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The Cars Appreciation Thread


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I still love The Cars. Their music brings back a lot of memories.

 

I attended a clinic Elliot did in Jackson, Mississippi many years ago. All he played was the blues and he was smokin'. He's a blues FANATIC. He was stoked to be there and said that driving through Mississippi and seeing a bunch of towns and highways that inspired many classic blues songs was a real treat for him. His interest was really picqued when he was told about an elderly gentleman who had come in the store earlier that afternoon. The guy was from Bentonia and played in open E minor. Elliot got really excited and said "Skip James was from Bentonia and played in open E minor!!!! That guy probably knew him!!!!" Like I said, he is a total blues FANATIC and seems like a good guy.

 

P.S. - For the record (and for those who are interested in such things), the old gentlemen who gave the music store performance I witnessed and will never forget was named Jack Owens and he did in fact know Skip James.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm5VODW1c74


This is probably my second favorite Cars' song. Does anyone know what the effect is on the keyboard? It sounds a lot like my EHX PolyPhase. I've always loved that sound. Seeing this video reminds me that they were not
just
a great studio band.


Nice!! Probably my favorite here- think I'm gonna listen to the album now- still have it on vinyl :eek:http://youtube.com/watch?v=115JvSqNwB4

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This thread rocks!

The Cars were by far the most innovative and original band to come out of the late 70's.

Each and every member of the band is/was a skilled craftsman in their own right.

Easton is indeed criminally under-rated.


Nice thread.


OGG

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i've owned several copies of the debut album. it's one of those albums that seemed to always walk off, kind of like aerosmith's debut album....i was always replacing it sooner or later. i prefer it over candy'o and it would get more play.....killer hooks. the first time i heard it i was at a house party....i remember it and "highway to hell" being spun as vinyl.

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Speaking of Elliot Easton - have you all seen his signature model Gretch guitar? It's a Duo Jet-style guitar in deep Cadillac green with gold hardware - beautiful!
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&resnum=0&q=gretsch+elliot+easton&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi

 

I wanted that guitar SO BAD, but they were always back ordered, so I waited. I waited a bit too long and they ended up getting discontinued. :( I wound up finding a steal deal on a Pro Jet and had to settle for that instead. The Caddy green EE is teh sex though - so cool looking. I wish I could have found an EE instead of getting the PJ, but I called about every major dealer (and some contacts at Fender / Gretsch), but there were none left anywhere... The PJ isn't bad, but it's not the same thing.

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I really liked The Cars as well - a very innovative and distinctive sound. Elliot Easton was a pretty decent guitarist in his own right.

 

 

Hey people,

 

I agree with Karma1's comments. I had the privilige of seeing The Cars at Cow Palace in San Francisco during the '80s. They rarely toured, but became my favorite '80s band. Elliot Easton is one of my favorite guitarist from this genre of music and today's guitarist owe a lot to Elliot in the way he created his solos in today's songs. A lot of the tones that Elliot used on the CDs sound classic & timeless today. I don't care much for the New Cars with Todd Rundgren though.

 

Guitar George

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live version of touch and go


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKVAtsxL2lk



Very cool! I'd love to know what EE is stepping on... ;)

Killer solos on that version - it is so close to the LP for the first half or so you could almost think they're lip synching it, but they're not, and the variations on the outro solo leave no doubt. Very nice vid - thanks for posting it. :cool:

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Hey people,


I agree with Karma1's comments. I had the privilige of seeing The Cars at Cow Palace in San Francisco during the '80s. They rarely toured, but became my favorite '80s band. Elliot Easton is one of my favorite guitarist from this genre of music and today's guitarist owe a lot to Elliot in the way he created his solos in today's songs. A lot of the tones that Elliot used on the CDs sound classic & timeless today. I don't care much for the New Cars with Todd Rundgren though.


Guitar George



As a producer, I'm a big fan of Todd Rundgren's records too - I love his approach and musicality; he's one of my favorite production heroes. But I have to admit I had mixed feelings when I heard about the pairing, and the absence of Ric and David (RIP Ben Orr :( ), but OTOH, they could have picked someone worse, and I think Todd can pull off Ric's songs and "Buddy Holly on Mars" vocal stylings as well as anyone. One listen to Todd's album Faithful should be enough to convince nearly any objective listener that when he wants to mimic something note for note, he nails it.

I don't think it's about lost glory or the payday either - these guys apparently just love to play, and I can't fault anyone for that. :) Just because they were in a huge band and it broke up doesn't mean they should have to stop playing IMO. Those Cars songs are a big part of their careers and history - why not play them? And if they want to do some new stuff too, then why not?

I know the fans make things possible for artists, but even beyond that IMO should be the love of music, and you have to follow that muse. Hopefully other people will like it too, but even if not everyone does, there's still satisfaction in it if you love what you're doing. :)

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This thread is moderator approved and endorsed. :phil:


Elliot Easton is a
criminally
under-rated player. Definitely on my "ten favorite guitarists" list.


 

 

Concur'd. Elliot Easton is fantastic. Fantastic tone, fantastic chops, and never overplays... We cover a couple of their tunes and people just go ape-sh*t over them.

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I was listening to some vinyl this morning, and I came across my old copy of Ben Orr's "The Lace." I put it on while getting ready for the day, and it brought back old memories of high school.

 

Was the album dated? Definitely. Every song had that Mutt Lange "Waiting for a Girl Like You" production. But I love Ben Orr's voice, and the melodies were beautiful and even more poignant now.

 

I felt compelled to leave this post for those who appreciated the late Ben Orr.

 

http://www.rockforever.com/news/press-10092000.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYdhw9IvI0Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQa23eglUV0&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0q6jl_mvLY&mode=related&search=

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