"Touch and Go" is a song by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

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

from their 1980 album ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...

''. The song was written and sung by bandleader

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 ...

Composition

The song's verses feature the use of

polymeter In music, metre ( Commonwealth spelling) or meter (American spelling) refers to regularly recurring patterns and accents such as bars and beats. Unlike rhythm, metric onsets are not necessarily sounded, but are nevertheless implied by the perfo ...

. The bass and drums are playing in a

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

of , while the vocals, keyboards, and guitar are playing in . The guitar solo was played over music similar to the chorus, but with some sections extended to give

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 ...

more measures on the chords E minor, F major, and G major, to build his flashy, melodic solo which resolves to a C

major seventh chord In music, a major seventh chord is a seventh chord in which the third is a major third above the root and the seventh is a major seventh above the root. The major seventh chord, sometimes also called a ''Delta chord'', can be written as maj7, M7, , ...

Release

"Touch and Go" was released as the debut single from ''Panorama''. It reached number 37 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 1980, making it the highest charting American single from ''Panorama''. Its follow-up singles, " Don't Tell Me No" and " Gimme Some Slack" failed to chart. "Touch and Go" has consistently appeared on many of the Cars' compilation albums, including ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'', '' Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology'', '' Complete Greatest Hits'', '' Shake It Up & Other Hits'', and '' The Essentials''. Aside from ''Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology'', it is the only track from ''Panorama'' to appear on said albums.

Reception

"Touch and Go" has generally received positive reception from music critics. ''

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 advertise ...

'' said that "After the jerky introduction a fluent slight '50-ish melody takes over", that it has "a strangely appealing change in rhythm midway through the song" and also praised the bass playing.

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 databas ...

critic Greg Prato said the song was a standout on ''Panorama'' "which merges off-time keyboard flourishes with some great textural guitar work by

." Donald Guarisco, also of AllMusic, described the track as "a surprisingly straightforward ballad that became a minor hit for the group", also stating, "the melody is appropriately moody, consisting of attractive verses that hypnotically ebb and flow, a constantly ascending pre-chorus bridge that builds tension and a gorgeous call-and-response chorus that releases that tension", concluding that the song was "a sleek tune perfect for the car radio." Music critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

said that the song was one of the peaks of ''Panorama.''

John Lennon's opinion

Former

Beatle The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development ...

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

mentioned the song in his final interview on 8 December 1980, praising it for its 1950s sound and comparing it with his current record at the time, "

(Just Like) Starting Over "(Just Like) Starting Over" is a song written and performed by John Lennon from the 1980 album, ''Double Fantasy''. It was released as a single on 24 October 1980 in the United Kingdom, with Yoko Ono's " Kiss Kiss Kiss" as the B-side. It reache ...

." He said, "I think the Cars' 'Touch and Go' is right out of the fifties 'Oh, oh...' A lot of it is fifties stuff. But with eighties styling, but, but... and that's what I think 'Starting Over' is; it's a fifties song made with an eighties approach."

Charts

References

{{Authority control The Cars songs 1980 singles Songs written by Ric Ocasek Song recordings produced by Roy Thomas Baker Elektra Records singles 1980 songs