The Cars - Shake It Up (Expanded Edition) (2018) [24/192 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 the expanded edition for Shake It Up.

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 member David Robinson.

Ric Ocasek, Elliot Easton, Greg Hawkes, Benjamin Orr and David Robinson recorded Shake It Up in 1981 at Syncro Sound, the group’s new studio in Boston, with producer Roy Thomas Baker. Working in their own space afforded them the time to perfect the sound of the album, which became their third-straight Top 10 hit record and sold more than two million copies. It features the unforgettable singles “Since You’re Gone,” “Think It Over” and The Cars’ first Top 10 hit single, “Shake It Up.” Several unreleased tracks make their debut on SHAKE IT UP: EXPANDED EDITION, including an early version of “Since You’re Gone,” the demo for “Shake It Up” and an unreleased song called “Midnight Dancer.”

"By augmenting their sound with more synthesizers, electronics, and drum machines, the Cars' fourth release, Shake It Up, helped bridge their hard rock-based early work (1978's The Cars) with the futuristic-pop 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 up-tempo 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 best-ever 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 lesser-known album tracks prove to be highlights: the almost entirely synth-oriented tracks "Think It Over" and "A Dream Away," the rocking "Cruiser," plus the more pop-oriented "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, AMG)

Ric Ocasek, rhythm guitar, lead vocals (on 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9)
Elliot Easton, lead guitar, backing vocals
Greg Hawkes, keyboards, backing vocals
Benjamin Orr, bass, lead vocals (on 5, 7, 8)
David Robinson, drums, percussion

Produced by Roy Thomas Baker

Digitally remastered