| "Touch and Go" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by the Cars | ||||
| from the album Panorama | ||||
| B-side | "Down Boys" | |||
| Released | August 25, 1980 | |||
| Recorded | 1980 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:55 (album version) 3:41 (single version) | |||
| Label | Elektra 47039 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Ric Ocasek | |||
| Producer(s) | Roy Thomas Baker | |||
| The Cars singles chronology | ||||
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| Panorama track listing | ||||
10 tracks
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"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.
The song's verses feature the use of polymeter. The bass and drums are playing in a time signature of 5
4, while the vocals, keyboards, and guitar are playing in 4
4. [1] The guitar solo was played over music similar to the chorus, but with some sections extended to give Elliot Easton more measures on the chords E minor, F major, and G major, to build his flashy, melodic solo which resolves to a C major seventh chord.
Charlotte News critic Carrington Thompson said that it "has an off-beat syncopation resembling reggae. [2]
Ocasek said of Easton's guitar solo, "Elliot came into the studio one day during the sessions with the solo for 'Touch and Go' on a cassette. No music, just the solo. He'd recorded it by himself in his hotel room. When we put the solo on top of the track, it sounded great. [3] Easton said of his solo, "That solo on 'Touch And Go,' I worked on in my hotel room while we worked on other parts. So, I came in with it already written and just recorded it." [4] Easton further said that "If there's any one trademark to my guitar style, it's that I like to tell a short story in my breaks with an intro, a high point, and a resolution. I like to make my statement and gracefully lead back to the verse, being aggressive, sweet, crying, or laughing. [3]
Philadelphia Daily News critic Jonathan Takiff described the lyrics as showing a "subtle, philosophical vision of first person survival." [5] Ocasek said "This is one of those songs about people having a difficult relationship and not understanding why they're having problems, but they put up with the uncertainty anyway." [6]
"Touch and Go" was released as the debut single from Panorama. It reached number 37 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1980, making it the highest charting American single from Panorama. [7] Its follow-up singles, "Don't Tell Me No" and "Gimme Some Slack" failed to chart.
"Touch and Go" has consistently appeared on many of the Cars' compilation albums, including Greatest Hits , Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology , Complete Greatest Hits , Shake It Up & Other Hits , and The Essentials . Aside from Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology, it is the only track from Panorama to appear on said albums.
"Touch and Go" and "Panorama" were the Cars' first music videos. The Cars admired the humor of the videos that Chuck Statler directed for Devo, and Statler directed these two video for the Cars. In the "Touch and Go" video, the band plays their instruments in an unexpected setting, an amusement park. [6] The amusement park scenes were filmed on the carousel and other rides at Whalom Park in Lunenburg, Massachusetts. [8]
"Touch and Go" has generally received positive reception from music critics. Billboard said that "After the jerky introduction a fluent slight '50-ish melody takes over", that it has "a strangely appealing change in rhythm midway through the song" and also praised the bass playing. [9] Record World called it an "oddly affecting rocker [with] arty vocals delivering an effective hook between sharp rhythm shifts." [10] Los Angeles Times critic Steve Pond described it as the album's "centerpiece", calling it a "mesmerizing, completely effective electronic shuffle." [11] Daily Record critic Jim Bohen said that "the verses are delivered in an odd herky-jerky meter, and only on the chorus do things begin to flow." [12] Muncie Star reviewer Kim Terverbaugh said that it combines "the best qualities from the past three decades of rock." [13] Saginaw News critic Nancy Kuharevicz felt that the song is "a laugh at the whole urban cowboy syndrome." [14]
AllMusic critic Greg Prato said the song was a standout on Panorama "which merges off-time keyboard flourishes with some great textural guitar work by Elliot Easton." [7] Donald Guarisco, also of AllMusic, described the track as "a surprisingly straightforward ballad that became a minor hit for the group", also stating, "the melody is appropriately moody, consisting of attractive verses that hypnotically ebb and flow, a constantly ascending pre-chorus bridge that builds tension and a gorgeous call-and-response chorus that releases that tension", concluding that the song was "a sleek tune perfect for the car radio." [15] Music critic Robert Christgau said that the song was one of the peaks of Panorama. [16] Classic Rock History critic Brian Kachejian rated it as the Cars' 8th greatest song, stating that "The verse was defined by a robotic groove that would segue into a sweet summer-like swinging groove. It sounded like two separate songs, which is probably why we liked it." [17]
Former Beatle John Lennon mentioned the song in his final interview on 8 December 1980, praising it for its 1950s sound and comparing it with his current record at the time, "(Just Like) Starting Over." He said, "I think the Cars' 'Touch and Go' is right out of the fifties 'Oh, oh...' A lot of it is fifties stuff. But with eighties styling, but, but... and that's what I think 'Starting Over' is; it's a fifties song made with an eighties approach." [18] [19]
| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) [20] | 62 |
| Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [21] | 16 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [22] | 42 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 [23] | 37 |
| US Cash Box Top 100 Singles [24] | 38 |
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.
Benjamin Orr was an American musician. He was best known as the bassist, co-lead vocalist, and co-founder of the band the Cars. He sang lead vocals on several of their hits, including "Just What I Needed", "Let's Go", "Moving in Stereo", and "Drive". He also had a moderate solo hit with "Stay the Night".
Panorama is the third studio album by American new wave band the Cars, released on August 15, 1980, by Elektra Records. Like its predecessors, it was produced by Roy Thomas Baker and released on Elektra Records.
"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.
"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.
"All Mixed Up" is a song by the Cars and the final track on their 1978 self-titled debut album. It was written by bandleader Ric Ocasek.
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"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.
"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.
"It's All I Can Do" is a song by the American rock band the Cars. It is the third track from their 1979 album Candy-O. It was written by the band's leader and songwriter Ric Ocasek, and features bassist Benjamin Orr on vocals.
"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.
"Candy-O" is a song by the American rock band the Cars, the title track of their 1979 album Candy-O. Written by Ric Ocasek, the song was not based on a real person. The song features a prominent guitar solo by Elliot Easton and lead vocals by bassist Benjamin Orr.
"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.
"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.
"Don't Tell Me No" is a song by the American New wave band, the Cars. The song, written by Ric Ocasek, appeared on the band's third studio album, Panorama.
"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".
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| Other songs | |
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| Related articles | |
| The New Cars | |
