"Since You're Gone" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by the Cars | ||||
from the album Shake It Up | ||||
B-side |
| |||
Released | March 8, 1982 | |||
Recorded | 1981 | |||
Studio | Syncro Sound, Boston | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:30 | |||
Label | Elektra 47433 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Ric Ocasek | |||
Producer(s) | Roy Thomas Baker | |||
The Cars USsingles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Cars UKsingles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Shake It Up track listing | ||||
9 tracks | ||||
Music video | ||||
"Since You're Gone" on YouTube |
"Since You're Gone" is a song by the American rock band the Cars. It was released as the second single from their fourth album, Shake It Up .
"Since You're Gone" is a power ballad about the breakup of a relationship. [1] AllMusic critic Donald A. Guarisco praises the "inspired wordplay" of lyrics like "you're so treacherous/when it comes to tenderness" but also note the heartfelt quality of lyrics like "Since you're gone I never feel sedate/Since you're gone moonlight ain't so great." [1] Music critic Jim Bohen describes the line "Since you're gone everything's in perfect tense" as an example of Ocasek's "literate wit." [2] Boston Globe critic Steve Morse considers lines such as "since you're gone the nights are getting strange/since you're gone I'm throwing it all away/I can't help it everything's a mess" to be "trite." [3] However,activist Phyllis Schlafly interprets some lines as encouraging suicide,where "life is not worth living after a loved one has gone." [4]
The melody uses an unconventional style,but according to Guarisco the music "retains the emotional tone of the lyrics as it marries chant-like verses to a bridge built on ascending phrases that tug at the heart." [1] According to the liner notes of Just What I Needed:The Cars Anthology ,"Since You're Gone" is an example of "[a] more playful quality ... in Ocasek's writing",with a Bob Dylan impersonation where Morse states "...he apes Dylan's vocal phrasing." (e.g. the line:'You're so treacher-ess!'). [5] [3] San Francisco Examiner contributor Michael Goldberg notes that despite the emotional theme of the song,Ocasek's vocal tone is detached,"almost as if he's discussing a computer that doesn't work anymore." [6] On the other hand,Knight-Ridder Newspapers critic Keith Thomas describes Ocasek's singing as "impassioned". [7] Guitarist Elliot Easton plays a guitar solo that "paid homage to King Crimson leader Robert Fripp." [5] Thomas describes the guitars as "gutsy" and the synthesizers as "winding." [7]
In 1982 "Since You're Gone" was released as the second single from Shake It Up,as the follow-up to "Shake It Up". The song,backed with "Think It Over" in America and "Maybe Baby" in Britain,reached #41 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #24 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. [8] The single was followed by "Victim of Love" in America,and "Think It Over" in Britain.
Like many other Cars songs,"Since You're Gone" had a music video created to accompany it,which starred Ric Ocasek "moping around an empty apartment". [1] The video received adequate airplay on MTV at the time. [1] According to Thomas,the video is one of the Cars' best. [7]
"Since You're Gone" has since been praised by many music critics. Billboard called it "a crafty uptempo track that has a catchy hook." [9] Record World said that "a bass drone provides drama while percussion shakes create tension" and that it has a "catchy synthesizer melody line and punchy chorus hook." [10] AllMusic critic Donald Guarisco described the song as "a solid showcase for [a strong balance between forward-thinking sounds and classic pop songwriting],using a high-tech arrangement and new wave irony to breathe new life into the power ballad",going on to call it "a solid fusion of rock ballad bombast and new wave futurism that charted just outside the pop chart Top 40." [1] Greg Prato,also of AllMusic,said "the melancholic "Since You're Gone" remains one of Ocasek's best-ever tales of heartbreak". [11] Thomas described it as "a pleasing pop tune." [7] Classic Rock History critic Tony Scavieli rated it as the Cars 6th greatest song. [12]
Chart (1982) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Singles (OCC) [13] | 37 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [14] | 41 |
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [15] | 24 |
US Cash Box Top 100 Singles [16] | 51 |
The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s,they consisted of Ric Ocasek,Benjamin Orr,Elliot Easton,Greg Hawkes (keyboards),and David Robinson (drums). Ocasek and Orr shared lead vocals,and Ocasek was the band's principal songwriter and leader.
The Cars is the debut studio album by American new wave band the Cars,released in May 1978 by Elektra Records. The album was managed by longtime producer Roy Thomas Baker,and spawned several hit singles,including "Just What I Needed","My Best Friend's Girl",and "Good Times Roll",as well as other radio and film hits such as "Bye Bye Love" and "Moving in Stereo". The Cars peaked at number 18 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart,and has been certified six-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Shake It Up is the fourth studio album by American new wave band the Cars,released on November 6,1981,by Elektra Records. It was the last Cars record to be produced by Roy Thomas Baker. A much more pop-oriented album than its predecessor,its title track became the band's first Billboard top-10 single. Spin magazine included it on their "50 Best Albums of 1981" list.
"Just What I Needed" is a song by American rock band the Cars from their self-titled debut album (1978). The song,which first achieved radio success as a demo,took inspiration from the Ohio Express and the Velvet Underground. The song is sung by bass player Benjamin Orr and was written by Ric Ocasek.
"Drive" is a song by American rock band the Cars from their fifth studio album,Heartbeat City (1984). It was released on July 23,1984,as the album's third single. Written by Ric Ocasek,the track was sung by bassist Benjamin Orr and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange with the band. Upon its release,"Drive" became the Cars' highest-charting single in most territories. In the United States,it peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Adult Contemporary chart. It reached number five in the United Kingdom,number four in West Germany,number six in Canada and number three in Ireland.
"Shake It Up" is a song by American rock band the Cars from their fourth studio album of the same name (1981). It was released on November 9,1981,as the album's lead single. Although appearing for the first time in 1981,it was actually written years earlier by the band's songwriter and lead singer Ric Ocasek. The song became one of the Cars' most popular songs,peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Billboard Top Tracks chart in early 1982. With the track "Cruiser" as its B-side,it reached number 14 on the Billboard Disco Top 80 chart.
"Let's Go" is a song by American rock band the Cars,written by Ric Ocasek for the band's second studio album,Candy-O (1979). A new wave rock song,the song's hook was inspired by the Routers. The song's vocals are performed by bassist Benjamin Orr.
"Good Times Roll" is a song by American rock band the Cars released as the first track from their 1978 debut album The Cars. Written by Ric Ocasek as a sarcastic comment on rock's idea of good times,the song features layered harmonies courtesy of producer Roy Thomas Baker.
"Hello Again" is a song by American rock band the Cars from their album Heartbeat City (1984). It was released on October 15,1984 as the album's fourth single. The song was the fourth top-20 entry from the album,reaching number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart;it also reached number eight on the Hot Dance/Disco chart and number 22 on the Top Rock Tracks chart. Ric Ocasek sings lead vocals on the track.
"You're All I've Got Tonight" is a song by the American rock band the Cars,from their debut album,The Cars. Like "Bye Bye Love" and "Moving in Stereo",two other songs from the album,it continues to receive airplay on classic rock stations today despite never having been released as a single.
"Down on Love" is the fourth single taken from the album Agent Provocateur by the band Foreigner,and released in August 1985.
"My Best Friend's Girl" is a song by American rock band the Cars from their 1978 self-titled debut album on Elektra Records,released on June 6 of that year. Written by Ocasek as a song about something that "probably ... happened to a lot of people," the track found radio success as a demo in 1977.
"Tonight She Comes" is a 1985 song by American rock band the Cars from their Greatest Hits album. It was released as a single in October 1985,reaching number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1986. The song reached number one on the Top Rock Tracks chart,where it stayed for three weeks.
"I'm Not the One" is a song by the American rock band the Cars,from their fourth album,Shake It Up. It features Ric Ocasek on lead vocals,Benjamin Orr singing the 'you know why' phrase,and the whole group repeating "going round and round" as backing vocals throughout the song.
"Cruiser" is a song by American new wave band The Cars,from their 1981 album Shake It Up.
"Gimme Some Slack" is a song by the American rock band the Cars from the album Panorama. The song was written by bandleader Ric Ocasek.
"Touch and Go" is a song by American rock band the Cars from their 1980 album Panorama. The song was written and sung by bandleader Ric Ocasek.
"Victim of Love" is a song by the American new wave band the Cars,appearing on their fourth studio album,Shake It Up. It was written by Ric Ocasek.
"Think It Over" is a song by American rock band the Cars from their fourth studio album,Shake It Up (1981). It was written by Ric Ocasek.
"Panorama" is a 1980 song by the Cars from their third studio album,Panorama. It was written by Ric Ocasek. Despite not being released as a single,the song has since become "a cult favorite".