"Night Spots" is a 1979 song by The Cars from their second studio album, Candy-O. It was written by Ric Ocasek.

Background

"Night Spots" was a leftover from The Cars' first album, The Cars.^[1] The original version, recorded around the time of The Cars, according to the Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology liner notes, "has a sinister, stripped-down feel that anticipates the more experimental direction of later Cars music."^[1] This version remained unreleased until it appeared on the Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology compilation album.^[1]

Reception

"Night Spots" has generally received positive reception. AllMusic critic said that the band "rocks out on ... 'Night Spots'", and in the Billboard review of Candy-O, "Night Spots" was noted as one of the "best cuts".^[2][3] Rolling Stone critic Tom Carson said, "In 'Nightspots,' Greg Hawkes' synthesizer jabs and jumps like the flashing lights on a rainy, late-night highway, and the tune's hopped-up rhythms and stuttering singing have a tense, jittery momentum that's exactly right."^[3]

Covers

• The Cautions covered "Night Spots" for the tribute album Substitution Mass Confusion: A Tribute to The Cars.
• Johny Dey covered the song for the tribute album Just What We Needed: A Tribute To The Cars.