Café Racers

Café Racers is the eighth studio album by American singer Kim Carnes, released in October 1983 by EMI.

Café Racers
Studio album by Kim Carnes
Released	October 1983
Recorded	1983
Genre	Pop rock
Length	43:10
Label	EMI
Producer	Keith Olsen
Kim Carnes chronology
Voyeur (1982) Café Racers (1983) Barking at Airplanes (1985)
Singles from Café Racers
"Invisible Hands" Released: 1983 "You Make My Heart Beat Faster (And That's All That Matters)" Released: 1984 "I Pretend" Released: 1984

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

The album spawned three chart singles in the United States, "Invisible Hands", "You Make My Heart Beat Faster (And That's All That Matters)", and "I Pretend" which charted on various Billboard charts. "The Universal Song" was also released as a single in West Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Scandinavia.

The song "I'll Be Here Where the Heart Is" was included on the chart-topping, six times Platinum Flashdance soundtrack which received a Grammy Award for Best Album Of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture at 26th Annual Grammy Awards. It was also released as a single in Germany, Netherlands, Spain and France.

The album was not as successful as Mistaken Identity or Voyeur, peaking at number 97 on the Billboard album chart.

Background

Following Mistaken Identity (1981) and Voyeur (1982), Carnes intended to continue working with producer Val Garay for her third album with EMI. Garay was occupied producing Little Robbers for The Motels, so Carnes approached Keith Olsen, who had recently produced her hit "I'll Be Here Where the Heart Is" for the Flashdance soundtrack.[2]

Critical reception

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine described Café Racers as "a snapshot of the various styles and sounds of mainstream radio circa 1983". He proposed that the album's commercial failure was due to a lack of hit record material, and suggested that the abundance of single remixes that were sent to radio stations added "an air of desperation" to Café Racers.[1]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"You Make My Heart Beat Faster (And That's All That Matters)"	Kim Carnes, Dave Ellingson, Martin Page, Brian Fairweather	4:35
2.	"Young Love"	Gary O´Connor	4:14
3.	"Met You at the Wrong Time of My Life"	Paul Wilson, B.P. Hurding	5:21
4.	"Hurricane"	Kim Carnes, Bill Cuomo	4:30
5.	"The Universal Song"	Bill Cuomo, Kim Carnes, Dave Ellingson	3:52
6.	"Invisible Hands"	Martin Page, Brian Fairweather	3:12
7.	"I Pretend"	Martin Page, Brian Fairweather	5:20
8.	"Hangin' On by a Thread (A Sad Affair of the Heart)"	Kim Carnes	2:51
9.	"A Kick in the Heart"	Mark Goldenberg	4:32
10.	"I'll Be Here Where the Heart Is"	Kim Carnes, Craig Krampf, Duane Hitchings	4:43

2001 re-issue

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"You Make My Heart Beat Faster (And That's All That Matters)" (Extended version)	Kim Carnes, Dave Ellingson, Martin Page, Brian Fairweather	6:07
12.	"Hurricane" (Extended vocal version)	Kim Carnes, Bill Cuomo	5:13
13.	"Invitation to Dance" (Vocal Dance Mix)	Kim Carnes, Dave Ellingson, Martin Page, Brian Fairweather	6:30

Charts

Chart (1983)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[3]	97

Personnel

Musicians

• Kim Carnes – lead vocals, backing vocals (3, 6, 7, 9, 10)
• Bill Cuomo – keyboards (1, 2, 4, 5, 7-10), synthesizers (3), keyboard solo (6)
• Steve Porcaro – keyboards (2)
• David Paich – acoustic piano (3), keyboard bass (6)
• Duane Hitchings – keyboards (10)
• Chas Sandford – guitar (1, 4, 5), backing vocals (1, 4, 5)
• Steve Lukather – guitar solo (1), guitar (2, 3, 6, 7, 9)
• Waddy Wachtel – guitar (2, 3, 10), backing vocals (2)
• Mark Andes – bass guitar (2, 3, 6, 7, 9)
• Dennis Carmassi – drums (1-7, 9, 10)
• Brian Fairweather – Simmons drums (6), backing vocals (5, 6, 7)
• Craig Krampf – drums (8)
• Keith Olsen – percussion (3)
• Jerry Peterson – saxophone (3, 4, 7)
• Martin Page – backing vocals (5, 6, 7), Roland Jupiter 8 (6)
• Kevin Chalfant – backing vocals (7)
• John Waite – backing vocals (8)
• Daniel Moore – backing vocals (10)
• Dave Ellingson – backing vocals (10)

Production

• Keith Olsen – producer, engineer
• Dennis Sager – engineer
• Greg Fulginiti – mastering
• Susan McGonigle – production coordinator
• John Kosh – art direction, design
• Ron Larson – art direction, design
• Robert Blakeman – cover photography
• Jackie Sallow – sleeve photography
• Michael Brokaw (Kragen & Co.) – direction

Studios

• Recorded at Goodnight LA Studios (Van Nuys, CA).
• Mastered at Artisan Sound Recorders (Hollywood, CA).

Notes

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Café Racers – Kim Carnes". AllMusic. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
2. Grein, Paul (December 17, 1983). "Kim Carnes Racing Ahead Two Years After "Eyes"". Billboard. New York City.
3. "Chart listing for Cafe Racers". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2019.