Search - Cars :: Shake It Up

Doesn't this disc need RE-MASTERING?!?

tonyscam | Fort Worth, Texas United States | 08/14/2004

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I appreciate the content-based reviews, but some of us are long-time Cars fans who made their minds up about the songs many years ago. The question is, is this compact-disc everything it could be in terms of SOUND REPRODUCTION?



Regrettably not. The Cars albums were initially "dumped" to CD back in the early 90s, and it took a long time for the first three albums to be decently re-mastered. (Sadly, ART and LYRIC reproduction still has not been handled properly! Each new CD version looks exactly like the older, worse version!) As far as I can tell, Shake It Up and Heartbeat City have never been properly transferred. In other words -- they sound terrible.



Seems the problem is, Elektra's out of business. Certaintly, it's not a question of The Cars being able to sell records, since they ALWAYS DID, FROM DAY ONE. It's just not fair.



Somebody, please, obtain the rights and do The Cars right! Don't these pioneers of 80s sound quality deserve modern reproduction?"

Still Cruisin'

C. C. Thomas | Empire, CO | 06/17/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Once you get past the first two songs, i.e. "the hits", this becomes one very musically intriguing CD. The real reason, however, to buy this album is the song "A Dream Away". This one song is unlike anything else in the Cars' catalog either before or after it and arguably the best "non-hit" they ever recorded (a worthy runner-up might be "You Wear Those Eyes" from "Panorama"). I might be the only one who thinks so but I have my reasons. Beat poetry meets techno, "A Dream Away" should have spawned an equally trippy video though to my knowledge it never did. It also should have been included on the Cars' Anthology album but you can get it here. "Think It Over"'s pretty cool too."

Shake It Up

Z. Hilgefort | Lakewood, Colorado | 08/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A little more light-hearted this time around, a year after the darker textures of Panorama. Shake It Up is a wonderful album that's sometimes forgotten, stuck between their "commercial disappointment album" and their "commercial smash album". It all starts out with one of the band's most memorable tunes, 'Since You're Gone', with Ric Ocasek's charming rhymes and Elliot Easton's faux E-Bow solo. A true classic. The title track is also a true classic, featuring a neo-doo-wop groove that remains the Cars' most danceable tune. 'I'm Not The One' is a simply incredible ballad, one of their best. It wasn't released as a single until 1986, as a remixed version from the Greatest Hits album. The original is better, with yet another wonderful synth solo by the band's secret weapon, Greg Hawkes. It sounds downright gothic. 'Victim Of Love' is a more light-hearted ditty. I love Hawkes' giddy synth touches on this one. 'Cruiser' is an awesome rocker, a perfect cruising song, naturally. I haven't owned this album for very long, and 'Cruiser' has already become one of my favorite Cars songs, along with the next song, 'A Dream Away'. This song is astounding; a great mood created by a driving synth line and synthesized drums, coupled with Ric's moody voice and lyrics. Probably my favorite song on the album. 'This Could Be Love' is another moody ballad, and a great one at that. Could've made a good single, too. 'Think It Over' has a bit different sound for the Cars. Despite the synths, it feels a little more rockabilly than usual. Ben Orr's vocal, as usual, make this song jump from good to great. "Everytime you run around, it makes me wanna pop". Also would've made a great single. 'Maybe Baby' is a driving Ric Ocasek rocker with some pretty slick percussion. And that's the end of this short but sweet Cars album, their one and only album cut at their own custom studio, Syncro Sound in Boston. I wonder whatever happened to that place? Anyway, Shake It Up remains one of the Cars' more light, enjoyable albums and I never tire of it."