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THE CARS : LIVE AT THE AGORA 1978
- Intro / Good Times Roll
- Bye Bye Love
- Night Spots
- I'm In Touch With Your World
- My Best Friend's Girl
- Moving In Stereo
- All Mixed Up
- Take What You Want
- Don't Cha Stop
- You're All I've Got Tonight
- Just What I Needed
- Hotel Queenie
- Somethin' Else
Label : Elektra / Rhino Records
Venue : Agora Theatre, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Recording Date : July 18, 1978
Length : 53:36
Release Date : April 22, 2017
Review : Live At The Agora 1978 captures The Cars on July 18, 1978 at the Agora Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio, only weeks after the release of their self-titled debut album. The set leans heavily on that record, with "Good Times Roll," "My Best Friend's Girl," "Moving In Stereo" and "Just What I Needed" delivered with the same cool, clipped precision as in the studio, but with an extra edge of urgency in front of an enthusiastic crowd. Alongside the debut material, the band already tries out "Night Spots," which would only appear on Candy-O the following year, and closes the show with a cover of Eddie Cochran's "Somethin' Else." The performance shows a young band that is tight, confident and hungry, blending the hooks of power pop with the icy synthesizers of new wave, and it makes a fine document of the group just before their breakthrough.
Review (Michael Doherty's Music Log) : Like basically all upcoming events, Record Store Day has been postponed. It was scheduled for April 18th, and has been pushed back to June 20th. Will things be back to normal by then? Who knows? In the meantime, I thought I’d enjoy one of the Record Store Day releases from a few years ago, which somehow until now I’d left unopened: The Cars’ Live At The Agora , 1978. This three-sided album contains the show The Cars performed at The Agora Ballroom in Cleveland on July 18, 1978, just after the release of their first studio album. This record captures The Cars at their most energetic and exciting time, and features some of their best songs, including “Bye Bye Love” and “Moving In Stereo.” In fact, they played every song from that first LP at this show. Side A After a brief introduction (“Ladies and gentlemen, and the rest of you…”) and a goofy sound effect of a car skidding to a crash, The Cars kick off their set with “Good Times Roll,” a fitting opening. How many songs have titles that are variations of “Let The Good Times Roll”? I’m not sure, but I can think of half a dozen off the top of my head. After that song, they thank the crowd, then launch into “Bye Bye Love,” and here the energy gets really crackling. This was always one of my favorites, and here they deliver a great rendition, with some excellent work on guitar. I was fortunate enough to see Cars’ lead guitarist Elliot Easton play with the Wild Honey Orchestra just a few weeks ago, a treat for me as for one reason or another I never did see The Cars in concert. Then we hear “Hey, it’s good to be back home,” which must be from Benjamin Orr. Though The Cars were a Boston band, I think only drummer David Robinson was actually born in Massachusetts (he also played with Jonathan Richman). Benjamin Orr, who died in 2000, was from Ohio. And the band goes into “Night Spots,” which also has an electric energy. This is a song that would end up on their second record, Candy-O. After that, someone in the audience shouts out a request for “Just What I Needed,” to which the band responds, “You’re just what we needed.” But they don’t play that song right then. Instead, they go into “I’m In Touch With Your World,” a kind of quirky number that I dig. And that’s how the first side ends. Side B “So you’ve heard of us, eh?” they say to the crowd at the beginning of the second side. And they play “My Best Friend’s Girl.” The moment they start it, the audience responds. This song had been released as a single, as well as being included on that first album. It would later be included on that Greatest Hits album in 1985. It’s such a fun song. The band slides right into “Moving In Stereo,” which is my personal favorite Cars song. We all remember that scene from Fast Times At Ridgemont High, with Phoebe Cates getting out of the pool. A cool scene, and a cool song. From there, the band goes straight into “All Mixed Up,” a segue which works really well. “All Mixed Up” follows “Moving In Stereo” on the band’s first album as well. That’s followed by “Take What You Want,” a song not on the original debut album, but included as a bonus track on a later re-issue. I love the jamming on this one. Side C The third side gets off to a thumping and delicious start with “Don’t Cha Stop.” This is one you want to dance around to, or at least it’s one that I dance around to. They follow it with another fun rock song, “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight.” After that, the band thanks the audience: “Thank you up here and back there. Can’t see you all there. Are you back there?” Well, the moment they start the next song, “Just What I Needed,” I’m sure they’re aware of everyone in the place, up front and in the back, for the crowd is clearly excited to hear the band’s hit single. And the band delivers a fun rendition, certainly a highlight of this release. And apparently it was the set closer. But soon the band is back for a two-song encore. “Hotel Queenie” is up first, and is another song that was not included on that first album, but was included as a bonus track in an expanded re-issue. This is a wild, fast-paced rock song, with a punk energy, another highlight of this record. There is a slight pause before the band delivers the final song, a cover of the classic Eddie Cochran rock ‘n’ roll tune “Somethin’ Else,” a song that includes the lines “That car’s fine lookin’ man/It’s something else.” By the way, the fourth side is designed to look like a Cars tire tread across the vinyl.
Review (Sweet Purple June) : While some critics (and concert goers) have been known to whine and fuss about The Cars not being a ‘dynamic’ live act, no one can deny that when it came to the music, this band could recreate their remarkable studio sound flawlessly from the stage. Because of this, many fans have lamented that The Cars never released a live album during their active years together. Sure, there are a handful of bootleg recordings that make their way around the Fanorama, but not a complete live show remastered and released by the band, itself… until this year, that is! cars.agora1_ Photo courtesy of Joe Milliken. On April 22, 2017, Rhino Records put out a limited run of 5,000 copies of one of The Cars’ early live performances as part of the worldwide vinyl movement, Record Store Day. The Cars Live At The Agora, 1978 documents the energy and the fresh sound of the band at the beginning of their rise to success. Just to give you some context, The Cars consists of songwriter Ric Ocasek on rhythm guitar, and he trades lead vocals with long-time friend and bandmate Benjamin Orr, the bass player. Elliot Easton handles the lead guitar, while Greg Hawkes works his keyboards and David Robinson keeps everybody locked in with his drums. This five-man lineup started playing together in early 1977, and within 18 months they had a record contract in their pockets and their first album on music store shelves. With their debut single, “Just What I Needed,” gaining popularity on the airwaves, the band took off on their first major tour, spanning the United States, and including stops in Canada and parts of Europe. The Agora show here, recorded at the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland on July 18, 1978, for WMMS radio (about a month into their tour), is a shining example of the band’s ability to interlock their individual roles to create a tight, rollicking performance that keeps the listener bouncing from song to song. No, not a bunch of jumping around and physical gyrations, no long monologues or extended soloing by band members, no pyrotechnics; just an ensemble of creative and classy musicians doing what they do best: rocking the house. The set list for the night is an interesting blend, giving the enthusiastic audience a taste of where these boys have been and where they are going. Not only are there near-flawless performances of all nine incredible songs from their debut album, but The Cars also burn through some raging rockers from their regular club set (the hard-edged “Take What You Want” and the powerful punk of “Hotel Queenie”) and treat the crowd to “Night Spots,” which will show up on The Cars’ future album, Candy-O. They end the concert with a gritty cover of Eddie Cochran’s “Something Else,” letting Elliot take over the lead vocal on their last song of the night. Other audio delights pour from the speakers. Listen for Greg’s crazy-cool assortment of eclectic sounds on “I’m In Touch With Your World,” and then catch him later as he pushes the show in a whole new direction with his melodic saxophone (“All Mixed Up” and “Something Else”). Also, I love how you can really hear the power of David’s drums on “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight,” and how Elliot kills it on that classic guitar solo in “Just What I Needed.” My favorite tracks feature Benjamin pouring his all into the vocals, like on “Bye Bye Love” and “All Mixed Up;” you can just feel his racing pulse as he belts it out. And woven throughout the entire show are great harmonies, some highlighted backing vocals, and brief audience interactions that draw a smile. cars.agora2_ Photo courtesy of Joe Milliken. The cherry on top? Rhino Records really nails it with the packaging of this release. The signature red-and-black color scheme of the early Cars’ years, combined with the terrific photos of each band member and the reproduced hand-written show notes displayed on the backside of the album cover – it’s definitely a stare-worthy addition to the vinyl stack. Inside the cover are tucked two records; three of the sides contain the music, and the fourth displays what would prove to be the first in a series of custom etchings to grace the 2017 releases of Cars albums. Awesome! The vinyl is hard to get ahold of now, though there are still a few copies available floating around online (mostly from Europe). At this time there are no plans for the show to be released on CD; fortunately Rhino has now made it available digitally through several music channels. Click below to download the album. If you don’t have it already, get a copy – it’s a must-have for every Cars fan!