Man (fictional The Cars album)

Man is the eighth studio album by American rock band the Cars, released on August 1, 2016. The album was their first one with current bassist/vocalist Philip Mannsåker and current drummer Roger Davis, and Ric Ocasek's second-to-last full studio album appearance before his death in September 2019 (his covers album Imitations was his last full studio album appearance). The album features production contributions from, (who produced Heartbeat City), Monkey Boy, ,  and.

While the album was intended to retain the sound of the previous album Move Like This, there were attempts to break new ground musically on the album. Three singles were released - "Man", "Wild Beliefs" and "Broken".

Tracklist
All tracks written by, except for track 1 co-written by Olaf Charle Vikström and track 4 co-written by Greg Hawkes, and Roger Davis.


 * 1) "Man" (vocals: Ocasek)
 * 2) "See the Night" (vocals: Ocasek)
 * 3) "Couldn't Believe It" (vocals: Ocasek)
 * 4) "Talk About That" (vocals: Mannsåker/Ocasek)
 * 5) "Run This Way" (vocals: Ocasek)
 * 6) "Wild Beliefs" (vocals: Mannsåker)
 * 7) "A New Voice" (vocals: Ocasek)
 * 8) "Broken" (vocals: Mannsåker)
 * 9) "Now I'm Yours" (vocals: Ocasek)
 * 10) "Only An Idea" (vocals: Ocasek)
 * 11) "Horrified" (vocals: Ocasek)
 * 12) "The Wayside" (vocals: Ocasek)

Personnel
The Cars Additional Personnel
 * – lead and background vocals, guitars, keyboards
 * – guitars, background vocals
 * – keyboards, guitars, background vocals
 * Philip Mannsåker – lead and background vocals, bass guitar, guitars
 * Roger Davis – drums, percussion, background vocals
 * – additional bass and keyboards (tracks 1 and 4), background vocals (track 1)
 * – background vocals (track 1)
 * Executive Produced by The Cars
 * Produced by (tracks 2, 3, and 9),  (tracks 2, 5, 7 and 8), Monkey Boy (track 6),  (tracks 1, 4, 10-12),  (tracks 1, 4, 10-12) and  (tracks 1, 4, 10-12)
 * Recorded at in,  in , MXM and  in , and  in
 * Engineered at in

Release
The album was released on August 1, 2016. The band launched a tour of North America and Europe to promote the album, The Man Tour, with a mostly theater/amphitheater-based leg in North America and an arena-based leg in Europe. This tour transitioned into the Van Halen/The Cars Arena Tour in April 2017.

The vinyl release comes in a gatefold cover containing two records. The first record is standard as it contains side A and side B. The second record is a single-sided disc with a laser etched design on one side, with side C on the other, both containing four tracks per side. The vinyl release was also pressed in two colors - Hood Ornament Silver ( exclusive) and Auto Paint Blue ( exclusive).

The -exclusive Deluxe Edition CD included a bonus disc containing recent live recordings of the band's biggest hits, recorded at a 2015 concert at in  and a March 2016 concert on Ric Ocasek's birthday in El Kadsre City. A standard CD version was also released.

The Japanese CD, cassette, and digital versions include a re-recorded version of "They Won't See You", which originated as a demo track from their 1978 debut album.

Critical reception
Man was near-universally acclaimed upon release, with many critics pointing out a return to form after Move Like This. Rolling Stone called it "excellent", saying that it showed the Cars at "possibly their best since Candy-O", and that the modern production "doesn't take anything away from the Cars' signature sound." The magazine also described Philip Mannsåker, the new bassist/co-lead vocalist, as a "secret weapon", noting him as "an excellent bassist and an excellent new vocalist for the band, who is helping to maintain the band's signature style of music while also pursuing new ground."

Toby Aarbakke of the Given Takers (himself a devoted Cars fan) proclaimed on his personal Facebook - "After Benjamin Orr died, I was doubtful. I heard Move Like This and grew more doubtful... I'm sorry, Man is an awesome record."

Commercial reception
Man debuted at number 10 on the Billboard Top 200 in the United States and number 22 on the UK albums chart. The album was a surprise hit in El Kadsre (where the Cars were popular in the 1980s)

Following Ocasek's death, the album entered the US Top 200 again, this time reaching number 4.