"It's All I Can Do" is a song by the American rock band

the Cars The Cars were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the New wave music, new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek (rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), ...

. It is the third track from their 1979 album '' Candy-O''. It was written by the band's leader and songwriter

Ric Ocasek Richard Theodore Otcasek (March 23, 1944 – September 15, 2019), known as Ric Ocasek, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was the primary co-lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, songwriter, and frontman for the rock ...

, and features bassist

Benjamin Orr Benjamin Orzechowski (September 8, 1947 – October 3, 2000), known professionally as Benjamin Orr, was an American musician best known as the bassist, co-lead vocalist, and co-founder of the rock band The Cars. He sang lead vocals on sever ...

on vocals.

Sound and genre

"It's All I Can Do" is a new wave influenced

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

. According to Brett Milano, writer of the '' Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology'' album notes "'It's All I Can Do' was an affecting, straight-ahead piece of romantic pop, give or take a line like 'When I was crazy, I thought you were great.'" The track was described as "gentle" by

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

reviewer Greg Prato, while Hamish Champ, writer of ''The 100 Best-Selling Albums of the 70s'' called the song "laidback". The bass lines and the

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable com ...

guitar riffs have a major rock feel, but the song is softened down with

's vocals and

Greg Hawkes Gregory A. Hawkes (born October 22, 1952) is an American musician best known as the keyboardist for the rock band The Cars. Hawkes, a native of Fulton, Maryland, United States, attended Atholton High School where he played in a band called Teet ...

keyboard and synth lines.

Release

"It's All I Can Do" was released as the follow-up to the "

Let's Go Let's Go may refer to: Film * ''Let's Go'' (1918 film), a 1918 comedy short starring Harold Lloyd * ''Let's Go'' (1923 film), a silent film written by Keene Thompson * ''Let's Go!'' (film), a 2011 Hong Kong action film Music Albums * ''Let's ...

" single on September 25, 1979, backed with "Got a Lot on My Head" in the U.S. and Canada, and with " Candy-O" in Britain. Although the song did not reach the Top 20 standard of its predecessor, it reached number 41 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. A third and final single from '' Candy-O'', "

Double Life An alter ego (Latin for "other I", "doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a different ...

", failed to chart.

Reception

"It's All I Can Do" has generally received positive reception from critics. Prato said that It's All I Can Do' ... deserved to be a hit," while Champ said the track (as well as its predecessor, "

,") "give ample evidence of the band's range." William Ruhlmann, author of ''The All-Music Guide to Rock'', said "'It's All I Can Do' hit as well s 'Let's Go', and in the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' review of ''Candy-O'', the song was chosen as one of the "best cuts". In a negative review, Tom Carson of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' said, "'It's All I Can Do' calculatedly recycles the '

Just What I Needed "Just What I Needed" is a song by American rock band The Cars from their self-titled debut album (1978). The song, which first achieved radio success as a demo, took inspiration from the Ohio Express and the Velvet Underground. The song is sun ...

' hook but to less-telling effect. It's simply cold." ''

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

'' felt "It's All I Can Do" was less "dynamic and catchy" than "Just What I Needed" and "Let's Go," describing it as a "rocker with a simple melody line and spare instrumentation." '' Cash Box'' said it is "more subdued but equally intriguing" compared with "Let's Go" and said it has "infectious rhythms" and "sparse yet effective electronics."

B-side

The B-side of "It's All I Can Do" is "Got a Lot on My Head", another track from ''Candy-O''. In a review of ''Candy-O'', AllMusic reviewer Greg Prato says the band "rocks out on 'Got a Lot on My Head' and ' Night Spots'".

Other appearances

*"It's All I Can Do" was featured in the 1998 film ''

The Wedding Singer ''The Wedding Singer'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Coraci, written by Tim Herlihy, and produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo. The film stars Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, and Christine Taylor, and tell ...

'', and included on the film's second soundtrack, titled ''Wedding Singer 2''. *

Electronic rock Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music Electronic music is a Music genre, genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or electronics, circuitry- ...

/ new wave revival band

the Bravery The Bravery is an American rock band formed in New York City in 2003. The band consists of lead vocalist Sam Endicott, guitarist Michael Zakarin, keyboardist John Conway, bassist Mike Hindert and drummer Anthony Burulcich. They are best known ...

covered the song in 2005 as the B-side to their single "

Fearless Fearless or The Fearless may refer to: Psychology * Lack of fear * Courage or bravery Film, television and audio Film * ''Fearless'' (1978 film), an Italian film directed by Stelvio Massi * ''Fearless'' (1993 film), an American drama directed ...

". Their cover was later included in '' Substitution Mass Confusion: A Tribute to The Cars'', a 2005 multi-artist collaborative album distributed by Not Lame Recordings.

Personnel

: Lead vocals, bass guitar *

: Rhythm guitar *

Elliot Easton Elliot Easton (born Elliot Steinberg, December 18, 1953) is an American guitarist. He played lead guitar and sang backing vocals for The Cars, and his guitar solos are an integral part of the band's music. Easton has also recorded music as a so ...

: Lead guitar *

: Keyboard, synthesizer *

David Robinson David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003, and minority owner of the Spurs. Nicknamed ...

: Drums

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:It's All I Can Do (Cars Song) 1979 singles The Cars songs Song recordings produced by Roy Thomas Baker Songs written by Ric Ocasek Elektra Records singles