The Cars - Heartbeat City (Expanded Edition) (2018) [Hi-Res]

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will induct The Cars in April, honoring the legendary band’s incredible musical legacy and enormous commercial success. Rhino will kick off the celebration early with expanded editions for Heartbeat City.

Each release features the original album – remastered in 2016 – expanded with rare and unreleased bonus tracks. Illustrated booklets accompany the music and contain liner notes written by renowned rock journalist David Fricke, who details the history of each album with new interviews by band members Ric Ocasek. The album, which peaked at #3 on the charts, went on to sell four million copies, making it the band’s fifth consecutive platinum album. An amazing success, the album launched five tracks that reached the Top 40, including the Top Ten hits “Drive” and “You Might Think.” Videos for the songs received heavy airplay on MTV, including “Hello Again,” which was directed by Andy Warhol, and “You Might Think,” which won the inaugural MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year in 1984. Among the seven bonus tracks included on HEARTBEAT CITY: EXPANDED EDITION are unreleased versions of “Why Can’t I Have You” and “I Refuse,” as well as the demo for “Drive.”

"MTV had become a major marketing tool by 1984, and the Cars were one of the first bands to use the new video medium to their advantage. The band's fifth album, Heartbeat City (Elektra), spawned several imaginative and memorable videos, which translated into massive chart and commercial success, making it one of the biggest releases of the year. Produced by hitmaker John "Mutt" Lange (AC/DC, Def Leppard), the album included two Top Ten singles -- the ballad "Drive" and the charismatic "You Might Think" -- plus an additional two that landed in the Top 20: the summer anthem "Magic" and the eccentric "Hello Again." But it didn't just stop there, plenty of other tracks could have been hits as well, such as the sparse rocker "It's Not the Night" and the breezy pop of "Looking for Love." Other highlights included the ethereal title track, the melodic rocker "Stranger Eyes," and the moderately paced love song "Why Can't I Have You." Although the Cars experienced their greatest success yet with Heartbeat City, it would unfortunately not last for long -- after just one more studio album (1987's spotty Door to Door), the band split up." (Greg Prato, AMG)

Ric Ocasek, guitar, synthesizer, lead vocals (on 1-3, 6, 8-10)
Elliot Easton, lead guitar, backing vocals
Greg Hawkes, keyboards, Fairlight programming, backing vocals
Benjamin Orr, bass, lead vocals (on 4-5, 7)
David Robinson, drums, percussion, Fairlight programming
Additional musicians:
Andy Topeka, Additional Fairlight programming

Produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange, the Cars

Digitally remastered