Orr, Benjamin - The Lace

Year of Release: 2006
Label: Wounded Bird Records
Catalog Number: WOU 460
Format: CD
Total Time: 44:34:00

In 1986, Ben Orr stepped out of his role as front-man for The Cars to release his only solo record, The Lace on Elektra Records. Better than anything The Cars had released, The Lace was a brilliant album that found Orr moving away from his band?s eccentricities and spawned a Top Ten single, "Stay The Night." Two years later, in 1988, The Cars would break up and Orr would pass away on October 3, 2000 after a lengthy bout with cancer. Elektra would delete The Lace from its catalog, prematurely consigning the album to the cut-out bins and bestowing a Collector's Item status that endures to this day. Now, Wounded Bird Records celebrates the twentieth anniversary of Ben Orr?s remarkable album, re-releasing The Lace as it was first heard two decades ago.

Taken directly from the original master tape, The Lace sounds as it did, with the production of Mike Shipley, Ben Orr and Larry Klein intact. The arrangements are multi-layered and sometimes busy but never cluttered or confusing, and every instrument is easily discernable in the mix. The tone is bright ? ie, trebly ? and clear, and the mood is spry and uplifting, appropriately "poppy" even on the album?s sole "sad song," "When You're Gone."

Given the excellence of all ten songs, no one track really stands over the rest; which is strongest and which is weakest is simply a matter of individual taste. Me, I like 'em all, but "When You?re Gone," with its minor-key angst and poetic imagery, gets my vote for best track.

If there?s a gripe to be had with The Lace, it might be Orr?s choice to forego a drummer in favor of programming, but that?s quibbling. If you ? like me ? have sought unsuccessfully to get a copy of The Lace, then rejoice, your search is finally over. A huge debt of gratitude is owed to Wounded Bird Records for restoring to us Ben Orr's masterpiece and legacy. Don't miss out this time (especially if you?re a Cars/Orr fan); get The Lace and feel the magic, first chance you get.

Tracklisting:
Too Hot To Stop (4:19) / In Circles (4:30) / Stay The Night (4:24) / Skyline (4:06) / When You're Gone (4:48) / Spinning (4:26) / Hold On (4:29) / The Lace (4:19) / That's The Way (4:03) / This Time Around (5:06)

Musicians:
Ben Orr - vocals, bass, background vocals
Elliot Easton - guitars
Mike Landau - guitars
Larry Klein - keyboards
Diane Page - background vocals

Discography:
The Cars - The Cars (1978)
The Cars - Candy-O (1979)
The Cars - Panorama (1980)
The Cars - Shake It Up (1981)
The Cars - Heartbeat City (1984)
The Cars - The Cars Greatest Hits (1985)
The Lace (1986/2006)
The Cars - Door To Door (1987)
The Cars - Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology (1995)
The Cars - The Cars: Deluxe Edition (1999)
The Cars - Shake It Up And Other Hits (2001)
The Cars - Complete Greatest Hits (2002)
The Cars - The Essentials (2005)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin US

Added: September 6th 2006
Reviewer: David Cisco
Score:
Hits: 2851
Language: english