Sugar sugar

Candy-O - The Cars (1979)

Thanks to radio and MTV, the Cars are a band often better remembered for their long string of pop hits and quirky videos. Candy-O, however, serves as a reminder that this was a band also built to rock. Sure enough, there are pop hooks aplenty here to allure and bedazzle, but once the ignition is turned, Candy-O traverses terrain both honey smooth and rocky, masterfully fusing the bright and loopy with a subtly dark underscore.

The familiar "Let's Go", (88/100), is up there with "Start Me Up", from the Rolling Stones' Tattoo You (1981), and Chicago's "Introduction" from The Chicago Transit Authority (1969), as most appropriate songs to open an album with. The perpetual radio play over the years may result in exposure fatigue, but is also a testament to the song's captivating quality. Benjamin Orr delivers Ric Ocasek's lyrics with a confident gleam.

Ocasek handles most of the vocals himself on "Since I Held You", (82). Mostly a sugar high of a song, it is somewhat offset by a guitar recurrently declaring its edge. It's almost like a little hint as to what is going to happen when Elliot Easton lets loose on this album. "It's All I Can Do", (90), was another hit single. The guitar is ace once again but the song, a wistful yearning, is highlighted by the woo of Greg Hawkes keyboard on the chorus and synth strings on the last verse.

Sometimes when "Double Life", (87), starts, I think "Let's Go" is beginning again. Of course, the tempo is a little slower and after the first chord change at :05, it is clearly headed in another direction. The Cars are a great background vocals band. On this tune, as usual, they are simple but effective, adding aural depth as well as being fun to sing along with.

"Shoo Be Doo", (90), is a bridge between songs, beginning before "Double Life" even fades out. In its mere minute-and-a-half, the dark undertow hinted at in all previous Cars songs finally surfaces. Like a car spinning out of control, it entraps its listeners in synth echo nightmare before abruptly dumping them at the title track.

"Candy-O", (93), (http://www.mediafire.com/?hw2dvuxo8v3p49e), then, slams on the gas and accelerates the album. The Cars rock harder here than anywhere else, with Easton's guitar thrust into the driver's seat. At 1:17 begins eight seconds of absolutely molten guitar. The solo, like the song itself, could easily unfurl into an endless and beautiful oblivion, but its brevity ensures nothing extraneous and preserves a polished totality, fostering a thirst for more.

That being the case, even though listeners on vinyl get a much needed chance to catch their breath here, the flip to side two is usually not long in coming.

"Nightspots", (84), is another whirlwind track, beginning with a bubbly synth riff accentuated by laser-sharp guitar, and concluding with the unsettling robotic mantra, "It's just an automatic line." There is a malevolently mechanical feel to the song and a bombastic energy that becomes more apparent the longer the song goes. It really takes off at 1:17 and the instrumental bridge from 1:31 to 1:46 is outstanding.

Pop sensibilities come to the foreground in "You Can't Hold On Too Long", (83), and "Lust For Kicks", (76). "Hold" begins with a classic rock-n-roll kick, while an irresistible chorus and more nice guitar work as the song winds down keep it from a feckless fate. "Lust" writhes under a sugary synth riff, chronicling a star-crossed crush. The tempo drags a bit here, perhaps it's rush hour, but I always liked the line, "He's got his butane flicker, she's got it worse."

Fortunately, the energy resurges with "Got A Lot On My Head", (85). The keyboards are more effective here and there are plenty of cool noises in the background of the verses. The confessional chorus, "I've got a lot on my head, most of it's you", divulges the underlying obsession pervading this album's tracks. Candy-O only has this theme in common with much of rock and pop music in general. Of course, it's only obsession if it's unrequited. Otherwise, we can dress it up as inspiration or devotion.

The Cars sure know how to finish off an album. On their eponymous 1978 debut, "All Mixed Up" rocks seriously. Here, "Dangerous Type", (94), (http://www.mediafire.com/?upotr1bkuko7gq8), equals if not surpasses it. The chord progression on the chorus indeed produces an apprehensive impression, where each instrument converges in tight synthesis. The vocals are stirring, the guitars dense and the keys brisk. David Robinson's drums are spry and resolute, beating out fills while the song escalates to exquisite sonic coalition before sadly fading out.

Not on the album, "That's It" surfaced as the b-side to the "Let's Go" single and then again on Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology. A simple song about "letting it all go", it's another track sharpened by Easton's guitar. Also on Anthology, a sparse and menacing early demo of "Nightspots" with different lyrics, and "Slipaway", an unreleased track from this era but sonically set in the 1950s.

After Candy-O, the Cars seemed to veer more in the pop direction. This album, though, rocks harder than a twenty-year old jawbreaker while deftly avoiding being stale.

Candy-O (album): 86/100.