# Touch and Go guitar solo > Elliot Easton's guitar solo on Touch and Go by The Cars (1980) starts at about 1:17. From the album Panorama. Watch from the solo, with tab and lesson links. Canonical URL: The Cars, 1980, from *Panorama*. Solo by *Elliot Easton*. Easton's fluid, melodic solo contrasts with the song's odd, stop-start rhythm. Touch and Go sets up a lopsided, stop-start groove, with the verses feeling slightly out of step with the beat. Elliot Easton's solo is the release valve: smooth, fluid and melodic, it glides over the rhythm with a clean, singing tone and neatly shaped phrases. He was one of new wave's most tasteful lead players, drawing on rockabilly and country as much as rock, and this is a fine showcase of his economy. The contrast between the jerky backing and the flowing lead is the whole point. Listen for how Easton builds his lines like a vocal melody, with clear beginnings and endings, and how the solo seems to straighten the song out for a moment before the odd rhythm returns. Touch and Go by The Cars is featured in our New Wave (#20) list. The solo is played by Elliot Easton and the song was released in 1980. ## In our lists - [The 25 Greatest New Wave Guitar Solos](https://greatestsolos.com/list/new-wave/) — #20 - [The Best The Cars Guitar Solos](https://greatestsolos.com/list/the-cars-guitar-solos/) — #4 - [Top 20 Guitar Solos of 1980](https://greatestsolos.com/list/best-guitar-solos-1980/) — #19 ## Sources ### Who played the guitar solo on Touch and Go? Elliot Easton played the solo on The Cars's Touch and Go (1980). --- GreatestSolos ranks the greatest guitar solos by consensus across published lists. Agent guide: [llms.txt](https://greatestsolos.com/llms.txt) · [Sitemap](https://greatestsolos.com/sitemap.xml) · [Dataset (CSV)](https://greatestsolos.com/data/greatest-guitar-solos.csv) · [How we rank](https://greatestsolos.com/method/)