"Let's Go" was described by Brett Milano as "another double-edged anthem" in the liner notes for . AllMusic critic Donald Guarisco called the track "a tight new wave rocker that married the sardonic humor and new wave quirkiness of their previous singles to an easily accessible pop melody." The song's signature hook is a series of claps followed by a shouted "Let's go!", which is derived from the 1962 song "Let's Go " by the Routers, as well as a simple synth melody played by Greg Hawkes, using the Sync II lead preset from a Prophet-5 synthesizer. The song tells the story of a 17-year-old girl and her budding interest in "the nightlife".
Release
"Let's Go" was released as the debut single from Candy-O in June 1979. The song's B-side is a non-album track titled "That's It" that features Benjamin Orr on lead vocals. The single peaked at number 14 on the BillboardHot 100 singles chart in the US, making it the first song by The Cars to reach the Billboard top 20. The song was an even bigger success elsewhere, hitting the top 10 in multiple countries. In Canada, the track reached #5, and remains the Cars' highest ever charting single in that country. Similarly, "Let's Go" peaked at #6 in Australia, where it remains The Cars' highest charted hit. Two follow-up singles from Candy-O, "It's All I Can Do" and "Double Life", were released after "Let's Go". Although "It's All I Can Do" was a minor hit, "Double Life" failed to chart.
Reception
Rolling Stone critic Tom Carson described "Let's Go" as "the best cut on Candy-O, while the Billboard review of Candy-O listed the song as one of the "best cuts". Billboard described the song as a "catchy midtempo number" with a guitar-driven "sassy rock sound." William Ruhlmann, author of The All-Music Guide to Rock, said, "'Let's Go' became one of the summer songs of the year," and Hamish Champ, writer of The 100 Best-Selling Albums of the 70s, said the track, "give ample evidence of the band's range". AllMusic reviewer said the track "proves to be the best track ", while Donald Guarisco, also of AllMusic, said "its streamlined pop style paved the way for future Cars hits like 'Shake It Up' and 'Magic'."
Covers
In 1980, Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song for their comeback album Chipmunk Punk. They would re-record their cover for their 1994 compilation albumHere's Looking at Me!.
In 1990, Isley Brother Ernie Isley also covered the song for the compilation album . This version of the song was featured in the film Chasing Amy during the opening scene at a convention.
The song is a staple of Skyrocket!'s sets, and features Darin Murphy on lead vocals, as he performs the song in an android persona.
