 |
From the Vault...
03/28/1999
#622 |
|
info
Eric Carmen
"Eric Carmen"
© Rhino Records
Year of Release: 1975
Rating:
|
track listing
Sunrise
That's Rock 'N Roll
Never Gonna Fall In Love Again
All By Myself
Last Night
My Girl
Great Expectations
Everything
No Hard Feelings
On Broadway
All By Myself
(Single Version)
Sunrise
(Live Version)
|
WSVNRadio Archives
Eric Carmen related sites:
|
|
|
Eric Carmen
"Eric Carmen"
Ah...the Seventies... For those of you who may not remember Eric Carmen,
he was the lead singer of the 1970s band The Raspberries. With their big
hits as "I Wanna Be With You" and "Go All The Way", they were
one of many Seventies band with the pop sound receving heavy airplay on AM
radio. Eric Carmen went on his own in 1975, and his self-titled album is
the focus this week as the Album Pick of the Week.
"Sunrise" starts out with a very eerie intro, as in a horror movie
soundtrack, but then blends into the typical 70s pop rock sound, similar to the
early years of Elton John ("Love Lies Bleeding"). "That's Rock 'N
Roll" is a bouncy pop number similar to the likes of The Raspberries,
The Bay City Rollers or even the early works of Paul McCartney & Wings.
It's a great head-bopping tune that can get anyone out of a slump mood.
"Never Gonna Fall In Love Again" is a slow number, and features the
sound in which Eric Carmen is known for in the Seventies, slow-type ballads
that would label him a teeny bopper (as such popular 1970s stars as Donny
Osmond, Shaun Cassidy, and Leif Garrett). Likewise, the next song, which is
considered Carmen's most famous hit. "All By Myself", a sad song that
about one being all alone, which could bring a tear to anyone's eye. The brief
guitar solo has an early George Harrison style, and it also features some great
classical piano at the end of the song (the long version, obviously). This
piece is like Cat Stevens' "Morning Has Broken", but in reality, this
piano piece is from a classical composer by the name of Rachmaninoff.
Recently, Celine Dion recorded her own version of "All By Myself" for
her album Falling Into You. Both songs by Carmen ("Never Gonna Fall
In Love Again" and "All By Myself") received huge radio airplay
back in the 1970s, and both would be found on Carmen's Greatest Hits compilation.
"Last Night" returns Eric Carmen back to the pop sound, and this
song definitely has the Raspberries sound. "My Girl" has the vocal
style of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys. "Great Expectations" is
another happy-go-lucky sounding tune, similar to the McCartney style of The
Beatles' "When I'm Sixty-Four", likewise it's great instrumentation
heard in the Sgt. Pepper favorite.
"Everything" has a classical feel to it, and is another slow
number, and is very short; making it a lead-in to "No Hard Feelings",
another pop rock song in the style of a rocking McCartney/Wings' "Jet".
"On Broadway" is Carmen's version of the same tune which was made
famous by George Benson. Carmen brings a more smooth feeling to the song,
with a pop beat.
The last two songs are bonus tracks Rhino Records provided for the CD
release in 1992. "All By Myself" (Single Version) is the common
version heard on AM radio (short version). A live version of "Sunrise"
is the second bonus track, the song that begins the Eric Carmen album.
It starts out with the pop sound right away, not as in the original version
heard on track number one, with it's eerie intro.
Eric Carmen is an album for the Seventies pop fan. It has songs
that any fan of such talents as Paul McCartney & Wings, The Beach Boys, The
Raspberries, and Elton John would enjoy. It features his most famous 1970s
hit, "All By Myself" which is the one song that everyone remembers
when Eric Carmen's name is mentioned. (In later years, he would be featured
on the soundtrack of Dirty Dancing).
The Seventies music was hated by some, enjoyed by the rest. But it is
a part of the ever-changing world of pop music. The music of the Seventies
was an enjoyable experience for me, despite how bad people may trash the
many sounds that came out the Seventies decade. For those who enjoy Rhino's
Have A Nice Day series, you'll enjoy the music of the man who fronted
the band The Raspberries, and discover that he had just as much success on his
own, like many other bands in the Seventies whose band members traveled on
solo careers. Not as much success as The Beatles, but he, as well as such
solo artists who branched out in the '70s (like Cher, Michael Jackson, and
Diana Ross to name a few) performing solo on your own is a big challenge.
And even though The Raspberries may not have been as famous as The Beatles,
Sonny & Cher, The Jackson Five or The Supremes, Eric Carmen would have his
moment in the spotlight on his own, sharing himself with the many talents
who branched out from their famous bands, just to make a name for himself,
all by himself.
© WSVNRadio.net. All rights reserved.
Review or any portion may not be reproduced
without written permission. Cover art is the
intellectual property of
Rhino Records
and is used for reference purposes only.
|
|
