The Cars “Candy-O” released 40 years ago today, June 13th, 1979. The Cars’ second LP – featuring a commissioned Vargas painting on the cover – went to #3 on the US album charts and though considered pop/new wave at the time, many of its singles are featured today on classic rock stations (I’m looking at you WAPL). Those singles, written by either Ric Ocasek or Benjamin Orr, include the super-catchy tracks “Let’s Go” (#14), “It’s All I Can Do” (#41) and the not-quite-as-catchy “Double Life” which failed to chart. Also pretty great are the non-single tracks “Candy-O” with its crazy space-age laser effects and Elliot Easton’s “finest solo on the album, starting with a burst of speeding liftoff effects and then moving into Eddie Van Halen territory, ripping off a series of tight scorching trills that are quickly tucked into the next verse before wandering too close to ‘70s guitar virtuosity,” (Allmusic) and “Night Spots,” a driving 70′s heavy beats and guitar meets new wave synthpop beepbloops rocker.