Heartbeat City

Heartbeat City
Studio album by
the Cars
ReleasedMarch 13, 1984 (1984-03-13)
RecordedJuly 1983 – January 1984
StudioBattery (London)
Genre
Length38:41
LabelElektra
Producer
the Cars chronology
Shake It Up
(1981)		 Heartbeat City
(1984)		 Greatest Hits
(1985)
Singles from Heartbeat City
  1. "You Might Think"
    Released: February 1984
  2. "Magic"
    Released: May 7, 1984
  3. "Drive"
    Released: July 23, 1984
  4. "Hello Again"
    Released: October 15, 1984
  5. "Why Can't I Have You"
    Released: January 7, 1985
  6. "Heartbeat City"
    Released: September 1985
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic5/5 stars
The Baltimore Sun4.5/5 stars
Chicago Tribune3.5/4 stars
Classic Rock9/10
Mojo4/5 stars
Pitchfork7.5/10
Rolling Stone3/5 stars
The Rolling Stone Album Guide3/5 stars
Under the Radar8/10
The Village VoiceB+

Heartbeat City is the fifth studio album by American new wave rock band The Cars. It was released on 13 March 1984 through Elektra Records. It went to number 1 in New Zealand, number 3 in the United States and number 5 in Canada.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ric Ocasek; track 7 co-written by Greg Hawkes.

Side one
No.TitleVocalsLength
1."Hello Again"Ocasek3:47
2."Looking for Love"Ocasek3:52
3."Magic"Ocasek3:57
4."Drive"Benjamin Orr3:55
5."Stranger Eyes"Orr4:26
Side two
No.TitleVocalsLength
6."You Might Think"Ocasek3:04
7."It's Not the Night"
  • Orr
  • Ocasek
3:49
8."Why Can't I Have You"Ocasek4:04
9."I Refuse"Ocasek3:16
10."Heartbeat City"Ocasek4:31
Total length:38:41
2018 expanded edition bonus tracks
No.TitleVocalsLength
11."Hello Again" (remix version)Ocasek5:57
12."Drive" (demo)Orr4:45
13."One More Time" (early version of "Why Can't I Have You")Ocasek3:59
14."Baby I Refuse" (early version of "I Refuse")Ocasek3:52
15."Jacki" (early version of "Heartbeat City")Ocasek4:16
16."Breakaway" (B-side of "Why Can't I Have You")Ocasek3:47
17."Tonight She Comes" (from Greatest Hits, 1985)Ocasek3:58
Total length:69:15

Notes

References

  1. ↑ Sendra, Tim. "Heartbeat City – The Cars". AllMusic. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  2. ↑ Considine, J. D. (March 25, 1984). "'Heartbeat City' sounds almost too carefully polished to be a Cars album". The Baltimore Sun.
  3. ↑ Kot, Greg (August 4, 1991). "Tracking Ocasek's Voice On The Record". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  4. ↑ Elliott, Paul (May 2018). "The Cars: Reissues". Classic Rock. No. 248. p. 99.
  5. ↑ Blake, Mark (May 2018). "The Cars: Heartbeat City". Mojo. No. 294. p. 104.
  6. ↑ Soto, Alfred (March 31, 2018). "The Cars: Shake It Up / Heartbeat City". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  7. ↑ Shewey, Don (April 26, 1984). "The Cars: Heartbeat City". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved July 27, 2007.
  8. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "The Cars". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 141. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  9. ↑ Rushbury, Ian (April 19, 2018). "The Cars: Heartbeat City: Expanded Edition (Rhino)". Under the Radar. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  10. ↑ Christgau, Robert (September 25, 1984). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved August 5, 2017.