The Cars (album): Difference between revisions

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Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]
Robert Christgau	B+^[2]
Pitchfork	5.7/10^[3]
Rolling Stone	^[4]

The Cars is the eponymous debut studio album by American rock band The Cars. It was released on June 6, 1978 on Elektra Records. With the popular tracks "Just What I Needed" and "My Best Friend's Girl" getting heavy airplay on AOR radio stations, the album sold one million copies by the end of the year and steadily climbed the charts, peaking at number 18 on the Billboard 200 chart in March 1979.^[5] The album was ranked number 4 on Billboard's "Top Albums of the Year" chart for 1979.^[6] The Cars remained on the album chart for 139 weeks with four more tracks: "Good Times Roll", "You're All I've Got Tonight", "Bye Bye Love", and "Moving in Stereo", which all became radio favorites.

The album was critically well-received. Allmusic reviewer Greg Prato described the album as "a genuine rock masterpiece", and that "all nine tracks are new wave/rock classics" in their retrospective review.^[1] Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album No. 279 in its "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.

Cover art

The cover model is Natalya Medvedeva, a Russian-born model, journalist, and musician.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ric Ocasek, except where noted

Side one
No.	Title	Vocals	Length
1.	"Good Times Roll"	Ocasek	3:44
2.	"My Best Friend's Girl"	Ocasek	3:44
3.	"Just What I Needed"	Benjamin Orr	3:44
4.	"I'm in Touch with Your World"	Ocasek	3:31
5.	"Don't Cha Stop"	Ocasek	3:01

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Vocals	Length
6.	"You're All I've Got Tonight"		Ocasek	4:13
7.	"Bye Bye Love"		Orr	4:14
8.	"Moving in Stereo"	Greg Hawkes, Ocasek	Orr	4:41
9.	"All Mixed Up"		Orr	4:14

1999 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Vocals	Length
10.	"Good Times Roll (Live)"		Ocasek	3:39
11.	"My Best Friend's Girl (Demo)"		Ocasek	3:52
12.	"Just What I Needed (Demo)"		Orr	3:27
13.	"I'm in Touch With Your World (Demo)"		Ocasek	3:28
14.	"Don't Cha Stop (Demo)"		Ocasek	3:19
15.	"You're All I've Got Tonight (Demo)"		Ocasek	4:05
16.	"Bye Bye Love (Demo)"		Orr	4:07
17.	"Moving in Stereo (Demo)"	Hawkes, Ocasek	Ocasek	5:02
18.	"All Mixed Up (Demo)"		Ocasek	4:50
19.	"They Won't See You (Demo)"		Ocasek	3:56
20.	"Take What You Want (Demo)"		Ocasek	6:04
21.	"Wake Me Up (Demo)"		Orr	3:52
22.	"You Just Can't Push Me (Demo)"		Orr	3:27
23.	"Hotel Queenie (Demo)"		Ocasek	3:08

Personnel

The Cars

Ric Ocasek – rhythm guitar, lead vocals
Elliot Easton – lead guitar, backing vocals
Greg Hawkes – keyboards, percussion, saxophone, backing vocals
Benjamin Orr – bass guitar, lead vocals
David Robinson – drums, percussion, electronic percussion, backing vocals

Production

The Cars – arrangement
Roy Thomas Baker – production
Geoff Workman – recording, engineering
Nigel Walker – engineering
George Marino – mastering

Chart performance

Template:Wikify is deprecated. Please use a more specific cleanup template as listed in the documentation.

Album

Title	Released	Peak Chart Position, Weeks On Chart
Title	Released	US	UK	AU	NZ
The Cars	June, 1978	18 139	29 15	35 42	5 85

Singles

Title	Released	Peak Chart Position, Weeks On Chart
Title	Released	US	UK	AU	NZ	NL
"Just What I Needed"	May, 1978	27 17	17 10	96 1	38 2	-
"My Best Friend's Girl"	October, 1978	35 15	3 10	67 10	-	40 4
"Good Times Roll"	March, 1979	41 10

Notes:
line through box = did not chart
empty box = not released

Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA – U.S.	Gold	October 16, 1978
RIAA – U.S.	Platinum	December 27, 1978
CRIA – Canada	Platinum	June 1, 1979
CRIA – Canada	Double Platinum	June 1, 1979
RIAA – U.S.	6x Platinum	April 5, 1995

References

^ ^a ^b Greg Prato. "The Cars". Allmusic. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
^ Robert Christgau. "The Cars". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
^ Ryan Schreiber (20 April 1999). "The Cars". Pitchfork. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
^ Kit Rachlis (17 June 1997). "The Cars". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
^ Billboard March 24, 1979: 139
^ "Top Albums of the Year". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media: TIA-12. 22 December 1979. ISSN 0006-2510.

External links

Stream entire album online for free
The Cars at Discogs (list of releases)

[Allmusic-1] Greg Prato. "The Cars". Allmusic. Retrieved 17 February 2012.

[2] Robert Christgau. "The Cars". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 17 February 2012.

[3] Ryan Schreiber (20 April 1999). "The Cars". Pitchfork. Retrieved 17 February 2012.

[4] Kit Rachlis (17 June 1997). "The Cars". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2012.

[5] Billboard March 24, 1979: 139

[6] "Top Albums of the Year". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media: TIA-12. 22 December 1979. ISSN 0006-2510.

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@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 | Released   = {{start-date|June 6, 1978}}
 | Recorded   = [[AIR Studios]], London<br>February 1978
-| Genre      = [[New Wave music|New wave]], [[power pop]]
+| Genre      = [[New Wave music|New wave]], [[Rock]]
 | Length     = 35:40
 | Label      = [[Elektra Records|Elektra]]

v t e The Cars
Elliot Easton Greg Hawkes Ric Ocasek Benjamin Orr David Robinson
Studio albums	The Cars Candy-O Panorama Shake It Up Heartbeat City Door to Door Move Like This
Compilation albums	Greatest Hits Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology Shake It Up & Other Hits Complete Greatest Hits The Essentials The Cars Unlocked: The Live Performances The Elektra Years 1978–1987
Singles	"Just What I Needed" "My Best Friend's Girl" "Good Times Roll" "Let's Go" "It's All I Can Do" "Double Life" "Touch and Go" "Don't Tell Me No" "Gimme Some Slack" "Shake It Up" "Since You're Gone" "Victim of Love" "Think It Over" "You Might Think" "Magic" "Drive" "Hello Again" "Why Can't I Have You" "Heartbeat City" "Tonight She Comes" "I'm Not the One" "You Are the Girl" "Strap Me In" "Coming Up You" "Sad Song"
Other songs	"I'm in Touch with Your World" "Don't Cha Stop" "You're All I've Got Tonight" "Bye Bye Love" "Moving in Stereo" "All Mixed Up" "Candy-O" "Night Spots" "Dangerous Type" "Panorama" "Cruiser" "Blue Tip"
Concert tours	Road Rage Tour North American Tour Spring 2011
Related articles	Discography Songs Substitution Mass Confusion: A Tribute to The Cars BrainDead Glamour Camp
The New Cars	Todd Rundgren Kasim Sulton Atom Ellis Prairie Prince It's Alive! Utopia
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