Shake It Up
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Album Summary
Now here's a record that came in hot and didn't let up — Shake It Up, the fourth studio album from Boston's own Cars, recorded in 1980 and released in November 1981 on Elektra Records. The band stepped back into the producer's chair alongside the legendary Roy Thomas Baker — the man who helped give Queen their cathedral-sized sound — and together they crafted something lean, bright, and absolutely built for the airwaves. This was a band at the peak of their powers, riding creative momentum that few of their new wave contemporaries could match, and every groove on this record proves it.
Reception
- The album reached #5 on the Billboard 200, cementing The Cars as one of the dominant commercial forces in early 1980s rock.
- Lead single 'Since You're Gone' climbed to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned heavy rotation on MTV, becoming one of the band's most recognizable songs.
- The album was certified 2× Platinum in the United States, a testament to how deeply it connected with a wide and hungry audience.
Significance
- Shake It Up stands as a masterclass in blending new wave, power pop, and rock into something that felt simultaneously cutting-edge and instantly familiar — a balance that shaped the sound of mainstream rock radio throughout the early 1980s.
- The album showcased a matured production sophistication from The Cars, with synth-driven arrangements and angular hooks that pushed accessibility without ever dulling the band's distinctive artistic edge.
- Released at the height of the MTV era, Shake It Up helped prove that art-school-influenced rock could thrive in the mainstream, making The Cars a blueprint for new wave's commercial crossover and the decades of guitar-synth hybrid rock that followed.
Tracklist
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A1 Since You're Gone 96
3:30
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A2 Shake It Up 144
3:32
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A3 I'm Not The One 79
4:12
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A4 Victim Of Love 128
4:24
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A5 Cruiser 138
4:54
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B1 A Dream Away 105
5:44
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B2 This Could Be Love 119
4:26
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B3 Think It Over 158
4:56
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B4 Maybe Baby 138
5:04
Artist Details
The Cars rolled out of Boston, Massachusetts in 1976, and baby, when they hit the scene they brought something fresh — a slick, icy blend of new wave cool and classic rock muscle that made them absolutely undeniable on radio and MTV alike. Ric Ocasek led that tight five-piece crew through a string of stone-cold classics, from "Just What I Needed" to "Drive," bridging the gap between the raw energy of punk and the polished shimmer of the synth-pop era that was coming in hot. The Cars stand as one of the great architects of the new wave movement, earning their rightful place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018 and leaving behind a catalog that still sounds like the future, even now.
