Taking inspiration from Ric Ocasek’s demos, The Cars have been working on new music.
Including guitarist Elliot Easton, drummer David Robinson and keyboardist Greg Hawkes, the surviving members of the legendary new wave band have been assembling a collection of tracks from the dozens of demos the band’s late frontman left behind.
The Cars: Let the Stories Be Told, A new book by Buffalo Tom frontman Bill Janovitz teased the new material.
Curated by one of Ocasek’s longtime confidants, Hawkes received a collection of 20+ demo recordings, including ‘I Just Can’t Stay.’ A rare gem that featured vocals from both Ocasek and late bassist Benjamin Orr, it is believed to originate from their collaborative days before The Cars officially formed. After initial production work with Ed Valauskas and engineer Joel Edinberg, Hawkes invited drummer David Robinson and guitarist Elliot Easton to join the effort. Easton is said to have started adding his guitar parts in August 2024, starting with ‘I Just Can’t Stay’ and ‘Can’t Stop the Rain.’ The latter boasts an epic solo by Easton.
In his book Janovitz writes “Elliot’s twenty-five second solo on ‘Can’t Stop the Rain’ is sure to put smiles on the faces of fans, as it did for me.” “And he added a hook that runs through the song, completely transforming it from the version I heard months before. ‘There,’ I thought. ‘Along with Greg’s synth part, that’s how the band took Ric’s demos and turned them into Cars songs.'”
The project also includes ‘The Factory’ and ‘One by One,’ the latter believed to be the final track Ocasek was working on before his passing. Two additional songs — Crossing the Line and Crazy Over You — hint at a jazz-influenced direction Ocasek had been exploring, offering fans a rare glimpse into his evolving musical palette.
As it stands, there is no official release date for the project.
The book notes that the estates of Ocasek and Orr are said to be “optimistic that disagreements about Cars’ business would not get in the way of giving their fans unheard Cars music.”
Ocasek died at the age of 75 from hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in 2019.
His last music release was his final solo album, 2005’s Nexterday.
Orr lost his battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 53 in 2000.
The Cars formed in Boston in 1976, quickly becoming one of the defining bands of the late ’70s and early ’80s.
Their self-titled 1978 debut album delivered hits like Just What I Needed and My Best Friend’s Girl. They earned critical acclaim and commercial success across six studio albums before disbanding in 1988.
They reunited in 2010 and released the album Move Like This in 2011, but disbanded again shortly afterward. The band came together once more for their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2018.
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Author: Al Denté
Photo: Lynn Goldsmith; Distributed by Elektra Records – Public Domain