Ric Ocasek – ’Lyrics & Prose’ (2012)
During their halcyon days 1978-1987 Boston based new wave rock band The Cars released six studio and one greatest hits albums, all seven reaching the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 200 Albums chart along with thirteen tunes that made the Top 40 of the Hot 100 Singles chart, five making the Top 10, enjoying the luxury of not one, but two lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek and bass guitarist Benjamin Orr.
As for the songwriting, however, it was a completely different story with Ocasek receiving sole credit on 58 of the band’s 62 album and non-LP single recordings and co-writing credits with keyboard player/backing vocalist Greg Hawkes on the other 4. Blue Rider Press compiled all the lyrics Ocasek penned as a member of The Cars, supplementing them with songs from his seven solo albums, a 2011 reunion album recorded by the group’s four surviving members after Orr’s untimely passing in 2000, and other lyrics, poems and prose in a handsome, 324 page illustrated hardbound edition. For the sake of brevity, this review focuses on Ocasek’s lyrics for The Cars.
The Cars’ self-titled debut 1978 album contained nine Ocasek originals. Among the highlights of the LP, which peaked at #18 on the charts were “Just What I Needed’ and ‘My Best Friend’s Girl’ which hit #27 and #35 respectively, and set the standard for the band’s future with Orr singing “I don’t mind you hangin’ out and talkin’ in your sleep, it doesn’t matter where you’ve been as long as it was deep, yeah, you always know to wear it well and you look so fancy I can tell, and I don’t mind you hangin’ out and talkn’ in your sleep, I guess you’re just what I needed (just what I needed), I needed someone to feed, I guess you’re just what I needed (just what I needed), I needed someone to bleed” while Ocasek proclaimed “(here she comes again) when she’s dancing ‘neath the starry sky, ooh, she’ll make you flip, (here she comes again) when she’s dancing ‘neath the starry sky, ooh, I kinda like the way she dips, oh, she’s my best friend’s girl, well she’s my best friend’s girl, girl, but she used to be mine”. 1979’s ‘Candy-O’ reached #3 on the album chart and yielded the #14 single, ‘Let’s Go’, sung by Orr, “I don’t want to hold her down, don’t want to break her crown, when she says, “let’s go, I like the nightlife baby”, she says, “I like the nightlife baby”, she says, “let’s go”. The 1980 album ‘Panorama’ topped at #5, but it’s Ocasek sung single ‘Touch And Go’ reached only #37 yet continued the group’s sentiment with “and I know it’s gone too far, uh-oh, I touched your star, and it felt so right, just like the hush of midnight, and then you said, with me it’s touch and go uh oh, it’s touch and go, oh oh oh”. The Cars’ 1981 followup ‘Shake It Up’ reached #9 and showcased its bouncy title track, “uh well, dance all night, play all day, don’t let nothin’ get in the way, dance all night, keep the beat, don’t you worry ’bout two left feet, shake it up, shake it up, oo yeah, shake it up, shake it up”. Following a 1982 Ocasek solo album it was 1984 before the band released its magnum opus ‘Heartbeat City’ which hit #3 largely due to the success of its four Top 20 singles (five Top 40), the most successful the Orr sung, moody ‘Drive’ a #3 hit, “who’s gonna tell you when it’s too late? Who’s gonna tell you things aren’t so great? You can’t go on thinking nothing’s wrong, but now, who’s gonna drive you home tonight?” The infectious, light hearted ‘You Might Think I’m Crazy’ reached #7 “you might think I’m crazy hanging around with you, maybe you think I’m lucky to have something to do, but I think that you’re wild, inside me is some child”. ‘Magic’ peaked at #12, a memorable video accompanying “I see you under the midnight, love darts in your eyes, how far can you take it? ‘Til you realize there’s magic in your eyes……uh oh, when I’m with you, (oh, it’s magic), (uh oh, it’s magic), just a little bit of magic, pulls me through, I’ve got a hold on you”. ‘Hello Again’ hit #20, “oh, you passed on mercy, you tried the rest, you gave your body, you gave your best, starin’ at the green door, livin’ in the sky, you don’t wanna know it, you just wanna fly, uh-oh, (hello) hello (hello again)”. The album’s final single, ‘Why Can’t I Have You?’ topped at #33, “oh, baby, just one more time to touch you, just one more time to tell you, you’re on my mind, baby, why can’t I have you? You’re breakin’ my heart in two, you know what I’m goin’ through, oh, baby, why can’t I have you?” The Cars took another extended break with Ocasek issuing a solo album while fans of the band were given a ‘Greatest Hits’ album, which reached #12 and contained two hit singles, first the #7 ‘Tonight She Comes” with, “oh she channels me up, she does it with ease and sometimes she passes through me just like a breeze, she gives me a reason for feeling alright, oh well, (know tonight) (I know tonight) I know tonight, (know tonight) (I know tonight) I know tonight, (know tonight) (I know tonight) she comes”. A remixed take on ‘I’m Not The One’ topped at #32, Ocasek singing “I’m not the one that you’ll be shootin’ for, I’m not the one who’s coming back for more, (you know why) we’ve been through this so many times, (you know why) it’s never clear it’s pantomime, goin’ ’round and ’round, ’cause you can’t get on your feet, goin’ ’round, and ’round, still takin’ all the heat, goin’ ’round and ’round, never lettin’ down”. 1987 saw the final release by the band in its original incarnation, ‘Door To Door’ a relative letdown, stalling at #26, though its sole charting single ‘You Are The Girl’ peaked at a respectable #17, Ocasek proclaiming “why don’t you dream anymore? What’s in the way? How come you point to the door and ask me to stay? Why don’t you flash out that smile like you used to do? Why don’t you stay for a while? Uh well it’s up to you, ’cause you are the girl that keeps me up at night, you are the girl, that makes me feel alright, you are the girl, but will you give me a twirl? You are the girl”. Sadly, The Cars would never record again with bass guitarist/lead vocalist Benjamin Orr, who died at the age of 53. Ocasek released six additional solo albums between 1993 and 2011, all worthy efforts, but none having chart success. May 2011 saw Ocasek, lead guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboard player Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson reunite for a long player ‘Move Like This’.The album was the highest charting of the group’s career, reaching #2 on the charts, although in contrast to its predecessors it failed to produce a hit and would prove to be Ocasek’s final studio appearance. The lead single’s title ‘Sad Song’ anticipated the future, “too many heartaches waiting to strike, too many clowns saying everything’s alright, too many fires scorching your mind, too many preachers saying what you should find, just see the signs, it’s just a sad song that pulls you along, yeah, it’s just a sad song, and it won’t take long, it’s just a sad song that pulls you along, it’s just a sad song, and it won’t take long”. A melancholy end for one of the happiest, most upbeat bands of its time, Ocasek’s lyrics hit the target dead center, an ironic, fitting end for The Cars’ lyrics section of ‘Lyrics & Prose’. The volume closes with collections of sundry lyrics, poems and prose by Ocasek, who passed away in 2019, at age 75.
‘Lyrics & Prose’ features a preface by the author, album artwork, facsimile handwritten lyrics, a title page photo of Ocasek by Ebet Roberts and photographs of and by Ocasek himself. The volume will be of interest to fans of new wave and classic rock of the 1970s and beyond, The Cars, Ric Ocasek and volumes of compiled lyrics, and comes highly recommended.
Kevin Rathert
Ric Ocasek – ’Lyrics & Prose’ (Blue Rider Press, 2012)
