Heartbeat City

Heartbeat City
Studio album by The Cars
Released	March 13, 1984
Recorded	July 1983-January 1984
Genre	Rock and roll/New wave/Soft rock
Length	38:41
Label	Elektra Records
Producer	The Cars & Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Robert Christgau (B+) link Rolling Stone link
The Cars chronology
Shake It Up (1981) Heartbeat City (1984) Greatest Hits (1985)

Heartbeat City is the fifth studio album by American new wave band The Cars, released in 1984.

Heartbeat City contains a total of five American Top 40 singles, two of which ("Drive" and "You Might Think") were Top 10 as well, reaching #3 and #7, respectively. A number of songs from the album gained significant radio and TV exposure, notably "You Might Think", which had a memorable music video in heavy rotation on MTV in 1984 and 1985. Another hit single frequently seen on MTV was "Magic", in which singer/songwriter Ric Ocasek walked on water—that is, the water in a swimming pool at a backyard barbecue party. This song reached #12 in the U.S. The "Drive" video (directed by actor Timothy Hutton) showed Ocasek, who did not sing the song, arguing with a troubled young woman played by model Paulina Porizkova, whom Ocasek would soon marry. "Hello Again" had a video directed by the legendary Andy Warhol -- who also appeared onscreen, further raising the video's curiosity factor. The song "Stranger Eyes" was used in the theatrical trailer of the 1986 film Top Gun, but it never made it into the soundtrack.

When The Cars performed at Live Aid, they played three songs from the album ("You Might Think" and "Drive", plus the album's title track) alongside the fan favorite "Just What I Needed".

The album was produced by acclaimed producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange. His commitment to the Cars album meant that he wasn't able to work on the forthcoming Def Leppard album, Hysteria. (However, due to delays in that album's recording, Lange was eventually able to produce the album.)

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."^[1]

Full cover spread

Track listing

All songs written by Ric Ocasek except as noted.

1. "Hello Again" – 3:47
2. "Looking for Love" – 3:52
3. "Magic" – 3:57
4. "Drive" – 3:55
5. "Stranger Eyes" – 4:26
6. "You Might Think" – 3:04
7. "It's Not the Night" (Greg Hawkes, Ocasek) – 3:49
8. "Why Can't I Have You" – 4:04
9. "I Refuse" – 3:16
10. "Heartbeat City" – 4:31

Personnel

• Elliot Easton – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Greg Hawkes – keyboards, backing vocals
• Ric Ocasek – rhythm guitar, lead vocals on 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10
• Benjamin Orr – bass guitar, lead vocals on 4, 5, 7
• David Robinson – drums, percussion

Technical personnel

• Mike Shipley - mixing engineer
• George Marino - mastering engineer

Charts

Album

Singles

Certifications

Reissues

Notes