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Touch and Go (The Cars song)

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"Touch and Go"
Single by the Cars
from the album Panorama
B-side"Down Boys"
ReleasedAugust 25, 1980 (1980-08-25)
Recorded1980
Genre
Length4:55 (album version)
3:41 (single version)
LabelElektra 47039
Songwriter(s)Ric Ocasek
Producer(s)Roy Thomas Baker
The Cars singles chronology
"Double Life"
(1979) 		"Touch and Go"
(1980) 		"Don't Tell Me No"
(1980)
Panorama track listing
10 tracks
Side one
  1. "Panorama"
  2. "Touch and Go"
  3. "Gimme Some Slack"
  4. "Don't Tell Me No"
  5. "Getting Through"
Side two
  2. "Misfit Kid"
  3. "Down Boys"
  4. "You Wear Those Eyes"
  5. "Running To You"
  6. "Up and Down"

"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.

Composition

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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]

Release

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"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.

Music video

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"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]

Reception

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"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.[8] Record World called it an "oddly affecting rocker [with] arty vocals delivering an effective hook between sharp rhythm shifts."[9] Los Angeles Times critic Steve Pond described it as the album's "centerpiece", calling it a "mesmerizing, completely effective electronic shuffle."[10] 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."[11] Muncie Star reviewer Kim Terverbaugh said that it combines "the best qualities from the past three decades of rock."[12] Saginaw News critic Nancy Kuharevicz felt that the song is "a laugh at the whole urban cowboy syndrome."[13]

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."[14] Music critic Robert Christgau said that the song was one of the peaks of Panorama.[15] 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."[16]

John Lennon's opinion

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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."[17][18]

Charts

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Chart performance for "Touch and Go"
Chart (1980) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[19] 62
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[20] 16
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[21] 42
US Billboard Hot 100[22] 37
US Cash Box Top 100 Singles[23] 38

References

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  1. ^ "Polymeter/Polyrhythm". Guitar Alliance. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  2. ^ Thompson, Carrington (November 6, 1980). "Latest from Cars lacks variety". Charlotte News. p. 7D. Retrieved 2024-10-26 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b Soocher, Stan (November 30, 1980). "Cars race to the top with 'Panorama'". Circus. pp. 26–28.
  4. ^ Matera, Joe (8 May 2022). "The Cars' 'Panorama': How daring sonic left turn led to avant-pop excellence". Goldmine Magazine: Record Collector & Music Memorabilia.
  5. ^ Takiff, Jonathan (November 21, 1980). "The Cars tune up here". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 49. Retrieved 2024-10-26 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b Goldstein, Toby (1985). Frozen Fire: The Cars. Contemporary Books. pp. 57–60. ISBN 0809252570.
  7. ^ a b Prato, Greg. "Panorama". allmusic.com.
  8. ^ "Top Single Picks". Billboard. September 6, 1980. p. 73. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  9. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. September 6, 1980. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  10. ^ "Hard Driving Ride with the Cars". Los Angeles Times. September 7, 1980. pp. 84–85. Retrieved 2024-10-27 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Bohen, Jim (September 21, 1980). "Shortcuts". Daily Record. p. D1. Retrieved 2024-10-27 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Teverbaugh, Kim (August 31, 1980). "Pungent 'Panorama'". Muncie Star. p. B9. Retrieved 2024-10-25 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Kuharevicz, Nancy (August 30, 1980). "The Cars' latest album is on the wrong track". Saginaw News. p. B2. Retrieved 2024-10-27 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Guarisco, Donald. "Touch and Go". allmusic.com.
  15. ^ Christgau, Robert. "The Cars". www.robertchristgau.com.
  16. ^ Kachejian, Brian (February 2024). "Top 10 Cars Songs". Classic Rock History. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
  17. ^ Sholin, Dave; Kaye, Laurie (December 21, 2013). "John Lennon's last interview, December 8, 1980". Beatles Archive. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  18. ^ McMahon, James (September 18, 2019). "The Cars' 10 Best Songs". NME. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  19. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  20. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4701a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  21. ^ "The Cars – Touch and Go". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  22. ^ "The Cars Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  23. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending October 25, 1980". Cash Box. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
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