From the Boston Herald’s Brett Milano,
After months of speculation, it has been confirmed that the Cars are prepping for a tour next summer. But it won™t include Ric Ocasek, Cars founder, co-lead singer and main songwriter. His place will be taken by veteran rocker Todd Rundgren.
Only two genuine Cars, guitarist Elliot Easton and keyboardist Greg Hawkes, are involved in the reunion, which will be billed as the New Cars. (Original Cars singer/bassist Ben Orr died in 2000; drummer David Robinson has retired).
Rounding out the new lineup are two of Rundgren™s longtime collaborators: Singer/bassist Kasim Sulton and ex-Tubes drummer Prairie Prince.
(the Old Cars)
The above link comes courtesy of a distraught Kevin T. who asks “what the fuck, wouldn’t this be like seeing CCR only with Kenny Rogers instead of Fohn Fogerty?”, though presumably not as bad as seeing CCR with Eliot Easton.
Though Kevin’s point is well taken, this strikes me as more akin to seeing a Fuck Ups reunion with Benny Mardones taking over for Bob Noxious.
While we’re on the subject, if anyone would like to write in with a review of any recent ELO II performances, please, don’t bother.
elo II? what kind of world are we living in that produces TWO elos? i think i need to lie down.
I take it you’re ok with Gallagher II.
first person who mentions caddyshack II gets a slap.
Wow, I dunno if the overwhelming success of Creedence Clearwater Revisited has led to this stunning new logical extreme. I will be on the lookout for the group’s first appearance at one of the many local reservation casinos near my residence.
I’d wager Rundgren’s Ocasek impersonation would be every bit as effective as Ian Ashbury’s Lizard King, if not Bev Bevan’s Jeff Lynne or Tommy Shaw/JY’s Dennis DeYoung, or BTO with only one Bachman (playing drums). And I don’t know if you followed the ass-end of Boise’s very own Treepeople, but that was equally as pleasant.
And thanks for the Benny Mardones reference in this context, CSTB. In addition to fucking up the Fuck Ups, come to think of it, Mr. Into the Night could also make an appropriately perverse Will Shatter stand-in. At the very least, I am confident he could hit the high notes.
TC
Sometimes the followups are better…you ever hear Mocedades do “Eres One”?
Another CCR paralell: Elliot Easton was the guitar player with Creedence Clearwater Revisited, the excellent cover band formed by the rythmn section of CCR, Doug Clifford & Stu Cook.
The next thing you are going to tell me is that Led Zepplin will play a show with PHIL COLLINS playing drums….wait, that really happened. Wait, it would be like the Who playing without Keith Moon…..wait, that happened too.
Never mind.
hey LET’S keep in mine that they are using a new name THE NEW CARS haha ….i have been a CARS fan since the late 70’s and yes i will always love what they have done….as far as ELLIOT AND GREG touring with TODD, KASIM AND PRAIRE this seems good if they do new material etc…..i don’t see anything wrong with that…people are the judges of what they will go to see and possibly like or dislike……ELO 2 was not bad…JEFF LYNNE’S ZOOM was not bad either…just thought it would be nice to get those guys back together as the original ELO …after all you had KELLY CROUCET, BEV BEVAN AND I BELIEV MIK KAMINSKI IN ELO 2 AND IN JEFF LYNNE’S ZOOM TOUR he had RICHARD TANDY and a plethora of different MUSICIANS without the other guys …when RIC OCASEK AND BEN ORR did small tours in the mid nineties they played CARS SONGS TOO….so the integrity is there to still give the fans the music they love…with the possible new stuff being in a new direction. ….just thought i would add my 2 cents …well 10 sentences haha….on that note i did like THE KENNY JONES WHO just as much as the KEITH MOON WHO….STYX ahh well i did like some of the new stuff …..but without DENNIS DEYOUNG alright already…AND ELLIOT did play some great licks for CCREVISITED …HEY he even snuck in some cars guitar solos onto those CREEDENCE CHESTNUT NUMBERS….we need good music is what i am trying to say…so don’t knock what you have not heard….JON
Jon,
just a small tip. When you persist in abusing your caps key so often, not only does it seem like you are shouting, but it tends to detract from whatever argument you’re trying to make. For example, it would be poor enough form for me to write “you’re an idiot”, but doubly offensive if I were to write “YOU’RE AN IDIOT”.
Still, I think you are the first member of the human race to write the following words :
“ELO 2 was not bad”
and “I did like THE KENNY JONES WHO just as much as the KEITH MOON WHO”. If the New York Post ever needs a replacement for Dan Aquilante, I think they’ve found their man.
From my Best CD’s of 2005 List!
TODD RUNDGREN………………BEST OF TODD RUNDGREN LIVE
For you Cars fans, fasten your seat belts because after you listen to this CD you will find that NEW CARS singer Todd Rundgren is “just what you needed” and its time to let the “good times roll”!
hey cars fans! dont think that all the todd heads are happy with this arrangement either-just 2 years from one of the best albums of his long career-todd, who has made classic music for 4 decades chucks his integrity in for a spin in this recycled trite pop plastic 80s trip. (i wonder if on his way out the door, todd is also trying to make up for something-i remember one of the more scathing comments about todds ruthless production style came from easton on a project they had worked on in the 80s/90s). im just stunned that no-one had the balls to tell todd what a mammoth mistake it is to join such an obvious fraud like this. i agree with those who say he should have named it a new band. do you think people at the iowa state fair will know the difference??? we’ll find out, i guess…that being said..if they have a new hit record, it could pump spome life…i mean dollars.. into someone’s pocket and extend the shelf life. god, i sincerely hope not for todds sake but when this plays itself out, i suspect a lot of people are going to regret this move….i sure some of you know that Todd passed up a planned reunion with utopia (sultan, roger powell and willie wilcox (who btw, since utopia is now a protools wiz and has been making cutting edge tv music for years on tnt and other networks) to do this. had to be the money folks, theres no easy way around it… todd is and always will be my favorite artist but this one was a hard one to take for many long time fans..it will pass-thank god for time, this time, at least…
The last time The Cars got together to record an album, it was kind of a stinker. Ric said guys in the band were eating cheeseburgers while they were singing during recording. The motivation and the enthusiasm just weren’t there anymore.
IMHO, they reached their creative peak in the early days, and even on “Heartbeat City”, you can hear them taking a new direction which was a harbinger of potential “suckitude” down the road. It’s still a great album, but of all the Cars albums, is the one I listen to the least often from their ’78-’84 period.
And look, I’m one of the biggest Cars fans around, so for me to make any kind of critical comments about them, has to mean something. I think they had a really good thing going there for several years, but dropped the ball. It happens. I forgave them a long time ago.
Now, onto the subject of Todd Rundgren replacing Ric: He’s a brilliant artist and singer, and way back in the early days, none other than rock luminary David Bowie expressed his admiration for “Runt”. This would have been around the time of “Hunky Dory”, incidentally.
Therefore, let’s not jump the gun and make comparisons between the New Cars and ELO II, Duran Duran III, Oingo Bongo V, or whoever. We haven’t even heard them yet!
Time and tide will reveal whether or not they’ll measure up…
OK, stepping down from my soapbox now. Over and out.
..and with that, ladies and gentleman, I am closing the comments on this particular thread. Without meaning any disrepect to the fans of the surviving Cars or Todd Rundgren….you’re all fucking nuts.
OK, I suppose I did mean a little disrepect there.
hate out,
GC