Albums that influenced me: Panorama.

My copy of Panorama.

The Cars' Panorama (1980) grates on me. It's not their best album; it doesn't have the same hits that their self-titled debut or Shake It Up have; it doesn't feature Elliot Easton's best guitar solos and Benjamin Orr only sings on a couple tracks. I would even suggest that it's a hard album to listen to. Nonetheless, I like to think that Panorama has influenced my playing style and overall tone more than any other album. Let me explain.

Of all of The Cars' albums, I probably discovered Panorama last. It's not an exceptionally difficult album to track down in thrift shops and secondhand stores, but it took me a while to find it. My teenage budget didn't give me the room to own a CD version of the record.

All I knew is that my The Cars' Greatest Hits CD only contained one song from Panorama — "Touch and Go" — and I didn't really like that song very much. I mean, I listened through it and it regularly got stuck in my head, but it wasn't nearly as excellent as all the other songs on the Greatest Hits record.

Panorama starts with the title track, which begins with some tiny electronic drums. Although The Cars often get labelled as half-punk, half-new wave, few of their songs drip with as much new wave sensibility as this one. I can't say the lyrics are coherent, but I appreciate their anxious, angsty tone. When I hear this song, I can't help but feel a little stressed out. I love the contrast between the dissonant single-note motif and the more funky verse motif. Weirdly enough, "Panorama" has become my favorite get-into-the-workout song. When I'm actually trying to do a run or hard bike ride, this is often the first song I listen to.

As for "influence," the electronic hi-hat is something I often try to mimic and I love to make big contrasts between rock and roll and electronics. This song tells me it's OK to carry on with that tradition.

"Touch And Go" is an excellent little pop number, although it might be a little too long for its purpose. It features one of Ellott Easton's most melodic guitar solos, and Greg Hawkes' keyboards fit perfectly in spite of the song's sort-of country-ish tone. Ben Orr, whose bass playing was usually quite straight-forward for The Cars, gets to play some unique, melodic offbeats during the verses. The song gets stuck in my head quite a bit, although I don't think I really like it very much. It's not a bad song; it's just not really my style.

"Gimme Some Slack," again, comes off as a little weak, but has a rather catchy, angry tone to it. Melodically, it bounces between major and minor keys. I feel as if it could be a good jam song, but I doubt I'll ever have a chance to play with a group who wants to jam on it. 

The album features a couple throwaway tracks: "Down Boys" and "Misfit Kid" don't fully make the cut for me. I enjoy them, but never choose to listen to them. "You Wear Those Eyes" isn't an overly strong outing either, although I'm sure it made a few girls swoon in 1980. "Running to You" could have been a pop hit, although its rough-around-the-edges tone makes it less ideal for radio. These songs, although they weren't exceptionally strong in contrast with the best of The Cars' catalogue, still sound pretty good and refreshing today. 

The album ends with "Up and Down," probably the best song on the record. It's an angry electronic track that seems to grasp on to the Cold War tone of its era. Again, its lyrics drip with the angst of "Why Can't I Just Get What I Want," which makes it a rather bittersweet album closer. However, Elliott Easton gets to show off some chops on a rather short guitar break, and the chorus is admirably catchy. I appreciate its cold closing, considering the fact that the previous two The Cars albums fade out.

Again, The Cars made better albums. But I come away from Panorama with a smile. I feel it shows the ways The Cars matured after two successful pop records, and I enjoy the angry, experimental layers that it featured. I feel as if they wanted to add a few less-pop-ish songs to their live shows, knowing that they'd have to play "Best Friend's Girl," "Just What I Needed," and "Let's Go" for the remainder of their careers. But Panorama gave them some room to express some anger and angst, something that lacked from their first two records.