first record, they have a lifetime of material to choose from. Songs they may have been developing and perfecting for years before they got their break. But if their debut is huge, then the pressure is on to follow it up and quickly. You could have six years to work on your debut, but six months to work on the second one.

Sometimes the second record is actually quite good, but it just can't live up to the quality or sales of the first. A case of expectations that are impossible to fulfill. I'm an admirer of Thomas Dolby (don't worry, he won't appear on this list), and while his hit debut The Golden Age of Wireless (where the fun throwaway tune "She Blinded Me With Science" unfairly relegated him to novelty status here in the States) was quite good, his follow-up The Flat Earth was much better. But it did not deliver a big hit, and therefore it can be considered a "sophomore slump" that effectively ended his run in the United States, even though it is in fact a superior record to its successful predecessor.

Which brings me to the sophomore effort from The Cars, Candy-O. Their debut, The Cars, was justifiably huge. I firmly believe that The Cars is the best New Wave record ever released, and I will argue with anyone who feels otherwise. I'll take on Talking Heads, Blondie, Devo...I don't give a sh*t. Nobody released a more perfect New Wave album. Even Ric Ocasek once joked that they should have titled the debut "Greatest Hits." While it is generally well regarded, many critics will comment that Candy-O sounds like leftovers that didn't quite make the cut for The Cars. BS.

I'm not going to try and tell you that Candy-O is superior to The Cars, because it isn't. But it is damn good. In fact, it is great. To be honest, I probably spin Candy-O more often than I do The Cars (in part perhaps due to oversaturation of The Cars). Ric Ocasek's writing is just as sharp and witty, the band is just as tight, and the songs are even quirkier than the debut. "Nightspots" is a deep album cut that never gets any airplay, but for my money The Cars have never sounded better or tighter than on that tune (in fact, that may be my favorite Cars tune. It just captures their whole sound and strengths better than anything else in their repertoire. Why wasn't that a hit?) "Dangerous Type" has a great T.Rex groove to it, while "Double Life" builds seductively (I'm always a fan of clever dynamic change in songs), "Let's Go" may be their most jubilant single ("I like the night life, baby!"), and the title track is a perfect little rocker that packs such a a punch.


ABOVE: While debut The Cars rightfully gets much love, don't forget their outstanding second effort, Candy-O. By the way, The Cars have some of the best album covers in the business, for obvious reasons.


ABOVE: Here's "Nightspots." Give a close listen, it is such a well constructed New Wave rock song. And it is perfect Cars, from the jittery synth line to the layered, tight guitar riffs to Ric Ocasek's wonderfully tightly wound vocals and yelps to his cynical lyrics. Crank it up. Did New Wave (or the early 80's) ever sound so good?

What To Listen To:

Obviously I am going to recommend their first two records. The Cars is a must, the greatest New Wave record ever made. One of those rare records where they could have pushed every song as a single (the ones they did push, "Good Times Roll," "Just What I Needed," "My Best Friend's Girl," "Moving In Stereo," are all still radio staples). As I argue above, Candy-O should not be overlooked. I have come to appreciate Shake It Up this last year, that is probably their most synth-laden record. Heartbeat City can sound dated in spots and definitely contained some filler, but the singles were awesome and it was their biggest selling album. Being such a killer singles band, The Cars can be well served by a good compilation. Unfortunately, out of the five Cars compilations currently available, none of them get the tracks quite right. I guess Complete Greatest Hits is the best of the lot, but it leaves off some great cuts in favor of some more questionable choices.