THE CARS – Heartbeat City [Deluxe Edition] (2025) *HQ*

320_1 /// 320_2 /// HQ

Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of THE CARS’ hit album “Heartbeat City”. Rhino is releasing a 4CD/1LP Deluxe Edition set, including the original “Mutt” Lange-produced quadruple-platinum album on both CD and LP. The remainder revisits the making of the album with unreleased studio recordings, b-sides, early mixes – most of these previously unreleased – plus a never released complete 1984 concert from the band’s Heartbeat City Tour.
“Heartbeat City [Deluxe Edition]” highlights the album sessions with a different, demo version for the Top 10 hit “Drive,” along with unreleased recordings of tracks like “Stranger Eyes” and “Jacki” (later renamed “Heartbeat City”). The set also includes multiple versions of “Shooting For You,” an outtake from the 1980s Panorama that was revived during the making of Heartbeat City.
The set also features a complete concert recorded at The Summit in Houston on September 11, 1984. Originally released on VHS and Laserdisc as The Cars – Live 1984-1985, the performance appears on CD for the first time here, expanded to include previously unreleased versions of “Candy-O” and “My Best Friend’s Girl.” The band opened the show with “Hello Again” and packed 17 songs into a 70-minute set that featured half the new album, including “You Might Think” and “Magic,” alongside earlier hits like “Good Times Roll” and “Let’s Go.”

Keyboardist Greg Hawkes recalls Ric Ocasek’s demo for “Drive” started out like a “spooky bossa nova with him sounding a little like Elvis.” By the time the band arrived in London to record, the song had evolved with Benjamin Orr taking over lead vocals. To conjure the track’s ethereal sound, Hawkes says the group spent days layering backing vocals while producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange urged, “Breathier, man, breathier!”
A Classic

Disc One: Original Album Remastered
“Hello Again”
“Looking For Love”
“Magic”
“Drive”
“Stranger Eyes”
“You Might Think”
“It’s Not The Night”
“Why Can’t I Have You”
“I Refuse”
“Heartbeat City”

Disc Two
B-Sides & Remixes
“Breakaway”
“Hello Again” (Remix Version)
“Hello Again”
Early Versions & Demo Recordings
“Drive” (Demo)
Stranger Eyes (Early Version) *
“It’s Not The Night” (Early Version) *
“One More Time” (Early Version Of “Why Can’t I Have You”)
“Baby I Refuse” (Early Version Of “I Refuse”)
“Jacki” (Early Version Of “Heartbeat City”)
Alternate Versions
“Shooting For You” (First Version) *
“Shooting For You” (Re-Recorded Version) *
“Shooting For You” (Re-Recorded Version – Alternate Mix)

Disc Three: Bonus Tracks – Early Mixes
“Hello Again” (Early Mix) *
“Looking For Love” (Early Mix) *
“Magic” (Early Mix) *
“Drive” (Early Mix) *
“Stranger Eyes” (Early Mix) *
“You Might Think” (Early Mix) *
“It’s Not The Night” (Early Mix) *
“I Refuse” (Early Mix) *
“Heartbeat City” (Early Mix) *
“Breakaway” (Early Mix) *
“Shooting For You” (First Version – Early Mix) *
“Shooting For You” (Re-Recorded Version – Early Mix) *

Disc Four: Heartbeat City – Live (The Summit, Houston, Sept.11,1984)
“Hello Again”+
“It’s Not The Night”+
“Touch And Go”+
“Candy-O” *
“Good Times Roll”+
“Jimmy Jimmy”+
“Moving In Stereo”+
“Just What I Need”+
“A Dream Away”+
“Cruiser”+
“Drive”+
“You Might Think”+
“My Best Friend’s Girl” *
“Magic”+
“Let’s Go”+
“Heartbeat City”+
“You’re All I’ve Got Tonight”+

* Previously Unreleased
+ Previously Unavailable on CD

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amazon.co.uk/Heartbeat-City-Deluxe-4CD-1LP/dp/B0FRB3NT93