Note: thanks once again to post character restrictions, and my running off at the mouth, this section has AGAIN to be split into two. Sorry about that.
Time to check out the solo career of another musician. The first edition of this section concentrated on Phil Lynott, which in a way was easy, as he only had two solo albums before his untimely death. Our next guest, however, is still very much alive and has produced, to date, eight solo albums, with more no doubt to come. We're going to concentrate on just four of them here, in order to give you an overall view of his body of work, and how it differs --- if at all --- from his work within the band.
Yes, it's that man from the Cars, he of the distinctive voice and the weird looks, and indeed weird name, Ric with a “c” Ocasek. In between guiding the Cars through a successful series of top albums and hit singles during the seventies and eighties, Ocasek has found time to record a slew of solo albums. Are they any good? Let's check them out, shall we?
Beatitude --- 1982 (Geffen)
The debut solo is always the hardest, especially if you've been --- or still are --- in a well-known band. Most of your fans or potential audience are going to buy your new album because they like your band, but that's a double-edged sword, as they are more than likely also going to want/expect to hear the same sort of music that they've liked hearing you play or sing in the band. And as a solo artist, you probably want to make a statement, stand out from your work with your fellow bandmembers and do something a little different. Will your legion of fans accept this? And should you then try to pander to their desires, or go your own way, in the hope they will understand, “get it” and follow you regardless?
“Beatitude” seems to follow the line of least resistance, at least in terms of commerciality, as it opens with a very Cars-like tune, “Jimmy Jimmy”, with thumping bass and handclap drums, and Ocasek's distinctive vocal, a melody which in fact sounds more than a little like “Shake it up”, from the Cars album of the same name; breathy synth, very new-wave. It almost sounds like a song getting ready to get going, which never actually does. No huge departure then, at least at first. Cars fans will be relatively happy: the band could have played this song. Next up is “Something to grab for”, with more guitars whereas the opener was driven by keyboards and synth. Again it's very much a track in the style of the Cars. No bad thing, to be sure, but it would be nice to see Ric stretching his creativity and (god how I hate this phrase, which has become so overused, but it is appropriate here) stepping outside his comfort zone. (Actually interesting, that, as one of his other solo albums is called “Fireball zone”...)
Ric sings, plays guitar and keyboards, and also produces this album, so it's very much his project, though he does call in one of his mates from the Cars, keyboard player Greg Hawkes, to help him out, and in fact Hawkes helps him write one of the songs, though in fairness Ocasek writes every other track on the album himself. “Prove” opens on a spacey, dramatic synth line then gets rather funky with slap bass and dancy keyboards. At least this is not something you'd hear on a Cars album! If anything, it resembles more closely something you might find David Bowie singing, and it's certainly a departure from the norm for Ocasek, the first time he's stepped out of the box and tried something new. There's also some real cool sax on the track, thanks to Deric Dyer.
It's back to the comfort of the Cars then for “I can't wait”, with sampled keyboard and tinkly digital piano, and the use of Linn drum machines throughout the album gives it a very
Europop feel, not as soulless as their use on some other artistes' albums comes across, but still it would have been nice to have had a human drummer, even on some of the tracks. Next up is probably the standout, “Connect up to me” is also the longest track, coming in at just under seven and a half minutes, with pulsing bass and slithering keyboards, a nice fast beat, again quite akin to a Cars track, most notably I would say “Looking for love” from “Heartbeat City”, but no worse for its similarities. The synth samples work very well here, and the keyboard sections really are smooth and luxurious, building quite the wall of sound.
I've noticed that the Cars, both as a band and in solo projects, tend to --- borrow, shall we say? --- themes, melodies and riffs for their songs, and here you can clearly hear the opening riff from Joe Jackson's “Is she really going out with him?” in the opening bars of “A quick one”, which is a nice little song with definite Cars overtones but still individual enough to qualify as one of Ocasek's own. The next one up, “Out of control”, is that song I mentioned on which Greg Hawkes co-writes, and it's understandably keyboard-heavy, as both of them play keys, but with a sort of reggae beat and a little hint of Peter Gabriel in there somewhere. Interesting song, in that it more or less maintains the same melody all the way through, with no real verses or chorus.
“Take a walk” maintains and expands on the reggae influence, with keyboards that sound like the effects from an old eighties computer game and a heartbeat bass giving the song quite an infectious rhythm. Another recognisable melody opens “Sneak attack”, that of Billy Joel's “My life”. This time though it's not just the opening, as the basic riff continues throughout the track. It segues directly into the closer, the decidedly weird “Time bomb”. Carried on pulsing, ominous bass and wailing keyboards it moves toward a crescendo, with a good guitar solo, nice to hear after the over-preponderance of keyboards.
So, not a bad first effort, though a lot of it could certainly have been done within the framework of the Cars, but perhaps Ric just wanted more control over this project, or to make it more personal. Either way, I would say a good job, but nothing we haven't heard before really. Which is not a problem, as I see it.
TRACKLISTING
1. Jimmy Jimmy
2. Something to grab for
3. Prove
4. I can't wait
5. Connect up to me
6. A quick one
7. Out of control
8. Take a walk
9. Sneak attack
10. Time bomb
And so it's on to the next in his catalogue, which is in fact his second album, released four years later.
This side of Paradise --- 1986 (Geffen)
Ocasek's second album more or less picks up where the debut left off, with an unashamed rip-off of his own “Heartbeat City”: it's staggering how like the title track to their chart-busting album the opener, “Keep on laughin'” is. I suppose you can't be too hard on him: after all, “Heartbeat City”, and indeed most of that album and previous Cars output, was all written by him, so it's not like he's ripping anyone off, other than himself. It is a little disappointing, however, that there's a lack of originality from the outset.
Roping in more famous musicians for this album, Ocasek recruited the likes of Steve Stevens, Tony Levin and Roland Orzabal to help him create his second solo opus, as well as most of the Cars: Benjamin Orr sings background vocals, Elliot Easton plays guitar and Greg Hawkes reprises his keyboard and bass role from “Beatitude”, as well as again collaborating on one song with Ocasek, to push this album much closer to being a full Cars album than the previous one. “True to you” is another boppy Cars-like song, while “Emotion in motion” is the first ever solo ballad from Ocasek (“Beatitude has none), a lovely little track with a melody which would later surface in part on a track by Nanci Griffith, on her “Storms” album, released two years later.
Again, the album is very keyboard-oriented, with not too much guitar in evidence, despite the fact that there are, including Ocasek himself,
six guitarists playing on the album! Not exactly an axe attack, though! “Look in your eyes” has a very Judie Tzuke vibe, with a decent amount of guitar, but despite the fact that this time there
is a human drummer, Chris Hughes, the percussion on this track still sounds very mechanical, as if created on a Linn or somesuch drum machine. “Coming for you” is a big, brash, dramatic track with heavy, stomping drums and ominous keyboards, and some rather heavy guitar. Reckon that's our Steve Stevens there: has his sort of style and flair.
“Mystery” brings everything back to synth-pop/electronic with an inoffensive little tune without very much to remember it by, then we're into another standout, and the second ballad on the album. “True love” is a great little song, with many Cars touches, nice keys and samples, good little bass line and some great backing vocals, not to mention a gorgeous Spanish guitar solo. The really weird “P.F.J” --- stands for, would you believe, Pink Flag Joe? --- is very much a Ric Ocasek creation, as he sings
”Pink flag Joe/ With his wealthy lips/ He goes to movies/ That don't exist.”
“Hello darkness” is the one track not exclusively written by Ocasek, the one Hawkes helps him out on, but to be fair you wouldn't know, as it's not that much different to anything else here really. The title track closes the album, and it's a powerful and assured ending, the longest track on the album at just barely over eight minutes, and as such, the longest Ocasek solo song to this date. “This side of Paradise” comes in on gentle, almost Doors-ish keyboards with tom-toms and guitar, loping along at a nice mid-pace, with a really infectious keyboard hook. Some pretty frenetic drumming ensues about halfway through, and the track ends on a nice dirty guitar riff to fade, before there's a reprise of the theme from “True love” to finish off the album.
On balance, although “This side of Paradise” (the album) is better than its predecessor, it doesn't differ from it that wildly, in that most of the tracks could have gone on a Cars album, so we're not seeing any signs of Ric Ocasek suddenly breaking out into other genres or bringing in outside influences. Still, as albums go, and indeed as solo albums go, neither of these can be faulted really. Of course, there's nothing that actually marks them out or makes them stand head and shoulders above any others, but they're at least holding their own.
TRACKLISTING
1. Keep on laughin'
2. True to you
3. Emotion in motion
4. Look in your eyes
5. Coming for you
6. Mystery
7. True love
8. P.F.J
9. Hello darkness
10. This side of Paradise
(Stay tuned for part two, coming right up!)