This Side of Paradise is the second solo studio album released by Ric Ocasek, lead singer and songwriter of the Cars.

In addition, Roland Orzabal from Tears for Fears (guitar on "Emotion in Motion"), Tony Levin from King Crimson/Peter Gabriel, Tom Verlaine of Television and G. E. Smith of the Saturday Night Live Band guest on various tracks.

The first single from the album, "Emotion in Motion", which was aided in its promotion by a video that received heavy airplay on MTV, reached number 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks for one week, becoming Ocasek's only solo chart-topper (as a member of the Cars, he topped the chart with the singles "You Might Think" and "Magic" in 1984, and "Tonight She Comes" in 1985).

Smith's involvement with the album proved convenient when Ocasek assembled a backing band (including Greg Hawkes on keyboards) to appear as musical guest on Saturday Night Live, mostly using the Saturday Night Live Band, which then featured Smith as bandleader.

[5] Ocasek also appeared in a comedy sketch starring Dana Carvey's recurring character the Church Lady, who incorrectly introduced him as Keith Richards.

"Coming for You" features a recurring motif previously heard on "Nightspots" from the Cars' album Candy-O: Under an E minor chord, B-C-B-A-E.[8][9] "True Love" features a classical-styled solo on nylon-stringed acoustic guitar, played by Steve Stevens, who was then better known for the bombastic electric style that he brought to Billy Idol's material.