Original Album Series [5 Pack]

Well worth it! If like me you're into the late 70's/early 80's New Wave Pop/Rock scene then you'll love this collection.

Very unusually for this series, the albums featured here are the band's first five, from their 1978 debut to 1984's Heartbeat City and as always when you get a complete sequence of recordings, part of the fascination is hearing the progression from album to album. In fairness, there isn't actually too much progression here, at least not when you compare them to contemporary New York bands like Talking Heads who moved over the same period from edgy pop to funky R&B. The Cars always seemed to be a little bit safe and sanitised and that surely accounted for their greater popularity in the US compared to their US new wave peers, albeit at the cost of less success in the UK and much much less critical acclaim generally. So why buy this set? Well simply because they really were rather terrific at doing what they did! The first three albums here are a little too polished maybe, but still jam packed with catchy pop tunes and great keyboard/synth riffs, courtesy of Ric Ocasek and Greg Hawkes, and the production is excellent particularly when the tracks are allowed to run into one another. The 4th album is perhaps the weakest here although peversely giving them their first Top 10 US single and the 5th is also notable mainly for the singles including the anthemic "Drive". These albums may be period pieces, but they are also outstanding examples of US pop music of that time.

One of the best bands of the 70's onwards, The Cars produced consistently great albums - well written songs and great production. This set shows just how good they were - their first five albums - and should be in your collection.

Described as punk, I'd put it more as halfway between Hipsway and Prefab Sprout. I really like this band never having come across them before. Like so many, the vocals are buried pretty deep in the mix, so be prepared to listen carefully. There's some quite clever stuff in these. Enjoy!

Great price. Delighted with purchase. Love it.

perfect box delivery fast and safe the cars good music

I used to get a bit fed up of hearing 'Drive' so much, especially on compilations, and tended to write them off as a one song soft rock outfit. But then I picked up one of their cds in a charity shop and realised that they were more than that. They actually wrote some decent rock songs as well. When I saw this box set at well under a tenner I decided to give them another go and wasn't disappointed. If you like a good rock song these five albums will certainly come up with the goods and will leave you humming one or two of the other songs that 'Drive' tends to overshadow. Recommended.

I was put off buying this for a while by some of the reviews that suggested the discs might not sound good. Finally bought it and they sound fine. The first album sounds the same as the one in the deluxe reissue. Heartbeat City sounds the same as my original cd. I mainly bought it for the middle three discs and am more than happy with them.

nota 10

Discos que forman parte de la historia del rock. La presentación es "normalita": réplica en cartón de la portada en vinilo, sin letras ni libreto de fotos. El precio es imbatible. Totalmente recomendable.

Si vous aimez The Cars, il n'y a aucune raison de laisser passer une pareille offre. Les cinq CD réunis ici valent à eux seuls tous les "Best Of" qu'on pourrait sortir sur ce groupe génial. Ils renferment quasiment tous les meilleurs titres et leurs petits frères qui pourraient rester en rade dans une compilation où il faudra bien faire des choix pour garder ce qu'on estime être le meilleur. Ici vous avez tout : le cinq majeur, la meilleure main de la partie de poker, etc. pour une somme tout à fait raisonnable qui vous met le CD à moins de 5 euros. Une petite somme pour un grand groupe et un grand compositeur (Rick Ocasek) trop méconnus à mon avis, de ce côté de l'Atlantique. On peut acheter les yeux fermés pour le plaisir des oreilles.

Excelente material, lo recomiendo paro los Fans del Grupo.

Five albums for the price of one. Wore out a Candy-O 8-track back in the day. Had almost forgotten just how good this album really was. Candy-O, and so much more to enjoy.