“Misfit Kid” and “Down Boys” hint at the direction they’d soon take with Shake It Up. “Gimme Some Slack” blends the bands classic rock edge with a percussive beat that instantly reminds of Freedom Of Choice as does “Shooting For You” and “Up And Down.” When they temper these new techniques with their already well-defined sound, the results are much more satisfying. Panorama is, ultimately, The Cars trying to be more like Devo clever lyrics bathed in upbeat, futuristic keyboard melodies and New Wave dance rhythms. Thus, Panorama is the sound of a band realizing that the musical landscape was changing-thanks, in no small part, to their previous releases-and following suit.īut if there’s a key to this sonic shift, it comes down to one word: Devo. Working with producer Roy Thomas Baker, the band decided that the time was right for them to “shake it up,” as it were, and make a record influenced by the new sounds filling the airwaves. There’s something to be said about a band willing to try something new on their third album, especially when albums number one and two were critically acclaimed and commercial smashes. Were they escaping an image? Trying to focus the listener’s attention on their music, offering it with frills-free, bland packaging? Whatever the case may be, the strikingly off-brand artwork certainly set the tone that what was inside might just be a bit different from what one might expect from a band that had delivered the innovative and influential album The Cars just two years prior. As superficial as that may seem, the albums that didn’t feature a gorgeous woman on the front cover performed significantly worse than those that did. Sure, there’s a checkered-flag, but there’s no sexy woman on the cover. On first impression, Panorama certainly doesn’t look like an album by Boston New Wave/Power Pop band The Cars. Search The Cars: Panorama (Rhino) By Joseph Kyle
0 kommentar(er)
