Released March 13, 1984 Release date 13 March 1984 | Length 38:41 Artist The Cars | |
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Recorded July 1983 – January 1984Battery Studios, London Nominations Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal Similar The Cars albums, New wave albums | ||
Heartbeat City is the fifth studio album by American rock band the Cars. Released in 1984, it was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Picking up a positive commercial response, the Cars had many tracks getting airplay, and singles "Drive" and "You Might Think" in particular both became Top 10 hits. The album also received supportive reviews from several critics; for example, Robert Christgau stated that "the glossy approach the Cars invented has made this the best year for pure pop in damn near twenty, and it's only fair that they should return so confidently to form."
Contents
- The cars heartbeat city 1984
- Background
- Cover art
- Track listing
- The Cars
- Additional musicians
- Production
- Charts
- Songs
- References
The cars heartbeat city 1984
Background
Heartbeat City contains a total of five American Top 40 singles. Of these, "Drive" and "You Might Think" were also Top 10 hits, reaching the #3 and #7 positions, respectively. A number of songs from the album gained significant radio and TV exposure; most notably "You Might Think" and "Magic", which both received heavy airplay on MTV.
The lead vocal on "Drive" was performed by bassist Benjamin Orr. The song's video was directed by actor Timothy Hutton. It features Ric Ocasek arguing with a troubled young woman played by model Paulina Porizkova. "Hello Again" had a video directed by the legendary Andy Warhol, who also appeared onscreen.
The single It's Not the Night reached #31 on the rock charts.The song "Stranger Eyes" was used in the theatrical trailer of the 1986 film Top Gun, but it never made it into the soundtrack. "Looking for Love" was later covered by Austrian singer Falco as "Munich Girls" on his 1985 album Falco 3.
When the Cars performed at Live Aid, they played three songs from the album ("You Might Think", "Drive", plus the album's title track) alongside the fan favorite "Just What I Needed".
The album was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. His commitment to the Cars album meant that he told Def Leppard he could not work on their album, Hysteria. However, due to delays in that album's recording, Lange was eventually able to produce it.
Cover art
The cover art (including an image of a 1971 Plymouth Duster 340) is from a 1972 piece by Peter Phillips called Art-O-Matic Loop di Loop.
Track listing
All tracks written by Ric Ocasek except where noted.
The Cars
Additional musicians
Production
Charts
Album
Singles
Songs
1Hello Again3:46
2Looking for Love3:51
3Magic3:57