Café Racers

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]

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]

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)