Recently reading another article on this site which mentioned the Cars, I knew I had to write about this great album. The Cars were, and are, a pretty weird band. Just look at frontman Ric Ocasek's gaunt, goofy image, the simple album covers, or the super cheesey synth provided by Greg Hawkes. While they are probably known best as a New Wave band and their eponymous debut, The Cars' 1984 album, Heartbeat City, is easily my favourite, and a quintessential 80's album.
On previous albums, the Cars' sound was rooted in simple rock and roll structures, sometimes borrowing from 50's and 60s bubblegum pop, and given a unique spin with Ocasek's trademark stuttering delivery and Hawke's goofy keyboards. Here, the Cars enter the pseudo-space age of the 80's, with a massive production courtesy of Robert John "Mutt" Lange, who also produced Def Leppard's smash album, Hysteria. You will find a lot of similiarities between the two albums, particularily in the programmed drums and synth.
Heartbeat City really shines with this seemingly bizarre combination. It's like I Love Lucy drinking milkshakes on a space station imagined by Andy Warhol--exactly what the future sounded like in 1984. Music videos from this masterpiece feature freaks, 1980's cutting edge technology and even input from Warhol himself. And let's not forget Ocasek's bizarre lyrics, which he never explained. Unlike output by fellow 80's groups like the Talking Heads and the Police, the Cars always knew how to balance the poetic and artistic with accessibility.
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