Does it get any slicker or polished than the fifth album from The Cars. With Mutt Lange co-producing, the boys hit the charts with not one, but two top 10 songs. It really should have been the end of them here, going out in style at the peak of form.For myself, the 80s are not complete without this band, my father did their live sound for years and their albums were in constant play around the house. Most people would view them as a 70s rock band trying to play the new romantic card, nothing could be further from the truth. I'd say it was more the new romantics taking numerous cues from this bunch.Benjamin Orr and Rik Ocasek fulfill the arc begun with their debut thunderously. This is the curtain going down, a band ruling the airwaves and packing in massive venues. Everything you could ask for is on this album, crunchy guitars meld with the sinewy vocals of Ocasek; Orr's velvety range is in full swing for the ever-classic and timeless Drive. Synthesizers play a much more prominent role here, very expertly applied. This isn't electronics for the sake of something "new" as was so often the case in those days. Atmospheres are created, splendor is realized.I don't quite know what could rival this these days. Even though Panorama is my favourite, Heartbeat City is the one which is definitively The Cars. If only I'd not have scorned them the way I did when this came out, but being the ripe old age of eleven I was busy fiending over Joan Jett and various bands who have not stood the test of time. Hindsight is contagious but the real killer is that there will never be another performance by the band, Orr's death in 2000 rules that out. So put this one on and make with the strobes. It's 1984 all over again, and such a time it was. Where did I put those parachute pants...