The Cars

The title track was a big hit and remained a party staple for most of the 1980s but it's the follow-up single "Since You're Gone" which remains one of The Cars' all-time best. Both cuts, and the oddly unsettling "A Dream Away," were FM rock staples and prove how deftly Ric Ocasek was at bringing underground sounds to the mainstream.

The new wave groups in the platinum bracket – the Cars, Blondie, the Police – got there
by playing chicken with clichés. Too self-conscious to rehash standard sentiments but too
pop-conscious to shut out listeners, they write terse, hook-filled songs that ride as close to
the edge of nihilism as they dare. Or at least near enough to keep themselves honest, to say
what they mean and shut up. If you're looking for ambivalence, it's right on the s... More >

They've always cultivated a dark side--girls make boys want to end it all even after the boys have grown up. They've always basked in the shadow of Roxy Music, too. But they've never been so stylishly nightmarish--except for the title cut, even the fast ones don't aim for fun. Gary Numan--everywhere you turn these days, Gary Numan is sitting with the lights out, staring off into space. (Grade - B)