The song that got you revved up for the Cars’ second album. I really need to put the brakes on the car puns.
Kronomyth 2.01: Let’s get this party started.
The Cars kept the hit production line moving with “Let’s Go,” the first single from their second album, Candy-O. It’s the study of a beauty, a Daisy Miller in the disco age, perfectly captured in the camera’s eye of Ric Ocasek’s mind. At the time, this was the band’s highest-charting hit. Americans were still coming to terms with the whole “new wave” thing, and The Cars were one of the few new wave bands who scored hits here on the merits of their music rather than the perceived novelty factor of synthesizers (which had, of course, been around for years). The B side is a half-baked goodie from the Candy-O sessions, “That’s It,” that missed the album cut but made it onto this single. It’s not a bad idea, just underdone, without the crushing choruses or compressed sound synonymous with their best work.
Original 7-inch single version
A1. Let’s Go (Ric Ocasek) (3:32)
B1. That’s It (Ric Ocasek) (3:19)
Back-to-back hits 7-inch single reissue
A1. Let’s Go (Ric Ocasek) (3:32)
B1. My Best Friend’s Girl (Ric Ocasek) (3:40)
Back-to-back hits 7-inch single reissue (Canada)
A1. Let’s Go
B1. It’s All I Can Do
The Plastic
Released on 7-inch single and 7-inch picture disc single on June 12, 1979 in the US, Australia and Canada (Elektra, E-46063), the UK (Elektra, K 12371/P), Brazil (Elektra, 12045), Germany (Elektra, ELK 12 371), Japan (Warner/Pioneer, P-450E) and the Netherlands (Elektra, ELK 12.371) with regional picture sleeve; reached #14 on the US charts (charted on June 30, 1979 for 15 weeks) and #51 on the UK charts.
- Re-issued with “It’s All I Can Do” on back-to-back hits 7-inch single in September 1979 in Canada (Elektra Gold Standard, GS 45507).
- Re-issued with “My Best Friend’s Girl” on back-to-back hits 7-inch single in 1981 in the US (Elektra Spun Gold, E-45118).
