• Profile picture of The Jock of Rock

    The Jock of Rock posted an update 5 years, 7 months ago

    RockChat Rewind with Joe Milliken
    On this day in 1987 The Cars released their sixth studio album on the Elektra record label, and final recording featuring the late bassist and co-lead singer, Benjamin Orr. Recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, “Door To Door” would be the last album featuring the original lineup, and marked the end of the band until the recording “Move Like This” in 2011.
    Produced by band leader Ric Ocasek (primarily engineered and mixed by Joe Barbaria), by this time relationships within the band had become strained, and they would officially disband shorty after completing a tour to promote the release.
    Although considered by some critics and fans to be their weakest studio effort, the band did attempt to return to the formula of their early albums, recording tracks together in the studio, as opposed to relying heavily on overdubbing and drum tracking on their previous release, “Heartbeat City.”
    However, by this time, Ocasek’s grip on the band had become tighter, as he not only entered the studio with nearly completed songs for “the band to learn and perform,” but had also taken over the producer duties, as opposed to all their previous albums having an independent producer (Roy Thomas Baker, Mutt Lange) working with the band in the studio.
    Despite the growing tensions and eventual breakup of The Cars, “Door To Door” managed to reach #26 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart and two singles, “You Are The Girl” and “Strap Me In,” cracked the “Hot 100” singles chart, reaching #17 and #85 respectively. The album also featured two songs originally written and recorded during the earliest days of the band, “Ta Ta Wayo Wayo” and “Leave or Stay.”
    Share