The Cars - Shake It Up (CD)

All Music Guide

By augmenting their sound with more synthesizers, electronics, and drum machines, the Cars' fourth release, Shake It Up, helped bridge their hard rockbased early work (1978's The Cars) with the futuristicpop direction of 1984's Heartbeat City. The band's sound may have been evolving with each succeeding album, but Ric Ocasek was still writing compelling new wave compositions despite all the change, many of which would ultimately become rock roll standards. The uptempo title track remains a party favorite to this day (reaching number four on the singles charts), while the melancholic "Since You're Gone" remains one of Ocasek's bestever tales of heartbreak. Intriguing videos were made for both songs, officially introducing the band to the MTV age. Like its predecessor, 1980's Panorama, filler is present ("This Could Be Love," "Maybe Baby"), but many lesserknown album tracks prove to be highlights: the almost entirely synthoriented tracks "Think It Over" and "A Dream Away," the rocking "...Cruiser," plus the more poporiented "I'm Not the One" and "Victim of Love." Although Shake It Up was another resounding commercial success, their next album would be the one that made the Cars one of rock's quintessential acts of the '80s. - Greg Prato, All Music Guide Read more Less