Although the first album is considered by many to be The Cars' one classic album, I'd put Candy-O on top. If you like driving down the highway with your 6(or 8 or 10...) speakers blasting on high, singing along to a CD, Candy-O will make you delirious. Ear candy of the finest order, The Cars' second album has many bright spots - chief among them being "Nightspots." The extended intro to this song - with Elliot Easton's great guitar lick - just has to be one of the most sublime moments in rock. And although every other reviewer has already mentioned it, the segue between "Shoo-Be-Doo" and the title track, like sex, is shiver-inducing. It will have you coming back for more and more, skipping back to that last few seconds of the first song as you crank the volume higher and higher until your ears bleed, just to get your fix of that first note of "Candy-O." I swear, it's like crack. The other songs are merely great. And unlike the first album, there isn't a stinker in the bunch. Sure, "The Cars" is a masterpiece and "Panorama" and "Shake It Up" have their merits, but "Heartbeat City," while a good pop album, is not the Cars I had grown and loved and played air guitar to on my tennis racket. And the less said about "Door To Door," the better. It was "Candy-O" that made me believe rock and roll was heaven-sent. Those first two Cars albums ROCKED, pure and simple. I just wish they'd get their due because, damn, that was a good band. Without "Candy-O" and The Cars (with a little help from Blondie and Devo), rock and roll might never have bridged the gap between guitar and synthesizer/keyboards. The Cars proved you could have both AND rock. Buy Candy-O today. Your musical health depends on it.

22 years, 6 cassettes, and 1 CD later, this album is still part of my driving collection. I can never get tired of it, and will continue to wear it out and replace it as long as I live. From start to finish, this album is rich in sound and word. Ric and Ben sharing vocals provide the trademark Cars sound. David's rhythmic, tight drums, Elliot's fantastic guitar licks, and Greg's experimental electronic sound all make this album a classic, in my book. Pay particular attention to "Since I Held You", and "Got a lot on my head". These songs stand out as classic hook-driven tunes conceived with careful forethought. Most of all, it reminds me of a time when you had to have talent to get a recording contract.

For a lot of bands, their second album makes or breaks them. For the Cars, Candy-o take the best elements from their debut and adds a much more mature direction. "Let's Go" kicks things off wonderfully, with a catchy synth line Ben Orr's fantastic vocals. "Since I Held You" is a great song. At first it starts out with a quirky guitar riff before the song becomes more emotional, and towards the end, Elliot plays a great guitar solo. "Candy-o" picks up the pace a bit, and features possibly Elliot's best guitar solo yet (even if it's only a few seconds long). "Nightspots" is cool too; heavy riffs, wacky vocals, and loud keyboards. To end it all is "Dangerous Type," and I really can't understand why this song doesn't get more airplay.
Totally reccommended for fans of the Cars, and anyone who like artsy rock.

I must enthusiastically agree with all the other customer reviewers who raved about this CD. Most classic rock stations play a lot of tracks from the Cars' debut album, but Candy-O remains my favorite.

Each and every song on this CD is catchy and makes you want to turn the volume up a notch or two. I'm personally not that crazy about "Nightspots", which I consider the weakest track on the disc, but it's still listenable. "Shoo-Be-Doo", with it's segue into the title track, and "Dangerous Type" get my vote for the best tracks on the disc. The latter song conveys a sense of darkness and foreboding, as if something really bad is going to happen if singer Ric Ocasek keeps up his relationship with the girl in the song. Greg Hawkes' mesmerizing keyboard work is at its best in this track, as well as "It's All I Can Do".

Last but not least, the cover of "Candy-O" gets my vote as one of the most erotic album covers of all time. The cover art by Antonio Vargas, who illustrated for Playboy in the 60's and 70's, is incredible. I'd have bought the CD just for the picture alone, but guess what? The music is fantastic too!!

The cool-factor of "Candy-O" cannot be measured with current technology. Although it stands alone as a great record, it is best appreciated if you understand what came before it and what came after. "The Cars" was hard rock with new wave tinges, "Panorama" was new wave with rock tinges (slighty too few in my opinion), and "Candy-O" was a perfect mix of both. The Cars' ever-evolving sound has always fascinated me, and after many, many years of devoutly following them, I believe that "Candy-O" is THE QUINTESSENTIAL CARS ALBUM. From the icy (and very original) "rock-from-outer-space" sound to the greatest rock-album cover EVER (hands-down!!!), it really doesn't get any cooler than this.

p.s. Elliot Easton's lead guitar sound, which is consistent throughout this entire album, is unmatched and not-of-this-world. Each solo is a sonic masterpiece.