Ric Ocacek & Benjamin Orr- Pre-Cars Demo Sessions 1974-1975

 

Many years later, as members of a popular band called, The Cars.

 

In the early days of this blog, a semi-regular feature called, "Before We Was Famous" (...Before He/She) featured recordings from musicians before they gained wider success or attention. Sometimes there were demos (Lou Reed, Uncle Tupelo), independent, self-produced recordings (Kathleen Edwards, The Refreshments, Emily Haines), early ignored releases (Mary Lou Lord, Norah Jones) or before a name change (The Shins (Flake), Fountains of Wayne (Pinnwheel), Electrocutes (The Donnas), Bangles (The Bangs), just to name a few that I can remember. I've always been fascinated by artist's early works and how they may or not differ from later works. Sometimes the music differs a lot, maybe through a direction change or an attempt to have more commercial appeal. I often wonder if some artist's early works display their "true" sound and how and what influences their direction. Sometimes it's just a matter of polishing up their sound, with better production or a producer that can act as an editor that presents a more cohesive sound.

 

Benjamin Orr And Ric Ocasek had played in a variety of bands (Milkwood, released one album) before forming, The Cars and they recorded several demos with different lineups as, Richard and the Rabbits, Ocasek & Orr and Cap'n Swing. What we have is a sampling of some of the songs recorded during those sessions that included other future Cars, including Greg Hawkes (Richard and the Rabbits, Ocasek & Orr) and guitarist Elliot Easton (aka: Elliot Steinberg- Cap'n Swing). The info file includes the complete lineups of the groups that recorded these demos. My initial impression of these songs is that it sounds nothing like the Cars, even though the Cars would form in 1976. The sound of these demos are full band, fully produced songs and the sound quality is good. Their style sounds like the early 70's, slick, over-produced, something Todd Rundgren would put out. Interesting, but not overly original or anything that stands out. It's a respectable collection of songs and somehow Orr, Ocasek, Easton, Hawkes and former Modern Lovers drummer, David Robinson altered and revamped their sound to produce a much more unique and appealing sound on the Cars debut album, which is considered one of the best debut albums from the 70's.

Enjoy!

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

Do NOT convert to lossy formats, except for personal use

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Ric Ocasek
Benjamin Orr
Demo Sessions Circa 1974-75
Studio Unknown
Location Unknown but presumed Boston, MA

JEMS Transfer: 1970s Demo Cassette > Nakamichi CR-7A (azimuth adjustment) > Sound Devices USBPre 2 > Audacity 2.0 capture 2496 > MBIT+ resample to 1644 > iZotope RX8 > iZotope Ozone 8 > Audacity > TLH > FLAC

01 Harlequin (Richard and the Rabbits)
02 Sam’s Decision (Richard and the Rabbits)
03 Mid Spring
04 Your Always Brighter (with guest vocals and different than the Cap'n Swing version)
(recorded as "She's Always Brighter" by Richard and the Rabbits at some time)
05 Never Gonna Get Over You (different than circulating Ocasek & Orr version)
06 Twilight Superman (different than circulating Richard and the Rabbits & Cap'n Swing versions)
07 Everyday (same as circulating Ocasek & Orr version)
08 Start It All Again (a Richard and the Rabbits version was recorded at some time)

RIC OCASEK and BENJAMIN ORR- 1974-1975 The Pre-Cars Demo Sessions FLAC. rar