Let's Go (The Cars song)

"Let's Go"

Picture sleeve (France)
Single by The Cars
from the album Candy-O
B-side "That's It"
"Candy-O" (France, Brazil)
Released June 12, 1979 (1979-06-12)
Format 7"
Recorded 1979
Genre Rock, new wave
Length 3:32
Label Elektra 46063
Writer(s) Ric Ocasek
Producer(s) Roy Thomas Baker
The Cars singles chronology
"Good Times Roll"
(1979)		 "Let's Go"
(1979)		 "It's All I Can Do"
(1979)
Candy-O track listing
Music sample
"Let's Go"

"Let's Go" was the first single from The Cars' second studio album Candy-O. It was released in 1979 on Elektra Records. The song was written by Ric Ocasek and features lead vocals by Cars bassist Benjamin Orr.

Composition

"Let's Go" was described by Brett Milano as "another double-edged anthem" in the liner notes for Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology.[1] AllMusic critic Donald Guarisco called the track "a tight new wave rocker that married the sardonic humor and new wave quirkiness of their previous singles to an easily accessible pop melody."[2]

The song's signature hook is a series of claps followed by a shouted "Let's go!", which is derived from the 1962 instrumental of the same name by The Routers, as well as a simple synth melody played by Greg Hawkes, using the Sync II lead preset (or a slight variation of it) from a Prophet-5 synthesizer. The song tells the story of a 17-year-old girl and her budding interest in "the nightlife".

Release

The single peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the US,[3] making it the first song by The Cars to reach the Billboard top 20. The song was an even bigger success elsewhere, hitting the top 10 in multiple countries. In Canada, the track reached #5, and remains the Cars' highest ever charting single in that country. Similarly, "Let's Go" peaked at #6 in Australia, where it remains The Cars' highest charted hit.

Two follow-up singles from Candy-O, "It's All I Can Do" and "Double Life", were released after "Let's Go". Although "It's All I Can Do" was a minor hit, "Double Life" failed to chart.

Reception

Rolling Stone critic Tom Carson called "Let's Go" "the best cut on [Candy-O]", while the Billboard review of Candy-O listed the song as one of the "best cuts".[4] William Ruhlmann, author of The All-Music Guide to Rock, said, "'Let's Go' (the Cars' biggest hit so far) became one of the summer songs of the year," and Hamish Champ, writer of The 100 Best-Selling Albums of the 70s, said the track (as well as its follow-up, "It's All I Can Do"), "give ample evidence of the band's range".[4] AllMusic reviewer said the track "proves to be the best track [on Candy-O]", while Donald Guarisco, also of AllMusic, said "its streamlined pop style paved the way for future Cars hits like 'Shake It Up' and 'Magic'."[5]

B-side

The song's B-side is a non-album track titled "That's It" that features Benjamin Orr on lead vocals.

Covers

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1979) Peak
position
Australia (KMR)[6] 6
Canada (RPM)[7] 5
New Zealand (RIANZ)[8] 40
UK[8] 51
US Billboard Hot 100[9] 14
US Cash Box Top 100[10] 14

Year-end charts

Chart (1979) Rank
Australia[11] 41
Canada [12] 49
U.S. Cash Box [13] 96
U.S. (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)[14] 102

References

  1. ↑ Milano, Brett. Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology. Rhino.
  2. ↑ Guarisco, Donald. "Let's Go". AllMusic.
  3. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 108.
  4. 1 2 "Candy-O album reviews". www.superseventies.com.
  5. ↑ Prato, Greg. "Candy-O". allmusic.com.
  6. ↑ "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  7. ↑ "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  8. 1 2 "Song artist 401 - The Cars". Tsort.info. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  9. ↑ "The Cars - Charts & Awards - Billboard Singles". AllMusic (Rovi Corporation). Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  10. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 9/08/79". Tropicalglen.com. 1979-09-08. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  11. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Forum - Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts - 1970s (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  12. ↑ "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  13. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2016. 96
  14. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
Sources

External links

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