Let The Good Times Roll

Good Times Roll by The Cars kicks off their eponymous 1978 album, The Cars. As an 80's kid raised on Billy Joel, Madonna, and Paula Abdul; I didn't know what to make of The Cars. The first time I heard them must've been fifteen years after their debut. Was this oldies or a new release? Is this rock, is this punk? Is this cool or nerdy? Why do these nerds seem so cool?

Good Times Roll is a killer pop song. We could leave it at that, but there are depths to plumb for those who want to. (It's me. I want to.)

As an album, The Cars is a masterpiece of polished production, like the clear coat on a sports car sitting under drive-in lights on a summer night. Good Times Roll is a shining example of this glossy production style. It sounds incredible, a testament to the band's musical prowess (keep in mind this was before digital recording techniques) and the influence of legendary producer Roy Thomas Baker. He also worked with Queen, Journ, Alice Cooper, and The Smashing Pumpkins. There's brilliance here in all senses of the word.

The opening guitar riff in Good Times Roll is not just meaty; it's precise. The right channel is filled up with an exacting, brawny energy. Synthesizer stabs from the left channel add a futuristic new wave dimension, while Ric Ocasek's signature deadpan vocal delivery sounds like snide comments from the back of the class. It's spare, weird, and sounds outstanding, drawing me in every time.

Instrument separation and focus are excellent. You can pick a sound source and listen to it through the whole song without getting lost. The instruments have little inner detail. It's been scrubbed away in favor of a sound that blurs the lines between electronic and organic tones. All the instrumentation is so precise. But there's plenty of detail on the lead vocal. Breaths and minor sighs are audible, making it an oddly intimate capture of a detached performance. Timbre is excellent; bright and dark sounds don't drown each other out and rarely get lost in each other.

Good Times Roll is a humorous and ironic song if one is inclined to listen intently. As is typical for The Cars, it's an easy-listening crowd pleaser with a LOT going on under the, uh, hood.

Data

Song: Good Times Roll
Album: The Cars
Artist: The Cars
Genre: New Wave, Pop, Rock
Year: 1978
Length: 3:46
Composer: Ric Ocasek
Producer: Roy Thomas Baker

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