The Cars - 1979 - Candy-O (PBTHAL Vinyl Rip 2010) FLAC

PBTHAL Vinyl Rips

Rips of classic albums from the world-renowned turntable of Patrick Lee

Although the first album is considered by many to be The Cars' one classic album, I'd put Candy-O on top. If you like driving down the highway with your 6(or 8 or 10...) speakers blasting on high, singing along to a CD, Candy-O will make you delirious. Ear candy of the finest order, The Cars' second album has many bright spots - chief among them being "Nightspots." The extended intro to this song - with Elliot Easton's great guitar lick - just has to be one of the most sublime moments in rock. And although every other reviewer has already mentioned it, the segue between "Shoo-Be-Doo" and the title track, like sex, is shiver-inducing. It will have you coming back for more and more, skipping back to that last few seconds of the first song as you crank the volume higher and higher until your ears bleed, just to get your fix of that first note of "Candy-O." I swear, it's like crack. The other songs are merely great. And unlike the first album, there isn't a stinker in the bunch. Sure, "The Cars" is a masterpiece and "Panorama" and "Shake It Up" have their merits, but "Heartbeat City," while a good pop album, is not the Cars I had grown and loved and played air guitar to on my tennis racket. And the less said about "Door To Door," the better. It was "Candy-O" that made me believe rock and roll was heaven-sent. Those first two Cars albums ROCKED, pure and simple. I just wish they'd get their due because, damn, that was a good band. Without "Candy-O" and The Cars (with a little help from Blondie and Devo), rock and roll might never have bridged the gap between guitar and synthesizer/keyboards. The Cars proved you could have both AND rock. Buy Candy-O today. Your musical health depends on it.

The album cover was painted by artist Alberto Vargas, known for his paintings of pin-up girls that appeared in Esquire and Playboy magazines in the 1940s and 1960s. The idea to hire Vargas came from drummer David Robinson, the band's artistic director and a collector of pin-ups. The 83-year-old Vargas had retired several years earlier but was persuaded to take the assignment by his niece, who was a fan of The Cars. The painting, depicting a girl sprawled across the hood of a car, was based on a photo shoot directed by Robinson at a Ferrari dealership. The model, coincidentally named Candy, briefly dated Robinson afterward.

All songs written by Ric Ocasek.
Side one

1. "Let's Go" – 3:33
2. "Since I Held You" – 3:16
3. "It's All I Can Do" – 3:44
4. "Double Life" – 4:14
5. "Shoo Be Doo" – 1:36
6. "Candy-O" – 2:36

Side two

1. "Nightspots" – 3:15
2. "You Can't Hold on Too Long" – 2:46
3. "Lust for Kicks" – 3:52
4. "Got a Lot on My Head" – 2:59
5. "Dangerous Type" – 4:28

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