Definitive Audiophile pressings

TenderLovingKiller® said:
You didn’t recognize “Just What I Needed” and/or “My Best Friends Girl” at all? They just feel like inescapable pop anthems.

The album is a true Pop masterpiece Ric & company made a debut album that is head and shoulders above many of their peers greatest hits compilations.
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You’ve got to bear in mind I grew up in a different place at a time when locally our music was exploding. When I looked back then it was to The Beatles, Stones, Bowie, Smiths etc. I also hate classic rock radio with a passion.

Most of my US stuff is all time greats, what my dad introduced me to, what I’ve discovered through those artists, what was in the music papers in my late teens and 20s and what I’ve been introduced to since I got onto this forum.
 
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Joe Mac said:
You’ve got to bear in mind I grew up in a different place at a time when locally our music was exploding. When I looked back then it was to The Beatles, Stones, Bowie, Smiths etc. I also hate classic rock radio with a passion.

Most of my US stuff is all time greats, what my dad introduced me to, what I’ve discovered through those artists, what was in the music papers in my late teens and 20s and what I’ve been introduced to since I got onto this forum.
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But Tom Petty woulda been a peer and swam in the same waters as Cars, The Boss too. And you are very familiar with both those artists if I recall.

We all have our blind spots. I just find it interesting when we’ll seasoned music enthusiasts such as yourself miss the boat on a highly regarded gem. Like how does that happen? Did we fail you as a community?

Regardless, it’s always feels good to find a terrific pop album like this that you’re not familiar with. You will be able to enjoy an excellent record with fresh ears.
 
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TenderLovingKiller® said:
But Tom Petty woulda been a peer and swam in the same waters as Cars, The Boss too. And you are very familiar with both those artists if I recall. We all have our blind spots. I just find it interesting.

Regardless, it’s always feels good to find a terrific pop album like this that you’re not familiar with. You will be able to enjoy an excellent with fresh ears.
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Yeah I suppose but they were both artists I picked off my dads music played around the house and car and what I pulled off his cd shelf to sample as a kid/teen. I just have no memory of him having the cars lol. Maybe his blind spot from the 70s fed mine now 😂

But yes, finding something great and fun is always the great pay off in this game!
 
I'm American, of the age where the Cars were EVERYWHERE (radio/MTV) when i was growing up and I don't think I listened to a full Cars album until my 30s when Pitchfork put them on a top albums of the 70s list and I tried to listen to all of them on my ipod during my commutes to and from work. it happens...
 
Joe Mac said:
Thank you for this. I didn’t know I needed it, streamed it on my way to work and then bought it.

Although it’s out of stock in the uk Warner store with the code it was still cheaper than their list, even with $28 shipping, and although I’ll have to stump up customs I would have to from the uk too because of brexshit.

I then found the MoFi Candy O in stock at JPC and bought that too. Not bad for a band I hadn’t listened to at 9am today…
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Happy to be of service!

As others have mentioned, it’s basically one giant radio/anthem hit record, although the song Candy-O is my favorite song of theirs (Living in Stereo is 2nd).

The album Candy-O has more of their rock/punk-ish edge, and this makes it a better album for some fans of the band.
 
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Joe Mac said:
Thank you for this. I didn’t know I needed it, streamed it on my way to work and then bought it.

Although it’s out of stock in the uk Warner store with the code it was still cheaper than their list, even with $28 shipping, and although I’ll have to stump up customs I would have to from the uk too because of brexshit.

I then found the MoFi Candy O in stock at JPC and bought that too. Not bad for a band I hadn’t listened to at 9am today…
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What. There's a UK Warner store? I ordered it from the Rhino US store. I didn't realise you could get it in the UK.

I'm completely in agreement with not knowing the Cars. Until earlier in the year I had only heard one of their songs, Drive. I remember drive being in the radio and charting, but I don't think it's necessarily representative, and I don't think they had much chart success / radio play beyond that in the UK.

We didn't really have MTV in the way the America did back then. Unless you bought, or new someone who bought their albums I don't think you would have heard them.
 
Andy said:
I’m


What. There's a UK Warner store? I ordered it from the Rhino US store. I didn't realise you could get it in the UK.

I'm completely in agreement with not knowing the Cars. Until earlier in the year I had only heard one of their songs, Drive. I remember drive being in the radio and charting, but I don't think it's necessarily representative, and I don't think they had much chart success / radio play beyond that in the UK.

We didn't really have MTV in the way the America did back then. Unless you bought, or new someone who bought their albums I don't think you would have heard them.
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Yeah dig is the uk Warner store and they had it listed for £45 but it’s sold out now.

The Cars (Rhino High Fidelity)

Buy The Cars (Rhino High Fidelity). Browse the vast selection of products available.
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And yes completely. I wasn’t born until 1983 plus we didn’t have pay tv in the house until well into the mid 00s and I’d gone by then. Most of the music I got into was through my dad, recommendations from mates, top of the pops and when I got older reviews in NME and Melody Maker. When I got into my 20s and the internet exploded that changed everything.

Also my feeling from 5 years on this forum is that I don’t think Americans fully understand how big British music is in Britain lol. Something ubiquitous over there might not be here because of how big our own stuff is. Or maybe was. I think culture is probably a bit more global in the last 10-15 years.
 
Andy said:
I’m


What. There's a UK Warner store? I ordered it from the Rhino US store. I didn't realise you could get it in the UK.

I'm completely in agreement with not knowing the Cars. Until earlier in the year I had only heard one of their songs, Drive. I remember drive being in the radio and charting, but I don't think it's necessarily representative, and I don't think they had much chart success / radio play beyond that in the UK.

We didn't really have MTV in the way the America did back then. Unless you bought, or new someone who bought their albums I don't think you would have heard them.
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I checked and The Cars two biggest hits “Just What I Needed” and “My Best Friends Girl” both charted higher in the UK (#17 and #3) than in the US (#27 and #35). Given yours and Joe’s ignorance, It does seem that maybe they’re popularity has been more sustainable over the last 45 years in the US than the UK but ithey weren’t strictly a US phenomena either.
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
I checked and The Cars two biggest hits “Just What I Needed” and “My Best Friends Girl” both charted higher in the UK (#17 and #3) than in the US (#27 and #35). Given yours and Joe’s ignorance, It does seem that maybe they’re popularity has been more sustainable over the last 45 years in the US than the UK but ithey weren’t strictly a US phenomena either.
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I mean, that’s also slightly before @Joe Mac ’s time on earth too. They built up here but clearly peaked earlier in the UK. Their ubiquitousness here is clearly not replicated elsewhere.

It was about 15 years ago that a friend gave me a copy of Big Star’s first album and I was like HOW WAS I NOT AWARE THIS BAND EXISTED?!?!!
 
It also shows why how is jaded large library music collectors should probably hush up about what is and isn’t reissued. We bitch and moan about MoFi doing the same old, but even with them havjng done the Cars, someone like @joewas unafamiliar.

The biggest takeaway of this site is there is more music than anyone person will ever be able to know and it’s very probably someone somewhere likes something you think is meh or even not great/bad.
 
Lee Newman said:
I mean, that’s also slightly before @Joe Mac ’s time on earth too. They built up here but clearly peaked earlier in the UK. Their ubiquitousness here is clearly not replicated elsewhere.

It was about 15 years ago that a friend gave me a copy of Big Star’s first album and I was like HOW WAS I NOT AWARE THIS BAND EXISTED?!?!!
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Oh I get it, personal blind spots happen and Joe had already explained why he may have been out of the loop. I just wanted to see if the blind spot was cultural but it seems like it did make an impression in the UK upon its release. As I stated their popularity was likely more sustainable in the US than the UK as I was born just a year or two earlier than Joe but they were basically always around on classic rock radio, in Movies, Commercials, Cover bands, etc.. my entire life which doesn’t appear to the the same thing for our friends on the other side of the pond.

I agree about Big Star I was more familiar with The Boxtops “The Letter” than any Big Star song (well knowingly anyways, it didn’t figure out that the theme song of That 70s Show was a Big Star song until after the show had come and gone) until college when I read about their influence on bands I enjoyed and sought out their records.
 
It's was kind of hard to avoid The Cars in the US. Even though I never listened to them on purpose or owned one of their albums before getting it on vinyl, I still knew every track and frequently went, huh, I didn't know this was The Cars. They were definitely a constant in our culture but I bet a lot of people who know their songs here don't know it's them either. Their music has had more of a presence in US culture than they have as a band, if that makes sense.
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
I checked and The Cars two biggest hits “Just What I Needed” and “My Best Friends Girl” both charted higher in the UK (#17 and #3) than in the US (#27 and #35). Given yours and Joe’s ignorance, It does seem that maybe they’re popularity has been more sustainable over the last 45 years in the US than the UK but ithey weren’t strictly a US phenomena either.
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I think ignorance is unfair. It’s a loaded term. To ignore is wilful. More a blind spot.

It was before me but equally you’ve got to understand that when I was getting in to music it was Cool Britannia and britpop and new labour and Euro 96 and all that. Delving back into American past music wasn’t a thing that was on the top of anyone’s mind. The 70s music being celebrated at the time was Bowie, T. Rex, The Pistols and The Clash. Hell off the back of some of Oasis’ more pub rock leanings the likes of Slade, Wizard and Mud were getting more coverage than a kooky US New Wave pop act. It actually was a great decade to live in Britain from around 94/95 to maybe 05/06, perhaps staring to tail off around the Iraq War.

It was also an era of no internet and 4 tv channels. There was no place for “Top of the Pops 1976” style nostalgia shows that are now all over the tv channels dedicated to arts/repeats.
 
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Joe Mac said:
I think ignorance is unfair. It’s a loaded term. To ignore is wilful. More a blind spot.

It was before me but equally you’ve got to understand that when I was getting in to music it was Cool Britannia and britpop and new labour and Euro 96 and all that. Delving back into American past music wasn’t a thing that was on the top of anyone’s mind. The 70s music being celebrated at the time was Bowie, T. Rex, The Pistols and The Clash. Hell off the back of some of Oasis’ more pub rock leanings the likes of Slade, Wizard and Mud were getting more coverage than a kooky US New Wave pop act. It actually was a great decade to live in Britain from around 94/95 to maybe 05/06, perhaps staring to tail off around the Iraq War.

It was also an era of no internet and 4 tv channels. There was no place for “Top of the Pops 1976” style nostalgia shows that are now all over the tv channels dedicated to arts/repeats.
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I get it, I was more curious in whether was it a cultural blind spot or a personal one. You’ve explained your situation well. They were popular in both countries upon their debut but had a more sustainable cultural significance over here than over there and also you had other music you were focused on while growing up.
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
I get it, I was more curious in whether was it a cultural blind spot or a personal one. You’ve explained your situation well. They were popular in both countries upon their debut but had a more sustainable cultural significance over here than over there and also you had other music you were focused on while growing up.
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And honestly with the advent of nostalgia radio/tv etc in the last 20 years they’ve likely come back into the consciousness more again in the last 10-15 years. I’ve just never liked classic rock or nostalgia radio all that much.
 
Joe Mac said:
And honestly with the advent of nostalgia radio/tv etc in the last 20 years they’ve likely come back into the consciousness more again in the last 10-15 years. I’ve just never liked classic rock or nostalgia radio all that much.
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I totally get having a blindspot for The Cars. I read a lot of NME and Melody Maker in the 80s and kept up with what was happening in the 90s over there. But today, I still read about British bands and musicians from the 70s whose records I would see all the time but had no idea of what they sounded like and when I give them a listen I am totally surprised.
 
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