THE CARS

Candy-O & Panorama: Expanded Editions 6/10, 6/10 American new-wavers hit a rockier patch and a road not taken

What with the three hits, platinum sales and Best New Artist Grammy they earned off their self-titled debut in 1978, the Cars’ first lap around the track for elektra went about as well as it possibly could. Inevitably, the next few were a little less smooth, even if the commercial success of 1979’s Candy-O solidified the Boston band’s place as American rock’s pre-eminent skinnytie-wearers. Newly expanded and remastered by ric Ocasek along with 1980’s ill-fated Panorama, the Cars’ sophomore outing makes a strong start with “Let’s Go”, the sleekest example of the machine-tooled power-pop they made with producer roy thomas Baker. Yet the rawer early incarnations of the title track and “Dangerous type” included here suggest that Baker’s tightly controlled production aesthetic was already becoming a straitjacket. Initially slagged off by the previously adoring rock press, Panorama sees them push out of their comfort zone with songs that assume a darker, tenser mood. “You Wear those eyes” sounds like Suicide making a bid for AM radio play. Outtakes “Shooting for You” and “Be My Baby” suggest the intriguing potential of the Cars’