The Cars Surviving Members Working on New Album Featuring Ric Ocasek Recordings

The surviving members of The Cars are reportedly working on a new album using studio recordings left by frontman Ric Ocasek, who died in 2019.

The information comes from Bill Janovitz's new book, "The Cars: Let the Stories Be Told," which includes contributions from all three surviving band members: guitarist Elliot Easton, drummer David Robinson and keyboardist Greg Hawkes. Bassist and singer Benjamin Orr died in 2000.

Janovitz writes that a few years ago, Hawkes received more than two dozen tracks gathered by a close associate of Ocasek's. One song, "I Just Can't Stay," features both Orr and Ocasek on vocals and dates back to their time together before forming The Cars.

Hawkes began working on the material with producer Ed Valauskas and engineer Joel Edinberg before bringing in Robinson and Easton. According to the book, Easton started adding guitar parts in August 2024, beginning with "I Just Can't Stay" and "Can't Stop the Rain."

"Elliot's twenty-five second solo on 'Can't Stop the Rain' is sure to put smiles on the faces of fans, as it did for me," Janovitz writes. "And he added a hook that runs through the song, completely transforming it from the version I heard months before. 'There,' I thought. 'Along with Greg's synth part, that's how the band took Ric's demos and turned them into Cars songs.'"

Other tracks mentioned include "The Factory" and "One by One," the latter of which was reportedly the last song Ocasek worked on. Two additional songs, "Crossing the Line" and "Crazy Over You," are believed to have originated from a jazz-influenced project Ocasek was developing.

No official plans for the release of the material have been announced. However, the book states that the surviving band members and the estates of Orr and Ocasek "were all optimistic that disagreements about Cars business would not get in the way of giving their fans unheard Cars music."

The Cars originally disbanded in 1988 following a tour in support of the 1987 album "Door to Door." The surviving four members reunited in 2011 for the release of "Move Like This," but parted ways again after the album's promotional cycle, reuniting only for their 2018 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

"The Cars: Let the Stories Be Told," which explores each album and era of the band's career, is available now.


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