The Cars-Heartbeat`City

Okay, so I can't get the photo to work but you should know what this one looks like anyway. If not, google it. There's a girl and a car and a whole retro 50's meets the 80's vibe.  But that's not important anyway.  What's important is the music.

And good music it is, too.  The Cars have always been a little misunderstood.  They had lots of hit records, of this there is no doubt.  But they also were boundary pushers in that they were one of the first and arguably the most successful bands to combine 70's guitar rock with New Wave synth pop.
 Because of their massive success as a pop act The Cars have been sold a little short as far as their musicianship goes, and have been slightly overlooked as  the innovators they were to the 80's music landscape.  Their first album came out in 1977, and by 1983 the formula had been copied by many lesser talents, too many to list here.

1984's "Heartbeat City" was the last great Cars album.  Another followed a few years later, and a surprisingly good reunion album came out a few years back, but this one represents The Cars at their commercial and cultural peak.  The video for "You Might Think" was in constant rotation on MTV back when they still played videos, and was almost entirely computer animated- a new exciting thing back in those days.  Sure, that would have been enough to get the song noticed on its own, but the fact that it's a pop gem made the whole thing work.

But that was only the first single.  Summertime classic "Magic" also appears here as does the synth driven ballad "Drive" which was a slow dance staple for a good many years after.  There are more goodies worth listening to here as well.  The opener "Hello Again" sets the mood off right, while songs like "It's Not The Night" and the ambitious title track make this an essential piece of 80's pop.

Up until this point, I had only heard The Cars on cassette back in the day, and recently on CD.  The first thing I noticed about the sound of this record is how expansive it is. The sound just really opens up to the lows and mids in a way that CDs just can't. Instead of the tinny mix that I've been used to hearing, my ears got a much wider sonic landscape that was not only a pleasant surprise but gave a lot of weight to what has been written off as just pop music for too long. Quite enjoyable.

4 out of 5 Daves.

 

Oh, there's that  picture! Why is it all crooked?