Unlocked: The Live Performances
Label: Docurama DVD
WorkNameSort: Unlocked: The Live Performances
As the Todd Rundgren’fronted New Cars have stalled out along the nostalgic cash-in freeway, this 70-minute collection of prime-era live footage produced by Ric Ocasek goes a long way to reminding fans of the original band’s icy glory. Ocasek’s facility in the studio, combined with performances that focused on playing music ‘ rather than dazzling audiences with light shows and pyrotechnics ‘ gave the Cars a reputation as a less-than-engaging live act. This DVD puts the lie to that, as revved-up versions of cuts like ‘Let’s Goâ?� and ominous interpretations of moodier numbers like ‘Moving in Stereoâ?� are presented full force. The video quality on the footage varies from middling to decent, but the 20 songs on this collection are consistently impressive. Also interesting is the behind-the-scenes footage that shows how asshole-ish the band members could be, especially to clueless journalists. For a cool bonus, the set offers a 14-track CD that amounts to the first live Cars album ever.
This article appears in Oct 18-24, 2006.