[eastside billee]

Here's my review. As you all probably know, I'm a Todd Rundgren fanatic.
He has joined with Greg Hawkes and Elliott Easton of the Cars. Along with Prarie Prince (the Tubes and Todd Rundgren), and Kasim Sulton (Utopia, and a host of other groups) they have formed a group and called it The New Cars. Their first cd is a release of mostly "live" cuts along with 3 new studio cuts.

. Just What I Needed - One of the best songs on the album,
Elliott Easton is a really nice guitarist. Todd doesn't sound forced.
2. Let's Go - Somehow the mix isn't perfect - but it's darn decent.
3. Candy-O - an absolute abortion. Todd sounds ridiculous. It's too low
for him to sing. This should not have been included on the lp.
4. You Might Think - When I hear this I can't help but think of that fly
in the video. It's a real good rendition. The guitar solo is perfection.
5. Best Friend's Girl - it's just too corny for Todd to sing this. But it's
ok I guess.
6. I Saw The Light - Elliott Easton again did a great job. Todd over
stylizes, but not too bad. It's a dang decent rendition.
7. You're All I*Ve Got Tonight - Todd trying too hard to sound like Ocasek.
It's ok though I guess.
8. Not Tonight - It's a really good new song. It takes a page out of the
Ric Ocasek songwriting For Dummies book. But it's good.
9. Drive - Kasim sings this. Kasim is a great singer. But IMO not for
this song. This is another they should've left off the lp. My wife
liked it. But I think Kasim is TOO GOOD of a singer to sing this song.
It requires less of a singer - less style, more sincerity.
10. Moving In Stereo - Whenever I hear this, well you know what I think.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High. But it's a pretty good version.
11. Shake It Up - a messy mix. The song is done well, but too much
music going on.
12. Dangerous Type - I've always loved this song. I do not like the
way Todd sang it. His vocal was ok at best. The music was stellar.
13. Bye Bye Love - A real good version. I liked it.
14. Open My Eyes - Todd's done this song on 10 different albums with 10
different band variations. Nothing more can be done. An admiral job
by the Cars guys though. The other 3 have done this song together
in this exact arrangement 1 million times.
15. Good Times Roll - The album has gotten tedious by now. It's an ok
version - but it doesn't really excite me.
16. Not Tonight - the studio version. Perfect mix. Good song. I like it.
The best song on the album for sure.
17. Warm - Greg Hawkes wrote most of this song - I think it's him singing it.
It's a decent song - repetetive. But it's ok I guess.-
18. More - This is obviously a Todd song. It's not a really good Todd song.

All in all the album gets old and tiresome after 5 or 6 songs. It just doesn't make me stand up and want to hear more and more.

It's tough to think if Cars fans will like it or not. I think they might not like Todd taking Ric's place - and I can understand that. At certain points it sounds like Todd is trying way too hard to imitate Ric.

I guess it's a nice project for Todd and his boys - but I hope it only lasts one album and one tour. Todd is a much more proficient and exciting songwriter than Ric Ocasek. I feel that this is like Todd joining a cover band that does only Cars songs.