"Shake It Up" is the fourth studio album by American new wave band the Cars, released on November 6, 1981, by Elektra Records. It was the last Cars album to be produced by Roy Thomas Baker. The album represented a shift toward a more pop-oriented sound, in contrast to the band's earlier albums. The title track became the band's first top-10 single on the Billboard Hot 100. Shake It Up was also included in Spin magazine's "50 Best Albums of 1981" list.
Critical reception to the album was mixed. AllMusic praised the album's catchy, polished pop sound, while Robert Christgau gave it a B rating, suggesting it was a solid but not groundbreaking effort. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music and The Rolling Stone Album Guide were similarly lukewarm in their reviews. Spin Alternative Record Guide rated it 7 out of 10, noting the album's well-crafted pop but not particularly groundbreaking nature.
The Globe and Mail criticized the album for being "understated and decidedly underwhelming," with the band not deviating from their familiar style. The Boston Globe also felt that the album was "conservative" and "cautious," and that it didn’t break any new ground for the band. Despite the mixed reviews, Shake It Up proved commercially successful, marking a peak in the band's popularity during the early 1980s.
