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/ News

Brand New Year, Brand New Compilation: Legacy Preps "The Essential Eric Carmen"

February 17, 2014 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Essential Eric CarmenWill the real Eric Carmen please stand up?  There's Eric Carmen, the power pop prince of The Raspberries.  There's Eric Carmen, the classically-inspired balladeer of "All By Myself" and "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again."  And there's Eric Carmen, the eighties "comeback kid" of "Make Me Lose Control" and the Dirty Dancing perennial "Hungry Eyes."  Luckily, all sides of the versatile artist figure prominently on Arista Records and Legacy Recordings' upcoming release of The Essential Eric Carmen.  This 2-CD, 30-song anthology, due on March 25, encompasses every aspect of Carmen's career, and includes two previously unissued live recordings, one new-to-CD track, and one newly-recorded song.

Ohio-born Carmen made his major-label debut as a member of Cyrus Erie, signed to Epic Records for a handful of singles including "Get the Message" which makes its CD-era debut here.  When Cyrus collapsed, Carmen and guitarist Wally Bryson joined with Bryson's old bandmates Jim Bonfanti and Dave Smalley of The Choir to form The Raspberries.  And this time, Carmen had the formula to "go all the way."    The Raspberries led the power-pop pack in synthesizing the tight melodies, layered harmony vocals, indelible riffs and polished production of the likes of The Beatles, The Hollies and The Beach Boys into a sound that was perfect for its own time period.  The band broke up in 1975, but had already left a lasting legacy with the crackling likes of "Go All the Way," "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)" and "Let's Pretend," all of which are included on The Essential Eric Carmen.

The Raspberries frontman's eponymous 1975 debut for Arista Records got his solo career off to an auspicious start.  The No. 21-charting LP yielded two hit singles, both of which spoke to Carmen's musical acumen as they were inspired by themes from classical composer Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943).  Sans his Raspberries comrades, Carmen might have felt "All By Myself," but the song of the same title soared to No. 2 on the Billboard chart and No. 1 on Cash Box.  Its follow-up, "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again," peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Easy Listening chart.  In what must have been an ultimate compliment, Frank Sinatra performed both songs in concert.

Carmen's sophomore effort Boats Against the Current continued his winning streak, as both the title track and "She Did It" hit the charts.  "Love is All That Matters" drew on a Tchaikovsky theme; all three songs plus the album's third single "Marathon Man" are among its tracks included on the new compilation.  Carmen remained at Arista for two more albums, Change of Heart and Tonight You're Mine, before jumping ship to Geffen for another self-titled album co-produced by The Four Seasons' Bob Gaudio.  All three albums are represented on The Essential, as are the songs which defined Carmen for a new generation: the Dirty Dancing anthem "Hungry Eyes" (1987) and the nostalgic single "Make Me Lose Control" (1988).

There's still more!  Hit the jump, won't you?

In addition to all of those hits and key album cuts, The Essential Eric Carmen also premieres two never-before-heard performances from New York City's late, lamented Bottom Line circa 1976, "That's Rock and Roll" and "Starting Over."  It takes in a track from the much-hailed live Raspberries reunion of 2005, "Ecstasy," and ends on an optimistic note with "Brand New Year," newly-recorded by Carmen with Jeffrey Foskett, Darian Sahanaja, Nick Walusko and Mike D'Amico of Brian Wilson's band.  (The latter three men, of course, also are founding members of The Wondermints.)  Though "Brand New Year" has been available online since Christmas Eve 2013 (and can be streamed here), The Essential Eric Carmen marks its CD debut.  The ballad is vintage Carmen - lush, gorgeous  and memorably melodic.

Carmen himself contributes new liner notes for the anthology produced by Timothy J. Smith and remastered by Mark Wilder.  Carmen is particularly proud of how the set showcases his many musical styles, writing on his website that "A certain 'iconic' record executive once told me 'Once you go 'pop', you can never go back.' I beg to differ, and this record will prove just how wrong he was, once and for all."  The Essential Eric Carmen - with its blend of pop, rock and pure heart - will be available from Arista Records and Legacy Recordings on March 25, and you can pre-order below!

The Essential Eric Carmen (Arista/Legacy, 2014) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Disc 1

  1. Get The Message - Cyrus Erie
  2. Go All the Way - Raspberries
  3. I Wanna Be with You - Raspberries
  4. Let's Pretend - Raspberries
  5. Tonight - Raspberries
  6. Overnight Sensation (Hit Record) - Raspberries
  7. Sunrise
  8. My Girl
  9. All by Myself
  10. Never Gonna Fall in Love Again
  11. Last Night
  12. Starting Over (Live 1976)
  13. That's Rock N' Roll (Live 1976)
  14. Run Away
  15. Love is All That Matters

Disc 2

  1. Boats Against the Current
  2. Marathon Man
  3. She Did It
  4. Nowhere to Hide
  5. Change of Heart
  6. Hey Deanie
  7. Desperate Fools
  8. Someday
  9. It Hurts Too Much
  10. Tonight You're Mine
  11. The Way We Used to Be
  12. Hungry Eyes
  13. Make Me Lose Control
  14. Ecstasy (Live 2005) - Raspberries
  15. Brand New Year

Disc 1, Track 1 from Epic single 5-10451, 1969
Disc 1, Track 2 from Raspberries (Capitol ST-11123, 1972)
Disc 1, Tracks 3-4 from Fresh Raspberries (Capitol SK-11036, 1972)
Disc 1, Track 5 from Side 3 (Capitol SMAS-11220, 1973)
Disc 1, Track 6 from Starting Over (Capitol ST-11329, 1974)
Disc 1, Tracks 7-11 from Eric Carmen (Arista AL 4057, 1975)
Disc 1, Tracks 12-13 previously unreleased
Disc 1, Tracks 14-15 and Disc 2, Tracks 1-4 from Boats Against the Current (Arista AB 4124, 1977)
Disc 2, Tracks 5-8 from Change of Heart (Arista AB 4184, 1978)
Disc 2, Tracks 9-10 from Tonight You're Mine (Arista AL 9513, 1980)
Disc 2, Track 11 from Eric Carmen (Geffen 24042, 1984)
Disc 2, Track 12 from Dirty Dancing: Original Soundtrack from the Vestron Motion Picture (RCA 6408-1-R, 1987)
Disc 2, Track 13 from The Best of Eric Carmen (Arista AL 8548, 1988)
Disc 2, Track 14 from Live on the Sunset Strip (Rykodisc, 2007)
Disc 2, Track 15 is a new recording

Categories: News Tags: Raspberries

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Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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Comments

  1. Randy Anthony says

    February 17, 2014 at 10:02 am

    Sure would have preferred the studio version of "That's Rock 'n' Roll" instead of (or in addition to) the live version, but overall this is a real improvement over the already-pretty-great "Definitive Collection" (1997).

    Reply
  2. Bill says

    February 17, 2014 at 10:09 am

    Eric blogged that the remastering on this collection is fantastic. Can anyone verify that it is before I drop money on yet more of this great catalog? Thanks in advance.

    Reply
    • Jason Michael says

      February 17, 2014 at 12:22 pm

      As this hasn't been released yet, I obviously haven't heard it, but Mark Wilder is an excellent mastering engineer so this comp should sound great. Previous projects for which he has drawn much-deserved praise are the Bob Dylan Mono box and virtually all Sony Miles Davis releases for the past twenty years. I will be buying this set as soon as it's out.

      Reply
    • Jason Michael says

      February 17, 2014 at 12:23 pm

      Once I do hear it I will post here.

      Reply
  3. Kym says

    February 17, 2014 at 11:10 am

    Good compliation, but too bad it doesn't have "I Wanna Hear It From Your Lips".

    Reply
    • Rich D. says

      February 17, 2014 at 1:49 pm

      EXACTLY !! Its not complete without "I Wanna Hear It From Your Lips"........

      Reply
  4. Kaanapali Sam says

    February 17, 2014 at 12:22 pm

    The one downer to the Raspberries' hits has been the audio quality. The dynamic range seemed limited, as if in the multitrack process, every track lost some quality. Maybe they ping-ponged to get more tracks? How do Mark Wilder's remasters compare to what's come before? Any revelations in the sound quality, or it's about the same? I can't really expect miracles, but I'd love to hear the hits jump outta my speakers...

    Reply
    • Ernie says

      February 17, 2014 at 12:35 pm

      The four Raspberries remastered cd's in the mini album jackets from Japan sound better than any others I've heard and I've owned them all. They finally got it right.

      Reply
      • Chief Brody says

        February 17, 2014 at 12:49 pm

        Agreed. I own those as well. Still no sonic wonders, IMO, but definitely better than anything else I've heard or owned by the Raspberries.

        Reply
  5. Kaanapali Sam says

    February 17, 2014 at 1:54 pm

    Ernie, Chief: Thanks for the info, I'll look into those, and also wait for this new set to come out, to see what's being said about Wilder's remasters....

    Reply
  6. Kirk says

    March 25, 2014 at 2:27 am

    I have an advance copy of this- Mark Wilder's remastering is genius. All of these songs sound better than anything previously released- you will not be disappointed!

    Reply
  7. Shirakawa says

    March 25, 2014 at 1:03 pm

    Thanks Kirk, will look to buy this....

    Reply

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