The Cars – The Cars [Ultradisc One Step LP] (LP Ultradisc One-Step)

The Cars’ self-titled album is one of the most critically and publicly acclaimed debut albums in music history, and it also serves as a sort of “greatest hits” collection. Not a single song on it is truly unknown – just look at the track list!  “The Cars” might even be the best new wave rock album of all time. “The Cars” was inducted into the National Recording Registry in 2024 due to its significance and was ranked No. 353 on Rolling Stone’s list of the “Greatest Albums of All Time.” The Cars were successful from the start, reaching No. 18 on the Billboard Top 200 charts and landing two Top 40 singles with “Just What I Needed” and “My Best Friend’s Girl.” The track “Good Times Roll” climbed to No. 41, but soon nearly every song on “The Cars” became a staple of radio play – an honor far more significant than chart positions. The American band’s album is brimming with emotion, energy, and catchy hooks. Bubblegum melodies, edgy art rock, prog structures, minimalism, and power-pop brilliance – the stylish arrangements exude a laid-back coolness and subtle irony that have become rare in the world of contemporary mainstream music.

Equally rare is the deep chemistry that bound the members together before they entered London’s AIR Studios and whipped up the album in less than a month. Benjamin Orr and Ric Ocasek formed their first band together in the early ’70s. A subsequent group featuring Greg Hawke – who would later become the Cars’ keyboardist – paved the way for a closer collaboration between Orr and Ocasek, who temporarily performed as a duo. A final ensemble before the Cars, Cap’n Swing, brought guitarist Elliot Easton on board. Ocasek’s decision to steer the band in a rock direction, a key lineup change, and a name change led to the Cars that so many listeners know and love. The quintet, already established in Boston, spent nearly a year and a half refining its songs before signing with Elektra and partnering with Baker. Obsessed with incorporating the latest technologies and sounds into their repertoire, the band spiced up their songs with charming and quirky touches – country-tinged guitar fills, echoing Syndrums, reggae influences, hard rock sounds, and robotic beats. Orr’s deep, nuanced delivery and Ocasek’s cool, detached vocals lend the lyrics a touch of doubt and ambiguity, balanced by synthesizer embellishments and electronic beats. All of this is further enhanced by Baker’s outstanding production. Best known for his work with Queen (“A Night At The Opera”), he created an accessible and eccentric, edgy and catchy album. In short: a milestone!

The numbered double LP from Mobile Fidelity, strictly limited to 4,000 copies, was remastered specifically for this edition by Krieg Wunderlich at the MoFi studio in California from the original tapes and pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing using the sonically superior UltraDisc One-Step process onto 180-gram vinyl (45 RPM). The luxurious box comes with foil-stamped jackets, as well as the faithful-to-the-original graphics and iconic cover artwork. The two records are housed in original MFSL inner sleeves. This reissue presents the six-time platinum-certified album with the most vibrant, spacious, and three-dimensional sound ever captured on vinyl, surpassing even the now-out-of-print 33 RPM version from MFSL!

Lista pieselor

LP 1

Side A
1.    Good Times Roll
2.    My Best Friend’s Girl

Side B
1.    Just What I Needed
2.    I’m In Touch With Your World
3.    Don’t Cha Stop

Side C
1.    You’re All I’ve Got Tonight
2.    Bye Bye Love

Side D
1.    Moving In Stereo
2.    All Mixed Up