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Released: Nov. 6, 1981


Rating: 3.284 (average of 12 ratings)


Genre: rock > new wave


Quotable: --


Album Tracks:

  1. Since You’re Gone [3:30]
  2. Shake It Up [3:32]
  3. I’m Not the One [4:12]
  4. Victim of Love [4:24]
  5. Cruiser [4:54]
  6. A Dream Away [5:44]
  7. This Could Be Love (Hawkes/ Ocasek) [4:26]
  8. Think It Over [4:56]
  9. Maybe Baby [5:04]

All songs written by Ric Ocasek unless noted otherwise.


Total Running Time: 40:42


Sales (in millions):

sales in U.S. only 2.0
sales in U.K. only - estimated --
sales in all of Europe as determined by IFPI – click here to go to their site. --
sales worldwide - estimated 2.0


Peak:

peak on U.S. Billboard album chart 9
peak on U.K. album chart --


Singles/Hit Songs:

  • Shake It Up (11/21/81) #4 US, #2 AR
  • Cruiser (12/26/81) #37 AR
  • Victim of Love 2/27/82) #39 AR
  • Since You’re Gone (3/27/82) #41 US, #37 UK, #24 AR
  • This Could Be Love (6/82) –
  • Think It Over (8/82) --
  • I’m Not the One (2/22/86) #30a US, #29 AR, #24 AC


Awards:

--


Shake It Up
The Cars
Review:
“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.” GP

“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.” GP

“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.” GP


Review Sources:


Related DMDB Link(s):

previous album: Panorama (1980) next album: Heartbeat City (1984)


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Last updated March 23, 2011.