Friday, October 11, 2019

#61 - The Cars: The Cars (1981)


What a great cover. And very emblematic of the group as well – cars, cute girls, quirky, fun, stylish … 

Interestingly, the band did not like it. It was, in fact, designed by their record company, and not by drummer David Robinson, who did most of their other covers. Though here is another non-Robinson, and one I rather like:


Credit for art direction goes to one Ron Coro (the one on the left):


He has an incredible 467 credits, including Dylan, Hank Williams Jr., Frank Sinatra, Leonard Bernstein, Moby Grape, and Jim Nabors.





The model, Natalia Medvedeva, was rather interesting in herself. In addition to being a model (NSFW nude below), she was also a poet, writer, politician, and musician herself. She died pretty young, at age 44, of a heart attack.



This was the Cars’ first album, and is loaded with hits –  “Just What I Needed," "My Best Friend's Girl," "Good Times Roll," "You're All I've Got Tonight” …

Critic demigod Robert Palmer described the group very well: “They have taken some important but disparate contemporary trends—punk minimalism, the labyrinthine synthesizer and guitar textures of art rock, the '50s rockabilly revival and the melodious terseness of power pop – and mixed them into a personal and appealing blend.” I was certainly a fan. 

The band, which included 2 former Berklee students, was inducted into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame just last year. Sadly, front man Ric Ocasek passed away just a couple of weeks ago.


David Robinson (drums), Ric Ocasek (vocals, guitar), 
Greg Hawkes (keyboard), Elliot Easton (guitar)

A coupla other album covers of The Cars I like (vintage Robinsons, I would presume):



Here's the one homage / parody / random-Photoshop-exercise  I could find out there:





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