The Cars

Glam rock is so boring

All these older rock albums are ruining my recommendations algorithm... It is fine. Nothing special IMO. Great album art.

+1 for the album cover, +3 for just what I needed

The three songs that start the album, “Good Times Roll”, “My Best Friend’s Girl”, “Just What I Needed”, I was vaguely aware of as 80’s cheese. But, A) they’re actually from 1978, and B) within the context of this project they were pretty rocking driving fast with the windows down.

I will let the good times roll. But I will not let them brush my rock ‘n’ roll hair until someone can adequately explain what that is supposed to mean.

Some songs are good but as an album it is not for me 3/5

Not bad

Reminds me of Rocky Horror a little bit. Sounds pretty 80’s to me.

It was eh knew most of them

Fantastic debut album from start to finish. I meant to buy this when I was at uni but ended up buying Candy-O by mistake. Pleased to have rectified this inexcusable error 47 years later. Well worth the wait.

Dayum. This is just the entire 80s in one album isn't it? Very good pop rock. Bonus points for being trend setters.

Classic rock masterpiece!

Not my thing. Fav song: Just What I Needed

So much fun! Just What I Needed is one of those tunes I put on in my headphones when I’m a bit drunk and listen to 5 times in a row and get mad kicks from. And it’s feels like it’s probably the only track on here that’ll keep that status, but the rest sure are fun too. 3.5 stars really, and 5 for the drunken headphone sessions

Except for Just What I Needed, I don't know what to expect at all. My grandmother has their first compilation CD, and always says they were better in concert than Led Zeppelin. That's about as far as my knowledge on them goes. 01. Good Times Roll A really fun power pop anthem! Great lyrics! An absolute classic. 02. My Best Friend's Girl Absolutely cucking his best friend. Even at the time, I feel like this could be nostalgic. Reminds me of stuff from the 60's. 03. Just What I Needed Like, come on. This is an absolute classic. Put respect on da name. 04. I'm In Touch With Your World His vocals sound like he's singing through a pipe. The instrumentation is really weird, and not in a good way. It's neat, but I'll only listen to it if I'm listening to the album. 05. Don't Cha Stop Really forgettable. Didn't even realize I didn't write a summary of it as I didn't realize the song ended. 06. You're All I Got Tonight Favorite guitar work so far. Cool lyrics, but the concept has been done better already at this point. 07. Bye Bye Love The only synth work I've liked so far. Really great chorus too. Verses I could take or leave. 08. Moving In Stereo Really cool thing they do, having the stereo sound pan so much! Lyrics are pretty bare bones however, but the instrumental is good enough. 09. All Mixed Up A pretty cool closer. The lyrics leave a lot to be desired, but the instrumentation is fantastic. I found this to just be alright. It was cool, but except for a few tracks won't leave a lasting impression.

Förvånansvärt bra album som jag inte kände till sedan tidigare. Kan bli aktuellt igen.

Album does have several Cars hit songs and ones that most anyone would be able to recognize. It is a good album and one that I have listened to in the past. I think it is a solid 6/10 or 7/10. I will be generous and give it 4 stars as it does have some iconic songs.

Awesome album, solid top to bottom. Ran it over and over on cassette in my car when it came out.

Yes, it IS a greatest hits debut album. A ridiculous first shot. But also - these songs are timeless. They stay gold on your radio, in your ears, any occasion is Cars time. They somehow invented and perfected a new-wave romantic sound and just kept going. There are plenty more hits after these. It's the sheer confidence of the band that's impressive. You'd think it was their third or fourth record. Also this is my 666th review. Spooooooky

Liked almost all of it.

Bastante entretenido. Nada espectacular pero muy fresco y lindo de de escuchar. Bien envejecido.

This was a 10/10 album I was jamming the whole time every was good except maybe the first one was a bit repetitive but definitely a really good album

Very surprising album. The middle was a bit slow but overall I really liked the stripped down instrumentals but then the complex multi part vocal harmonies added another layer that I really enjoyed

This was a pretty fun album. The cars have some popular songs

Really solid top tier dad rock, reminiscent of the Talking Heads with the fun synth sounds and samples they have sprinkled in. Easy listening with some huge hits at the front end of this thing. I was pleasantly surprised having not listened to much of The Cars other than songs like Just what I needed, Good Times Roll, and My Best Friends Girl. 7.5/10

This is the rockiest rock album. It's good. I would listen again.

Has that Fugazi/Cure/Talking Heads vibe to it. You can feel a lot of 00s pop rock in it, with some calls back to Stones and the Who.

this album rules. i've always thought it was rachel mcadams on the cover too so it always made me feel safe. such great synths and riffs and beats. such a fun way to spend time and the most nostalgic melodies. some of the songs remind me of djo (i'm sure he took inspiration from this album) and makes me very happy. moving in stereo is absolutely electric.

Yet another band whose Best Of was a staple of my childhood (okay, I still have it on CD now!) but I don’t think I have ever listened to their studio albums. I think the tracks I didn’t know struggled to hold up against the ones I know far too well, so the whole album felt solid rather than spectacular.

Really fun album. Such dad vibes, but I love it.

This is fun. Cars are usually hit and miss for me. Side A is great. Gets pretty repetitive and boring for me, like the back half are poor imitations of the first.

Not for me

Litt kul, lik vibe på mye

Review - Another great example of an album which is a few really good singles and a bit of filler. I love the idea of powerpop but often find the execution too twee and that's definitely the case here. Just What I Needed is great. Honestly realised Best Friends Girl isn't that good a song. The rest of the album is pretty meh. Score - 5/10 Need to listen? YES

Run of the mill, innocuous rock music from the late 70s. That's the tweet. Nothing really special and that one song does a lot of the heavy lifting. It does get more interesting towards the end though. Highlight: Just What I Needed

My computer won't turn on so I had to use my vinyl copy to listen to this one. I forgot how fucking good this one is, great songwriting and great synth sounds. I should listen to this one more. :3

Could've eked out another star from me if they named themselves after a better mode of transit.

Awful pap.

Not my jam

Sort of forgettable unfortunately, but a fine listening experience just not something to go back to Playlist add: “Just What I Needed”

Terrifically fun album. Great debut. Short and sweet. Full of hits. 5/5

Pleasantly surprising, if a little generic (though I imagine somewhat ahead of its time as a late-70s release). Stronger A side overall but a decent listen. Fav tracks: Good Times Roll

Probably a victim of my high expectations, but I did not really enjoy this one. Obviously has some great hits

Wow that's a lot of Cars hits all on one album. Some really great stuff and really good hooks, but there's something about this album I can't get over. It's fine in small doses.

This is a really good album. It seems to get better the more you listen to it! This is not something my 18 year old self would agree with.....

Literally only one song I don’t care for, I’m in Touch With Your World. I am struggling where to put this album though. I don’t think I can put it at a 5 but it is a super solid album and is in my listening wheelhouse. Think I will call this an 8.7

One of my favorites.

My only previous conscious exposure to The Cars was Drive on a childhood compilation tape. This album predates that by a good number of years. It's rougher and more edgy and I'm all good with that. Opening track, Good Times Roll is a bit ploddy - feels like a slow motion Gary Numan track The next two songs, My Best Friend's Girl, and, Just What I Need - are obviously big hits - I just never knew they were by The Cars. Much more enjoyable garage rock fuzz, a little Patti Smith inspired, but with a big chorus. I'm In Touch With Your World passed me by somewhat Don't Cha Stop and You're all I've Got Tonight are probably my favourite tracks on the album. Fuzzy rhythm guitar and a good mix of class rock harmonies and post punky vocals. Overall the album is decent enough. I don't think it really holds a candle to other stuff released in 78 from Devo, Blondie, Patti Smith, Talking Heads etc.. but I didn't hate it. Solid 3 out of 5

Any easy five stars. So many good songs.

Liked this!

One of my all time favs. Desert island record.

I've always like The Cars singles, but have never gotten into them enough to buy an album. Listening to this one I was surprised at how many songs I already knew. Felt almost like a greatest hits rather than a debut. Still don't think I'd buy the album, but enjoyed the listen.

It's funny over all these years I have never listened to a full Cars album. Sure I have heard all the radio hits. So I surprised to hear that pretty much all those radio hits are on this one album. Well I guess if you are going to use that full bottle of Rocket Sauce, why not blow it on the first album!

You can categorize The Cars as a late-70s new wave band, and they fit the profile perfectly. BUT, there's something more. They sound of their moment but they stand out...way out...from the crowd. So many hits on one album, and each has its own texture, its own personality, and each one has endured for nearly 5 decades. I sound like a fanboy. But I personally gravitate more toward Talking Heads, The Clash, and P.I.L. (to name a few of contemporaries). The Cars are maybe too "pop" or too familiar for my tastes. BUT... I have nothing but respect, and I want to show that respect with a well deserved 5/5 rating.

An almost perfect track for track master class on new wave pop. There isn't much to this album in terms of depth, but the hooks, the production, and the vibe are strong throughout. It plays like a greatest hits album with very few weak tracks. Combine this with a hint of nostalgia, and you get the tip of the hat and go from a solid 4 to a 5.

Three of the most influential, well received, ironclad songs in popular music in a row, followed up by "I'm in Touch with Your World." That is the song that keeps this from a fiver; the influence, the staying power, the rewriting of the genre, you will find all the other building blocks here. Truly, not every one can be a slam dunk; sometimes, you slam the ball on the rim and it flies out of your hands, those are the breaks. But we are talking about doing that when your team is already winning by sixteen and your own personal double-double is secured. Recently I encountered these songs primarily as individuals on advertisements (get those dollar bills gentlemen) and listening to them in their original context on an album with decent headphones is a completely different experience. You will gain a lot of appreciation for the delicate arrangements that made this one a top selling record. It is bonkers how well The Cars held up.

The chorus of "Just What I Needed" was omnipresent in culture, and was the only song I was familiar with. The rest did not make much of an impression at all, and really blends in with all the other music of the era. Didn't hate it, but won't remember it.

Really fun! It feels nostalgic even though it’s all new to me

This was really fun! 3.5

Simple review. Loved it in 1978 and I love it still. A great album full of bangers. Too many highlights to name them all. In fact, they’re all highlights.

I always think of The Cars as a one hit wonder with Drive, so I’m positive surprised to hear this album.

Urgh not unlistenable but pretty rubbish

Closer to a Toyota carolla than a Ferrari, but I guess you don’t need a Ferrari if you’re just running down to the shops or dropping the kids off at footy.

Honestly, this was a 5 album for me not too long ago. But today? It’s waring out it’s welcome. 4 Boolean: True

Amazing album, so fun and full of catchy songs

Already listened to it. This is definitely my favorite The Cars album by quite a large margin. Enjoyable all the way through; I like this one. Favs: Just What I Needed, My Best Friend's Girl, Your All I've Got Tonight

Kuuntelin tätä pariinkin otteeseen ja vaikka tää oli tavallaan aivan hyvää musaa, niin jotenkin myös vähän rasittavaa. Hyviä ja hauskoja hetkiä kyllä riitti, mutta ei jääny mitenkään hirveen hyvin mieleen oikein mikään.

Upee kansi! Tää oli itse asiassa tosi jees! Hieno ja eheä kokonaisuus ja kiinnostavia yksityiskohtia. Tosi hilkulla nelosta - täytyy koittaa muistaa palaa tätä vielä mehustelee ja makustelee et kääntyiskö vielä kuitenkin.

Nyt oli kyllä jotenkin niin toisesta korvasta sisään ja toisesta ulos. Ei meinaa enää viikonlopun jälkeen muistaa, mitä kuunteli. Siksi kakkonen ei lie liioittelua.

Light, bouncy and upbeat, this album is fun to listen to.

I had yet to put this album away after my last listen (a little over a day before it popped out of the generator) so all I had to do was flip it back over to side A and start listening again. This is one of my favorites. I can definitely see why overexposure on the radio would put a lot of people off, but I've never gotten sick of any of them... and come on, this album is half hits!

The Cars were a fun band. Great debut album of well-crafted pop rock songs.

New wave, power pop, electronic rock.

It took me quite some time to review this album. I listened to it several times now and still have questions without answers. The most burning question I had while listening to the album for the first time was, if The Cars are serious about their music. I wasn't sure if they were genuine about the incorporation of some harmonies straight out of Queen songs, if the more pop-leaning elements are just for the fun of it, if they thought they were playing a game with the audience and making a fool out of them. After a few more listens i came to the conclusion that it might not matter - maybe it's not genuine, maybe they are just trying some things out and see if they can make it work. Experimentation can go both ways, I guess. And experiment they do - they manage to sell you an album that pulls from different places that could become quite dizzying and disorientating. That disorientation never really left me -at the end, I cannot really wrap my head around what The Cars are doing here. The powerpop songs are good to great, yes, but nothing spectacular, nothing that others haven't done better before. And then you get to Moving In Stereo and just think to yourself "Why isn't there more of this?". Maybe I'm In Touch With Your World is heading the same direction, but less compelling and less flashed out. So after several listens of this, one question remains big in my head: Who the f*** are The Cars?

Fine pop music.

Truly inspired power pop. Catchy, musically tight, exciting, fun.

I can't think of a more perfect and perfectly straightforward Pop Rock album than this. Tight and direct songwriting, strong hook, and performances that just ooze cool. It actually sounds way more modern than 1978, but that probably means something like this became the blueprint for the genre for decades to come. Key tracks: Good Times Roll Just What I Needed Don't Cha Stop You're All I've Got Tonight

4/5 - great

I don’t like it

More enjoyable than I was expecting. This is less ‘middle of the road’ than their big hit ‘Drive’ ( pun!) but I don’t think much will stick in my head. 1.8/5

That album was "Just what I needed" - I was surprised to read they were American, as I associate this sound with Sex Pistols and similar British bands.

I'd never heard any of the songs on this album before, so went into it with no real expectations. Overall, it's a solid album and a very easy listen, but equally there wasn't anything that particularly blew me away or felt hugely memorable. What I did find interesting was how much you can hear the beginnings of the American indie pop sound that would become so popular in the 90s and 00s. Some of the melodies and guitar sounds feel surprisingly familiar, and one of the songs literally sounds like the intro to Stacy's Mom! I can definitely see how this album might have been quite ahead of its time and influenced a lot of what came later. Nothing bad here at all, and I can appreciate its place in music history, but ultimately it's just an okay album for me. Rating: 3.0

Album that had an absolutely ridiculous amount of influence on the coming decade and is a top debut album of all time

I GUESS YOU'RE JUST WHAT I NEEDE-JUST WHAT I NEEDED The platonic ideal of power pop. Catchy tune after tune, synths and guitar working in perfect unison to deliver a smooth 35 minutes of all killer no filler. Totally paved the way for stuff like Weezer Luckily gave this a few listens over the last couple months so got a bit more familiarity to give this a fair shake outside of the singles. Moving in Stereo slaps for sure, and I wouldn't have said that the last couple times I heard this. First time I noticed the way the back few tracks all bleed into one another, very nice touch Yeah why not, 5, My Best Friend's Girl walked so Stacey’s Mom could run

Some very catchy stuff on here, I’ll probably have to come back to this to properly appreciate it 3.5

When will we have another new wave? I take it as a truism that history is cyclical (rhymes, not repeats), but it also somehow feels like we’ll never be this modestly, modernly, sanguinely, frictionless optimistic again (you know, “…as we were in the shadow of nuclear annihilation”). If so, thanks for the tunes, I guess, Ric Ocasek and The Cars.

It would be impossible to maintain the quality of the triple punch of power pop that is the first three tracks, but the strength of those highs outweigh the lows that come after.

All the tracks are really good. They all sound pretty much the same though.

Car?

I love The Cars. I always have. I love this album so much.

Unexpectedly great fun. Just a really nice fun rock record. Great pop songwriting, really fun arrangement. All the fun little guitar bits, solid but innovative drum parts, those cheesy backing vocals. I had a great time.

Very ok

Man, it's weird how many hits came from this one album. Good Times Roll, My Best Friend's Girl, and Just What I Needed are just all-timers. The rest is all pretty good too, I'm not sure there's any song on this album I disliked. Really cool to see.

❤️🚗🚗🚗 TIL there are two singers in the cars 💥my best friend's girl 💥just what i needed 💥don't cha stop 💥moving in stereo

Jeg var ikke helt fan af denne. tænker der er meget nostaligi for andre, men ikke for mig

Quite a memorable album!

No skips. A classic.

Great debut album.

Classic, any of these songs are fun to listen to. Not a "favorite" album by any means, but enjoyable. 4 leaning 5

Top to bottom, no skips.