Revisiting the Expanded Editions

On March 30, 2018, Rhino Records released expanded editions of the fourth and fifth albums in The Cars catalog: Shake It Up and Heartbeat City. I wrote a review about SIU for Standing Room Only not long after the album set came out, and I started an article on HBC, but then I had the honor of jumping into the Let’s Go! book project with Joe Milliken and almost all other writing projects were (eagerly, I confess) pushed off to the side for a time.

Now that things have slowed down a little I’ve been dusting off my piles and I finally got around to completing my thoughts on HBC, just in time for the one year anniversary of its release. As Joe says, better late than never. I’m thankful for his philosophy, particularly since it is HIS website I wrote these for! Haha!

So here are the links to these two most recent scribblings (photos courtesy of spj).

 

Click here to read all about the Shake It Up expanded edition, and …

 

 

 

Click here to check out my thoughts on the Heartbeat City reissue.

 

 

If you’d like to hear what I had to say about the previously released expanded editions, start with this blog post: And “Panorama” Makes Three! I also covered the Agora album here: Live At The Agora, 1978.  While you’re down that rabbit hole, be sure to check out Standing Room Only‘s Facebook page for more great articles about the arts and entertainment scene in the greater New England area and across the nation!

Oh… a little P.S. The article I wrote about the Agora album is the one that was quoted at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last summer. I’m still giddy over it!

Photo courtesy of @night_spots

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Lyrics: Will You Still Love Me Tonight

Will You Still Love Me Tonight by Cap’n Swing

I’ve put this off for a long time:  trying to decipher the lyrics to this rockin’ song. The unfortunate sound quality makes it brutal! Still, I’ll do my best because I love it and Ben sings it, and because I’m sure the words are so cool. Feel free to help me out if you’ve got any insights for me — it’s a bit of a mess. 

I’ve been a … A happy man

You don’t have to twist my head to see where we landed, yeah

Yeah, I’ve had my share of the pleasure

I’ve had my fill of man

 

Will you still love me tonight

We can make it until the twilight

Will you still love me tonight

 

I’ve been a misdemeanor over here, breaking the law

I had a … person up here, taking a fall

I hear the…

I’m having a ball, yeah

 

Will you still love me tonight

Can we make it to the twilight

Will you still love me tonight

 

Would you love me tonight? Would you love me tonight, tonight?

Would you love me tonight? … Alright…

 

I hopped a freight train to nowhere, it didn’t take long

A heard hundred who that told me that they couldn’t be wrong, yeah

And it was still at a party and you … too long, alright

 

Will you still love me tonight

Could you make it until the twilight

Will you still love me tonight

 

Would you love me tonight? Would you love me tonight, tonight? Would you love me tonight?

…Alright… shake it up

[Ben: “Thank you.” Ric: “We’re off for a little bit, uh… we’ll be right back. Thank you.” Ben: “Stick around, get high, enjoy yourself.”]

Quoting Benjamin

With regard to Cap’n Swing not realizing its full potential: “It was a big disappointment to me. I was doing out-front lead singing, and that never felt right. It wasn’t until The Cars that things started feeling right.” ~ Herald & Review, September 24, 1980

In other words:

“Ben was the better singer, the more melodic. Ric had his stylized quirky thing going. But especially early on, people used to say they couldn’t tell ’em apart, especially on the first couple of albums.” — Greg Hawkes, Best Classic Bands, published April 12, 2018

 

 

 

It reminds me of him.

The lyrics here are amazing. Change the red lingerie for red pants and they are perfect.

“Sweet” by Cigarettes After Sex, ©2015

Can’t forget about you.

It’s funny how my little obsession can change courses. Since Joe Milliken brought me on board to assist him with the publishing and promoting of Let’s Go! Benjamin Orr and The Cars, it’s still been ‘all Ben, all the time’, but rather than researching and gushing and pondering (and writing about it all), my main Ben focus has been doing everything I can to share the book (and through it, Ben’s legacy) with the world at large. This has been an honor and a delight to me, though it hasn’t left much time for me to immerse myself in just HIM, purely for pleasure.

After the Cleveland book event in January my schedule eased up a bit; not quite the pressure cooker it had been leading up to that party. Coincidentally, around that same time my sweet friend Ingrid (who also happens to be a research genius) pointed me in the direction of some photos of our man that I hadn’t seen before, and down the rabbit hole I went.  Something about seeing rockstar Ben through new lenses has pulled me back into his bubble of beauty and I’m enjoying just sitting back and adoring him again.

I’ve posted my favorites of the photos on Facebook, but I realize not everyone who reads this blog uses social media. So here you go:

The pictures are outtakes of the Candy-O album cover photoshoot and were taken by Jeff Albertson. Here is the link to the full stash, which includes some great photos of the whole band, as well: Candy-O Outtakes. Aren’t they amazing?

Of course, thinking about posting those here on my blog reminded me of a few other things that I’ve put on Facebook and Twitter in the last few months, but that haven’t found their way to an article here yet. Brace yourself!

These pics below were taken by Peter Simon and were part of a series of photos labeled “CARS!” ca. 1984. I love them!

Oh, and this! A devoted fan found it last fall and posted it in one of the groups, and was very generous to give me permission to share it. Now, even though the interviewer comes across as a putz, and Ben seems a little out of sorts at the beginning, and there is that watermark to contend with… still, isn’t it fabulous? Live interview footage of Ben is SO rare! I am hugely thankful we have it.

And here are the most recent photos that I’ve posted over there: Ben from 1981. You know I love those Panorama days! And that jacket with the #11 domino on the sleeve? Squeeeee!

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I do have a bunch of other photos on Facebook, as well as videos of things like The Cars’ appearances on Saturday Night Live. If you’re already part of the flow, come find me on my sweetpurplejune page! If you’re not signed up for Facebook, I hope you’ll consider giving it a try. There are lots of Ben delights to be had. In the meantime, I’ll strive to bring as much of him here as I can. The journey continues!