Background
Written and sung by Cars lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek,"Good Times Roll" was released as the third single from the band's debut album. [5] Ocasek wrote the song as a sarcastic commentary on the good times in rock music,saying,"That was my song about what the good times in rock 'n' roll really mean,instead of what they're supposed to be. It was kind of a parody of good times,really. It was kinda like not about good times at all." [6] [7]
"Good Times Roll," like the rest of the album,was produced by Roy Thomas Baker,who was responsible for the recording's layered harmonies. Ocasek recalled,"I just remember when we did 'Good Times Roll' in the studio in England on the first record,and we heard back the vocals. I told Roy that I thought it was way,way too much. ... But you know,it grew on me later and it sounded so smooth. It was a nice process to do it because Roy,you know,was fortunate enough to have a 40-track machine ... so he could do layering of vocals a lot." [8]
The song begins with electronic drums and a guitar riff,soon joined by Ocasek's lead vocals and synthesizers by keyboardist Greg Hawkes. The song notably features the lyric "Let them brush your rock 'n' roll hair";when asked if the line was a throwaway,Ocasek replied,"Not in my opinion. It's like 'let them do whatever they want to do.'" [9]
Reception
"Good Times Roll" has generally received positive reviews from critics. Greg Prato of AllMusic described the track as one of the "familiar hits" on The Cars and called it a highlight. [12] Cash Box said it is "a distinctive and impressive track" with "broad chorus and staccato rhythms." [13] The Billboard review of The Cars noted "Good Times Roll" as one of the best cuts,while Jaime Welton,author of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die,described the track as a "new wave gem". [2] Rolling Stone named the song one of Ocasek's "essential songs",praising the "hard-edged midtempo strut,blaring backing vocals,and Ocasek's stylized singing" in the song. [7] Ultimate Classic Rock named the song the fifth best Cars song,calling it "one of the best side ones,track ones ever." [14] [15] Classic Rock History critic Brian Kachejian rated it as the Cars' 7th greatest song,stating that the "forceful driving beat and loud vocal harmonies hit the listener hard in all its new wave rock and roll glory." [3] The song was also ranked among the band and Ric Ocasek's best by the New York Times , Esquire ,and Inquisitr . [16] [17] [18] Billboard felt that the "moody sound" provided a "nice cynical twist" on the good time lyrics. [19]
This page is based on this
Wikipedia article Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
