Needle Time

  The Cars - Heartbeat City [MFSL 1-442 USA 2016 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Anybody who thought The Cars were a power-pop/American wave-rock band would certainly have been a bit confused when they released their zillion selling AOR/soft-rock standard Drive . Heartbeat City was the album from which Drive appeared, however it did also include a few power-pop/wave singles, such as You Might Think and the more synthpoppy Hello Again .  The album was originally released on Elektra Records in 1984, and the production is as polished as we have come to expect from the era. Consequently music of this ilk does not tend to date well, however for those of us around at the time, the sounds, smells and memories of 1984 come flooding back. My copy is the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab all analogue (yes... MoFi AAA) remaster from 2016, and it sounds damned fine, even the aforementioned zillion selling AOR/soft-rock standard. A1 Hello Again A2 Looking For Love A3 Magic A4 Drive A5 Stranger...

  The Cars - Shake It Up [MFSL 1-325 USA 2009 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Originally released on Elektra Records in 1981, here is another all-analogue MoFi pressing cut from the original master tapes by Rob LoVerde. Shake It Up was more pop than wave opened by two classic hits singles, the excellent title track and Since You're Gone .   What's really noticeable about this release is how quiet the mastering sounds. I've managed to maintain a decent volume so the music is able to shine through the occasionally noise RTI pressing. We are told MoFi are to open there own pressing plant in 2023, I for one would hope that they would be able to assure better quality pressing because it is clear that other labels (Tome Poet) are able to persuade RTI to use quieter sounding vinyl and MoFi are not. I'd guess that only headphone listeners would notice this, those with proper home hi-fi audio will only have to crank things a notch or two louder. A1 Since You're Gone A2 Shake It ...

  The Cars - The Cars [MFSL 1-274 USA 2009 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] What's this....? A Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab release which is genuinely cut directly from original analogue tape. I know there have been hundreds of such releases over the decades, however after what has been a difficult year for the high-end label, I thought we would end 2022 with one of their best releases. I was never really the biggest fan of The Cars, their self-titled debut album was recorded at AIR Studios in London in early 1978 and originally released on Elektra Records in June of that year. The album greatly benefits from the idea to send an American rock band to London to experience the British new wave scene and produced a couple of classic power-pop hit singles, the energetic  Just What I Needed and  My Best Friend's Girl . It was a stroke of genius to ask British producer Roy Thomas Baker (Bowie, Stones, Queen, Stranglers etc) to deal with studio matters, his production is tight, crisp a...