By
Matt Friedlander
The Cars released their final studio album, Move Like This, in 2011, and since lead singer and principal songwriter Ric Ocasek’s died in 2019, any new music coming from the influential New Wave group would seemingly be unlikely. On the contrary, in a comprehensive new book about the band, The Cars: Let the Stories Be Told, author Bill Janovitz has revealed that the surviving members are working on a potential new album using archival studio recordings by Ocasek.
The biography, which was published on September 30, incudes contributions from The Cars’ three remaining members—guitarist Elliot Easton, drummer David Robinson, and keyboardist Greg Hawkes. The band’s fifth member, bassist/singer Benjamin Orr, died of pancreatic cancer in 2000.
[RELATED: Start Your Engines: What Is the Cars’ Finest Album?]
As reported by Ultimate Classic Rock, the final chapter of Janovitz’s book reports that a few years aback, a close associate of Ocasek sent Hawkes more than two dozen unreleased tracks recorded by Ric. One of the tunes, “I Just Can’t Stay,” features Ocasek and Orr on vocals, and pre-dates The Cars’ formation.
After receiving the tracks, Hawkes worked on them with producer Ed Valauskas and engineer Joel Edinberg. He then invited Easton and Robinson to add parts to the recordings.
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According to the book, Elliot started adding guitar parts to some tracks in August 2024, beginning with “I Just Can’t Stay” and a tune called “Can’t Stop the Rain.”
Other songs that the musicians have been working on include tunes titled “The Factory,” “One by One,” “Crossing the Line,” and “Crazy Over You.”
“One by One,” reportedly was the last song Ocasek had been working on before his death. “Crossing the Line” and “Crazy Over You” are believed to have been intended for a jazz-influenced record Ric had started some years ago.
No official plans to release a new Cars have been announced, but the book suggested that the surviving members and the estates Ocasek and Orr were “optimistic” that all parties would be able to iron out any disagreements that might hinder the project’s release.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Janovitz was asked about the status of the potential new Cars album.
“I don’t know if it’ll be in an album format or a CD or whatever. But I think these [recordings] will come out,” he maintained. “I just don’t know if there’s going to be a more comprehensive collection or a boxed set. … But they’re going to come out in some way.”
The Cars: Let the Stories Be Told offers an in-depth look at the band’s history, its breakup and reunion, and the legacy and enduring impact of the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers’ music. The book features a foreword written by Hawkes.
Janovitz is the founding frontman of the acclaimed indie-rock band Buffalo Tom. He is also a bestselling author whose previous books have focused on Leon Russell and The Rolling Stones.
The release of The Cars: Let the Stories Be Told was celebrated with a special event held on September 29 at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. The event featured a conversation with Janovitz, Hawkes, and Robinson.
The author will be taking part in a few other Q&A events to promote the book in the coming weeks. On October 6, he’ll caht with renowned rock journalist David Fricke at the Rough Trade Below store in New York City. On October 8, Janovitz will participate in a Q&A with Easton and actor/producer Mike O’Malley at Wrensilva Listening Studio in Los Angeles.
Other promotional events are scheduled on October 22 in Amherst, Massachusetts, and November 20 in Lexington, Massachusetts, where Janovitz lives.
October 6 – New York, NY @ Rough Trade Below (with David Fricke)
October 8 – Los Angeles, CA @ Wrensilva Listening Studio LA (with Elliot Easton and Mike O’Malley)
October 22 – Amherst, MA @ Bowker Auditorium, UMass Amherst (with Jim Neil)
November 20 – Lexington, MA @ Follen Church Society (with Jim Sullivan)
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(Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage)
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