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Panorama

The Cars - Panorama Audio CD

A fair review of the The Cars "Panorama" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all The Cars reviews here, or go back to the The Cars tabs.

Band: The Cars
Title: Panorama
Rating:

Release Date: 1990-10-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Panorama 2: Touch and Go 3: Gimme Some Slack 4: Don't Tell Me No 5: Getting Through 6: Misfit Kid 7: Down Boys 8: You Wear Those Eyes 9: Running to You 10: Up and Down

The Cars In The Tunnel
In terms of their singles alone The Cars live up to their name very much in terms of their genre of music being. . well what I refer to as "cruise-wave",a kind of 80's rock that sounds well taking driving down the road. This is an album which changed that in many ways. For one,none of the ten songs presented here are based in any pop hooks. Even by Rick Ocasek standards the singing and lyrics are incredibly nervous and sometimes almost mildly unhinged. He almost sounds like David Byrne on this. Even the albums one hit "Touch And Go" doesn't quite fit the normal format for Cars hits. There's also a lot more electronic type soundscapes and heavy synthesizer use on songs like the title track here;this gives Greg Hawkes a lot to do here since a lot of the material is based his side of things. There's also a lot more guitar here as well. Lyricall it's a lot more than the girls 'n a good time clishes of most pop/rock. On tunes like "Misfit Kid" there's a lot of commentary on a generation who felt themselves growing up a bit bland and faceless. Not an entirely uncommon theme of rock in general of the era but The Cars? It all seems a little odd if your more familiar with the bands heavily played run of hits. I am not sure if The Cars ever did become an AOR band;it just didn't seem to go with their general approch. But this album is at the very least the closest they ever got. At least in terms of being a genuine album. Fans of pop singles may not find what their looking for. But if your looking to understand some of their musical values this is not a bad place to start looking for them.

Difficult third album one of The Cars' finest...
Time has proven that these things were not such bad things for The Cars. At the time of Panorama's release it was deemed difficult, awkward and overly-arty. Given the somewhat agreeable one-two punch of the two stellar albums that preceded (the frighteningly good debut and just-as-good-and-still-growing 'Candy-O') it may have confused a segment of The Cars' audience. The Cars were always huge fans of and always employed the technological developments in pop music (i. e. drummer David Robinson's sole use of electronic drums by the time of Heartbeat City and keyboardist Greg Hawkes's wide variety of the then-current sounds). For the most part the songs themselves never suffered too much as a result. There are a few sparingly dated sounds here and there but these have since been embraced by the electronica set. However that's just gravy in this case as the songs, however lyrically obtuse (or vague if you will), do stand up to many repeated listens.

There's not much reason why the album's lone B-Side "Don't Go To Pieces" (later included on the 'Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology' collection) couldn't have been included on the album in the first place and it's not a CD bonus track here either. Aside from that small observation there's not too much griping to be had here besides from the uniformly minimal and poor CD versions of the LP front, back and inner artwork and no liner notes that was de rigeur.

Highlights include but are not limited to "Running To You", "Getting Through", the two great singles "Gimme Some Slack" and "Touch And Go" and the delightfully askew title track. Simply put, if you like 'Candy-O' and 'Shake It Up' chances are you'll like Panorama.

Panorama still brings a tear to my eyes
I was introduced to their debut album The Cars by my first boyfriend and I can remember many nights listening to it in the quiet darkness of his car after a football game. I consider the first three The Cars albums as a soundtrack to my teenage life. Then Candy-O arrived and was given to me as a Christmas gift by that same boyfriend. By the time Panorama was released, I was nursing a broken heart after the end of that sweet relationship. Every single song on Panorama seemed to help me through the bad times and mirrored that darkness I was feeling. Panorama is something special indeed. The sounds, the lyrics, the experience of this album is mesmerizing. The lyrics are both funny and heart-wrenching. My personal favorites are You Wear Those Eyes, Up and Down, and Touch and Go. Perhaps Panorama means more to those of us who were there when it was first released because it is so tied to our memories. However, I believe any true The Cars fan will appreciate the artistry and beauty of this album.

The Apex of the Cars!
They took all of the best from their first 2 efforts and crafted a little bit darker, more brooding songs than Candy-O, my 2nd favorite album. I bought this again after not having listened to it for 20 years, and it all came rushing back to me just how incredible it was! In my opinion, this is the best Cars album; dark and hook laden, but not "poppy", like their later albums. Yes, there were a few good tunes on Shake it Up, but by then it was obvious to me that they were heading in the hit direction, whereas this album they seem to be unconcerned with producing a top 40 hit, although I think Touch and Go and perhaps Down Boys made the top 40. I don't think there is a dud here. Elliot Easton is a fantastic guitarist and really stands out with some of his riffing on this album. Touch and Go is hauntingly beautiful and the song that turned me onto this album. I wont launch into every song, but it culminates with the pounding, mechanistic beat of Up and Down. Can't say enough; I can listen to it again right now!.

Anti-pop
I love the fact that the music critics in '80 just didn't get it - it's a moody, techno-post-punk album full of angst, alienation, and self-doubt. Interesting then as it is now. But unlike the band Suicide, a band that Ocasek admired, the melodies always come back to a, "there must be meaning to it all", bridge. Call it existential music, dude.

You can see a complete list of all The Cars discography, or go back to the The Cars tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.