From the Record Collection (2 of 8)- "Heartbreak City" by The Cars

We continue our series with records from my own modest collection with a look at the vintage "Heartbreak City" from The Cars (1984). The album which contains the hit singles "You Might Think," "Magic" and "Drive" was produced by Mutt Lange, who has produced everything from heavy metal to country music.

The record was released at a time when videos were the only thing that pre-Beavis and Butthead MTV was dedicated to, and "You Might Think" with its nifty special effects for the time brought in a new younger audience to The Cars which had depended on Album Oriented Rock (AOR) stations with their first four records.

The other catchy videos for songs from "Heartbreak City," included one for the song "Magic" which feautres the lead singer Ric Ocasek walking on water over a swimming pool. This was followed by a video directed by actor Timothy Hutton for the ballad "Drive," which would become the biggest hit single for The Cars as it sky-rocketed to number three on the Billboard charts. The song's lead vocals actually came from the late Ben Orr (1947-2000) who was the band's bass player.

"Heartbreak City" was recorded at Battery Studios in London, and the front cover was a painting entitled "Art-o-Matic-Loop-di-Loop" by English artist Peter Phillips.

A fouth video for "Hello Again," another song on the record, was directed by another artist, Andy Warhol, who like Ocasek was of Czech heritage.

Orr died from pancreatic cancer at age 53 in 2000, but the remaining four members of the band, which also includes Elliot Easton (guitar), Greg Hawkes (keyboards) and David Robinson (drums) recorded the band's first record since 1987 and seventh overall "Move Like This" earlier this year.

The new album is dedicated to Orr's memory. For the record, The Cars put on a brief tour from Seattle to Boston, during the spring.