"Night Spots" | |
---|---|
Song by The Cars | |
from the album Candy-O | |
Released | June 13, 1979 |
Recorded | 1979 at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles |
Genre | New wave, hard rock |
Length | 3:15 |
Label | Elektra |
Songwriter(s) | Ric Ocasek |
Producer(s) | Roy Thomas Baker |
Candy-O track listing | |
11 tracks
|
"Night Spots" is a 1979 song by The Cars from their second studio album, Candy-O. It was written by Ric Ocasek.
Background
"Night Spots" was a leftover from The Cars' first album, The Cars.[1] The original version, recorded around the time of The Cars, according to the Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology liner notes, "has a sinister, stripped-down feel that anticipates the more experimental direction of later Cars music."[1] This version remained unreleased until it appeared on the Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology compilation album.[1]
Reception
"Night Spots" has generally received positive reception. AllMusic critic said that the band "rocks out on ... 'Night Spots'", and in the Billboard review of Candy-O, "Night Spots" was noted as one of the "best cuts".[2][3] Rolling Stone critic Tom Carson said, "In 'Nightspots,' Greg Hawkes' synthesizer jabs and jumps like the flashing lights on a rainy, late-night highway, and the tune's hopped-up rhythms and stuttering singing have a tense, jittery momentum that's exactly right."[3]
Covers
- The Cautions covered "Night Spots" for the tribute album Substitution Mass Confusion: A Tribute to The Cars.
- Johny Dey covered the song for the tribute album Just What We Needed: A Tribute To The Cars.