The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time 1955 to 2005: Number 436

Number 436

The Cars

"Good Times Roll"

(1978)

Genre: New Wave

Wheres my yellow car?

It feels like the 80's are here all over again. With Guns N' Roses, Metallica & AC/DC releasing new albums. Hell, even Beastie Boys are recording a new album for 2009! So this time next year, here is what the top 10 albums will be in 2009 .....

1: Led Zeppelin "Song Remains Quartered" with the lead single called "Squash Mare" - 2: Rolling Stones "40 Tricks" lead single "Have You Seen Our Teeth?" - 3: Abba "Waltzing King" lead single "Portaloo" - 4: U2 "Under a Black Night Sky" lead single "Lets Use Our Nukes" - 5: Metallica "Fist Of Lightning Puppets" lead single "Please Download our MP3" 6: Pink Floyd " Bright Side of the Sun" lead single "Another Wall made of Bricks Pt 6" - 7: The Doors "Keyholes & Knobs" lead single "Stormy Riders" [instrumental] - 8: The Who "Tummy" lead single "Mario Wizard" 9: Black Sabbath "Bloody Sabbath, Sabbath Bloody" lead single "Tin Man" - 10: Beach Boys "Desert Surfing" lead single "My Little Electric Dune Coupe"

Now imagine those 10 cd's in ya xmas sock next year!

New Wave leaders

The Cars' 1978 self-titled debut, issued on the Elektra label, is a genuine rock masterpiece. The band jokingly referred to the album as their "true greatest-hits album," but it's no exaggeration -- all nine tracks are new wave/rock classics, still in rotation on rock radio. Whereas most bands of the late '70s embraced either punk/new wave or hard rock, the Cars were one of the first bands to do the unthinkable -- merge the two styles together. Add to it bandleader/songwriter Ric Ocasek's supreme pop sensibilities, and you had an album that appealed to new wavers, rockers, and Top 40 fans. One of the most popular new wave songs ever, "Just What I Needed," is an obvious highlight, as are such familiar hits as "Good Times Roll," "My Best Friend's Girl," and "You're All I've Got Tonight." But like most consummate rock albums, the lesser-known compositions are just as exhilarating: "Don't Cha Stop," "Bye Bye Love," "All Mixed Up," and "Moving in Stereo," the latter featured as an instrumental during a steamy scene in the popular movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High. With flawless performances, songwriting, and production (courtesy of Queen alumni Roy Thomas Baker), the Cars' debut remains one of rock's all-time classics. ~ [Greg Prato, All Music Guide]

The Cars [1978]

world famous art work

The Cars is the debut album by the Boston-based American new wave band The Cars, released in 1978 (see 1978 in music). In 2003, the album was ranked number 282 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The cover model is Natalya Medvedeva, a Russian born model, journalist, and musician who died in 2003. "Moving in Stereo" was used as the theme for Phoebe Cates' famous pool scene in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The Cars, in its entirety, was released as downloadable content for the music video game Rock Band. The album was also re-issued as a Deluxe Edition on April 20, 1999, containing demos of the entire album alongside five previously unreleased demos. ~ [Source: Wikipedia]

For Queen see Number 539, 747 & 805

What does Rolling Stone think of the Cars?

The first sound you hear on "Just What I Needed," the single from the Cars' debut album, is the repeated thump of bass notes against the short, metallic slash of guitar. It's a magnificent noise: loud, elemental and relentless. But the Cars–the best band to come out of Boston since J. Geils–aren't interested in simply traveling the interstates of rock & roll. They'll go there for the rush, but they prefer the stop-and-go quirks of two lanes. Before "Just What I Needed" is over, guitarist Elliot Easton has burned rubber making a U-turn with his solo, and Greg Hawkes' synthesizer has double-clutched the melody. Leader Ric Ocasek once sang that he lived on "emotion and comic relief," and it's in this tension of opposites that he and his group find relief (comic or otherwise) between the desire for frontal assault and the preference for oblique strategies. This is the organizing principle behind not only the single but the entire LP, which is almost evenly divided between pop songs and pretentious attempts at art. ~ [Source: Rolling Stone] ouch!

For J Geils Band see Number 761

Rolling Stone magazine deemed their '436th Song of all Time' was "Alone Again Or" by Love. Love has not appeared in The Definitive 1000

Other songs with reference to The Cars #561, #609, #656, #994

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (Not one song) and the Album ranked at 282

This song has a crowbarred rating of 77.5 out of 108

The Cars - Let The Good Times Roll
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