The Cars Unlocked: The Live Performances

I don't want to mix my transportation metaphors, but The Cars Unlocked is one big train wreck of a music DVD. Compiled from live performances circa 1978-1987 that are regularly (and irritatingly) interrupted with the most obnoxious backstage footage and interview clips imaginable, this mishmash features 20 songs (not all of which are performed in their entirety) from the legendary New Wave band comprised of Ric Ocasek (lead vocals, guitar), the late Benjamin Orr (bass, vocals), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes (keyboards), and David Robinson (drums), including “My Best Friend's Girl,” “Let's Go,” “Just What I Needed,” “You Might Think,” “Tonight She Comes,” “Magic,” and “Good Times Roll.” Incidentally, The Cars—whose tightly-controlled studio pop punk sound is best described by the title of Toby Goldstein's biography of the band, Frozen Fire—never released a “live” album, and the reasons are evident in this musically middling film that is further hampered by washed-out looking images (A&E includes a disclaimer about the substandard audio and visual qualities, apparently meant to be overlooked by diehard fans—although even fans won't appreciate the cross-cutting between the music and the pointless backstage home video fodder). DVD extras include five bonus songs (among them, “Drive,” which is truncated in the actual program), an audio CD with 14 live tracks, and a 28-page booklet. Not a necessary purchase. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)