What the hell is that nonsense? Why even post a rant like that?

That's not right - that's just disgusting and a big lack of respect.
Too much drugs???

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steffiestones
"Too bad they died young Eddie and Rick*Sorry for that !-BUT their music was shit (BOTH)--they represented what I HATED/HATE about music-they helped RUIN "popular" music-they are responsible for how shitty music became-I started bands in opposition to what these people represented-they were/are the OPPOSITE of what I stood and stand for musically and culturally--then and now--"

Greg Prevost from The Chesterfield Kings

At least Greg didn't say : "Paulina's on the market now and I do intend to shag her asap!"

What can you say. Lots of us are guilty of posting without thinking. The immediacy of the internet is a double-edged sword. He may also have posted while drunk or stoned, never wise. He may also simply be bitter The Kings never achieved more or just a bit of a sociopath.

I liked The Cars more than The Chesterfield Kings and both more than Eddie Money. I can't imagine insulting anyone at such a time, but many people lack sensitivity, basic manners, and common sense at least some of the time. It's unfortunate. Hopefully he realizes that later.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-09-16 19:41 by Rocky Dijon.

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dcba

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steffiestones
"Too bad they died young Eddie and Rick*Sorry for that !-BUT their music was shit (BOTH)--they represented what I HATED/HATE about music-they helped RUIN "popular" music-they are responsible for how shitty music became-I started bands in opposition to what these people represented-they were/are the OPPOSITE of what I stood and stand for musically and culturally--then and now--"

Greg Prevost from The Chesterfield Kings

At least Greg didn't say : "Paulina's on the market now and I do intend to shag her asap!"

Well Paulina and Ric had already separated last year, which was shocking to a lot of people considering how long they'd been together.

Maybe the stress/sadness of separation contributed to what happened.

R.I.P., truly a talent !!!!!!!!!!!!!

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tatters

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MileHigh
I didn't think he was that old considering that the Cars burst on the scene in 1978. RIP.

I know, right? He was 34 when the Cars released their first album. Extremely unusual for an unknown rock musician to suddenly come out of nowhere and hit it big at that age. In fact, I've never even heard of such a thing.

Debbie Harry is 74. She was also in her 30s when Blondie started having hits.

I always like the Cars' first hit and bought the single. I enjoyed hearing their songs on the radio and MTV. I can say the same for Eddie Money. I don't know why anyone would attack them like that Chesterfield Kings person did.

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marianna
I don't know why anyone would attack them like that Chesterfield Kings person did.

Jealousy, probably.

Drew

For anyone who's interested in revisiting/exploring his work, here is a collection of ten (IMO) out-of-this-world Ric Ocasek compositions, with and without the Cars. Being a Cars connoisseur I've heard just about everything he ever recorded and these are my personal favorites.

[www.youtube.com]
[www.youtube.com]
[www.youtube.com]
[www.youtube.com]
[www.youtube.com]
[www.youtube.com]
[www.youtube.com]
[www.youtube.com]
[www.youtube.com]
[www.youtube.com]

Drew

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marianna

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tatters

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MileHigh
I didn't think he was that old considering that the Cars burst on the scene in 1978. RIP.

I know, right? He was 34 when the Cars released their first album. Extremely unusual for an unknown rock musician to suddenly come out of nowhere and hit it big at that age. In fact, I've never even heard of such a thing.

Debbie Harry is 74. She was also in her 30s when Blondie started having hits.

I always like the Cars' first hit and bought the single. I enjoyed hearing their songs on the radio and MTV. I can say the same for Eddie Money. I don't know why anyone would attack them like that Chesterfield Kings person did.

Chuck Berry was nearly 29 when Maybelline was released...Roll Over Beethoven was released a year later. Loved Ocasek's voice

Love The Cars music theres one thing I've always been curious about is "the cool guitar string squeak" on Good Times Roll, Just What I Wanted..and a few others was that deliberately done?

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marianna

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tatters

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MileHigh
I didn't think he was that old considering that the Cars burst on the scene in 1978. RIP.

I know, right? He was 34 when the Cars released their first album. Extremely unusual for an unknown rock musician to suddenly come out of nowhere and hit it big at that age. In fact, I've never even heard of such a thing.

Debbie Harry is 74. She was also in her 30s when Blondie started having hits.

Yep. 30 years old when the first single was released, and no hits until she was 33. Good call.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-09-16 23:24 by tatters.

"According to the Daily News, New York City's medical examiner has determined that the cause of death was hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Ocasek also suffered from pulmonary emphysema, which also contributed to his death."

[ultimateclassicrock.com]

Ric smoked cigarettes, as you can see on the ultra-cool cover of his first solo album, Beatitude.

Drew

Sad news indeed. The Cars first record is pretty great.

I have always been of the opinion that the best Cars songs are the ones where Ben Orr handled the lead vocals. "Just What I Needed" and "Drive" would be at the top of that list followed by "Let's Go", "Bye Bye Love", "Moving in Stereo" and "All Mixed Up". I have often wondered if Ric wanted Ben to sing those songs, especially the first two I mentioned, knowing that Orr's voice gave the songs a better chance of being played and therefore giving the group a better chance at success.

Maybe someone who knows more about the history of the Cars could enlighten me on the subject of how the singing responsibilities were delegated.

I might add that I think Benjamin Orr is criminally underrated and largely forgotten by most music fans.

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JimmyTheSaint


I might add that I think Benjamin Orr is criminally underrated and largely forgotten by most music fans.

True that. And thanks Drew. Good stuff

"No Anchovies, Please"

I had no idea Ric was 75! I liked the first album but never listened to much after that; I do respect his work, though.

The field is thinning quickly, it seems. I know there is good talent out there but hardly anything likes a fire under me like The Stones and all the music that came out from the 50s to the early 70s. I just can't get into it. At least we have the recordings.

Ric was 70 he was born in 1949. First reports of his age were wrong.

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JimmyTheSaint
Sad news indeed. The Cars first record is pretty great.

I have always been of the opinion that the best Cars songs are the ones where Ben Orr handled the lead vocals. "Just What I Needed" and "Drive" would be at the top of that list followed by "Let's Go", "Bye Bye Love", "Moving in Stereo" and "All Mixed Up". I have often wondered if Ric wanted Ben to sing those songs, especially the first two I mentioned, knowing that Orr's voice gave the songs a better chance of being played and therefore giving the group a better chance at success.

Maybe someone who knows more about the history of the Cars could enlighten me on the subject of how the singing responsibilities were delegated.

I might add that I think Benjamin Orr is criminally underrated and largely forgotten by most music fans.

Speculating, not an expert....

Of the songs you mention, all but one (All Mixed Up) were written by Orr, so seems natural he would want to sing his own songs.
Plus the fact Orr was originally the lead singer of the band (prior to making it big), so makes sense he would sing lead on a number of songs either written by himself or Ocasek.
And then there's many tunes penned by Ocasek who probably felt his voice was better suited. Good Times Roll, My Best Friend's Girl, Dangerous Type, Shake it Up, You Might Think, etc., etc., etc. - all great songs
Similar in a way to how Lennon/McCartney (and Harrison) worked for the most part - whoever wrote it sang the lead vocals.

Difficult for me to say which songs and/or vocals are the best (Orr vs. Ocasek) as I like them equally, and the variety of their catalogue is part of what made them such a great group imo.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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Hairball

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JimmyTheSaint
Sad news indeed. The Cars first record is pretty great.

I have always been of the opinion that the best Cars songs are the ones where Ben Orr handled the lead vocals. "Just What I Needed" and "Drive" would be at the top of that list followed by "Let's Go", "Bye Bye Love", "Moving in Stereo" and "All Mixed Up". I have often wondered if Ric wanted Ben to sing those songs, especially the first two I mentioned, knowing that Orr's voice gave the songs a better chance of being played and therefore giving the group a better chance at success.

Maybe someone who knows more about the history of the Cars could enlighten me on the subject of how the singing responsibilities were delegated.

I might add that I think Benjamin Orr is criminally underrated and largely forgotten by most music fans.

Speculating, not an expert....

Of the songs you mention, all but one (All Mixed Up) were written by Orr, so seems natural he would want to sing his own songs.
Plus the fact Orr was originally the lead singer of the band (prior to making it big), so makes sense he would sing lead on a number of songs either written by himself or Ocasek.
And then there's many tunes penned by Ocasek who probably felt his voice was better suited. Good Times Roll, My Best Friend's Girl, Dangerous Type, Shake it Up, You Might Think, etc., etc., etc. - all great songs
Similar in a way to how Lennon/McCartney (and Harrison) worked for the most part - whoever wrote it sang the lead vocals.

Difficult for me to say which songs and/or vocals are the best (Orr vs. Ocasek) as I like them equally, and the variety of their catalogue is part of what made them such a great group imo.

Love Ben a whole bunch (criminally underrated, as already stated)...but Ocasek was the sole songwriter for virtually their entire catalogue, save four co-writing credits with keyboardist Greg Hawkes.

From what I recall in an old interview (perhaps during their 2011 reunion), Ric said for certain songs Ben's voice fit better, and he felt Ben was a much better vocalist. I think he also made some reference to the fact that they were the singles (and thus he wanted Ben to sing them) - but I don't remember the specifics of what he said.

Ric and Ben were close friends prior to The Cars (going back to the 1960s), playing in various bands together.

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More Hot Rocks
Ric was 70 he was born in 1949. First reports of his age were wrong.

Wikipedia insists that he graduated from high school in 1963, which would be mighty difficult if he had been born in '49. I know that some sources do list the year of his birth as 1949, but my guess is that that's because somewhere along the line a manager or an agent advised him to lie about his age.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-09-17 05:08 by tatters.

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Jah Paul
Love Ben a whole bunch (criminally underrated, as already stated)...but Ocasek was the sole songwriter for virtually their entire catalogue

Thanks for clearing that up Jah Paul - I was looking at song credits on wiki quickly, and where it says "vocals", mistakenly misread/misinterpreted as "written by".
Looking at the first album credits again, directly under track listing it clearly states "All tracks written by Ric Ocasek, except where noted" ( Moving in Stereo: Greg Hawkes, Ocasek)!
Again, I'm not an expert and stand corrected!

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2019-09-17 05:08 by Hairball.

I am not one to put other people down but I have to say something here.Shame on you Greg for that post.Just after Rics bad news. I find your post pretty bad taste. There are millions of Cars fans and I'm happy I am one. Your rant won't ruin my night. Are you having a bad hair day, man?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-09-18 08:21 by babyblue.

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Hairball

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Jah Paul
Love Ben a whole bunch (criminally underrated, as already stated)...but Ocasek was the sole songwriter for virtually their entire catalogue

Thanks for clearing that up Jah Paul - I was looking at song credits on wiki quickly, and where it says "vocals", mistakenly misread/misinterpreted as "written by".
Looking at the first album credits again, directly under track listing it clearly states "All tracks written by Ric Ocasek, except where noted" ( Moving in Stereo: Greg Hawkes, Ocasek)!
Again, I'm not an expert and stand corrected!

No worries, my friend!

Fun Cars memory for me...I was a DJ one summer at UCLA (2-6 am shift!) and whenever I would play "You're All I've Got Tonight" from the first album, I could never get the segue into the next song right because of its cold ending (it leads straight into "Bye Bye Love"...we're talking vinyl and turntables here!) I tried cross-fading, "slip segueing" (an advanced technique not recommended for a rookie like me!), but nothing ever sounded good...I finally decided to just do a "two-fer" and play both Cars songs!

RIP Ric - and thanks for all the great tunes!

I liked his cool, special voice.

When I started to discover Rock n Roll, The Cars first Album represented a lot the vibes that were around those days..

"You´re all I´ve got tonight" was my favorite and I still like it.

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tatters

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MileHigh
I didn't think he was that old considering that the Cars burst on the scene in 1978. RIP.

I know, right? He was 34 when the Cars released their first album. Extremely unusual for an unknown rock musician to suddenly come out of nowhere and hit it big at that age. In fact, I've never even heard of such a thing.

Ian Hunter was 30 when Mott the Hoople released its first album in 1969, 33 when Mott put out All the Young Dudes in 1972.

Robert Pollard was 36 when Guided by Voices made Bee Thousand in 1994. Ric Ocasek produced GbV's Do the Collapse in 1999. He made GbV sound like The Cars, wouldn't let them drink in the studio.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-09-17 10:25 by ab.

What a band , I remember there first tour a quick hour and 15 minutes and they rocked good . One time seeing Ben Orr tooling around Newton Mass in his vintage yellow Jaguar summer of 1984

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tatters

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More Hot Rocks
Ric was 70 he was born in 1949. First reports of his age were wrong.

Wikipedia insists that he graduated from high school in 1963, which would be mighty difficult if he had been born in '49. I know that some sources do list the year of his birth as 1949, but my guess is that that's because somewhere along the line a manager or an agent advised him to lie about his age.

That sounds right to me.

According to reports, Paulina found him in bed when she was bringing him coffee in the morning...so horrible. I guess they remained friendly even though they had separated last year.

[www.boston.com]

Ric and Keith Richards were about the same age. Keith had already been in the limelight for 16 years when The Cars first album was released in 1978.

Deborah Harry was a member of The Wind In The Willows, who released an album on Capitol Records in 1968, so she at least had some prior experience with the more corporate side of the music business before her later success with Blondie.

Gerald Casale of Devo was 30 when their debut LP "Q: Are We Not Men A: We Are Devo" was released in 1978 (the same year as The Cars), and the rest of his bandmates were all in their late 20s.

The drummer for Spirit, Ed Cassidy, was much older than his peers.

The Cars were a favorite of mine. I was 13 when the first album came out. That album and the follow-up "Candy-O" were a big part of the soundtrack to my youth. Yesterday, I listened to their 2011 comeback album, "Move Like This", and marveled at how fresh it sounded. They absolutely nailed it. Arguably their 3rd best album, after those first two.

While saddened to hear of Ric's passing, it was nice to hear that he and Paulina had remained amicable after their romantic relationship had fizzled. He had family and loved ones checking in on him up until the end. About all you can ask for.

RIP Ric



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-09-17 17:23 by Javadave.

How can a Stones fan the like Cars ??
The Stones were Rebellion between 68 and 73
The Stooges,The Faces, The New York Dolls, Mc 5 were the Real Deal!
The 80"s sounded very plastic to me..Mainstream sucks