The Cars: Panorama

The Cars: Panorama

1980

Elektra Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl and Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Panorama  2. Touch and Go  3. Gimme Some Slack  4. Don't Tell Me No  5. Getting Through  6. Misfit Kid  7. Down Boys  8. You Wear Those Eyes  9. Running to You  10. Up and Down



This one tends to get a little overlooked...Hell, I overlooked it...I can remember going into the Hale Drug Store and seeing this in the cheap-o spinner rack in the late 90's  and thinking to myself "Huh? I never heard of this one..."

So it's the odd Cars album that I have almost no nostalgic connection to, but I enjoy it just as much as their other, more popular releases...

First off, this is the Cars album to play last at night...Maybe 3 am or so...When the sky is roughly the same color as the album cover...Instead of expanding their sound they make it darker and more claustrophobic...The metronomic drum pulse and the blackhole guitars of the opening title trackwill suck you right in if you're in the right frame of mind, and the off-kilter ska of "Touch and Go" is going to keep you there...Spooky, arty pop from a top 40 band? I love 1980!

The keyboard line on "Gimme Some Slack" is one of my favorite moments in the Cars' discography, poppy and dissonant...I get the vibe that they purposely avoided the easy pop hits and took a more unexpected route...I think you could do that back then...They put out an album every single year during this time, so if they went a year without ruling the radio it wasn't such a big deal..."Let's Go" was probably still playing and they would come out with "Shake It Up" the following year, so what was the harm, really? And I'm going to stand by my opinion that "You Wear Those Eyes" is the Cars' best ballad...I'm sorry "Drive," but "You Wear Those Eyes" nails that stormy, midnight feel so well...

But yea...A lot of this flies right past you the first listen or two, but now I love it all..The only song that's never grown on me is "Down Boys," which isn't horrible or anything, it's just that the melody and performance is somewhat pedestrian...I have to admit I tune it out sometimes...

 But overall, this is another good one...They put out one fine album after another during this period, so let's check out "Touch and Go" by the Cars. Enjoy...