When young Eddie Mahoney changed his name to Eddie Money, it’s safe to say that he had his eyes on the prize.  The prize, of course, was chart success – something that the rock-and-roller achieved in abundance with such enduring hits as “Baby Hold On,” “Two Tickets to Paradise,” and “Take Me Home Tonight.”  The BGO label has recently collected four of Money’s Columbia Records LPs – the second half of his discography for the label, comprising his fifth through eighth albums – on a new 2-CD set.  Where’s the Party? (1983), Can’t Hold Back (1986), Nothing to Lose (1988), and Right Here (1991) chronicle a period of tremendous ups and some downs for the quintessential ’80s artist.

The success of “Baby Hold On,” “Two Tickets to Paradise,” and “Think I’m in Love” was in the rearview mirror when Money recorded 1983’s Where’s the Party? with producer Tom Dowd.  It was their second collaboration.  The sonic pioneer had already worked with such legends as Dusty Springfield, Aretha Franklin, The Allman Brothers Band, and The Bee Gees when he first joined Money; for his part, Money had recorded with accomplished producers Bruce Botnick and Ron Nevison.  Dowd adapted his organic style to Money’s brand of gleaming, guitar-and-synth-driven AOR; the artist had a hand in writing all nine of its songs including the singles “The Big Crash” and “Club Michelle.”  Despite the ready-made sing-a-long vibe of both tracks, neither cracked the top half of the Billboard Hot 100.  The album itself failed to reach the top 40, an unfortunate first for the artist.  Money retreated, and when he returned, it would be with one of his biggest-ever hits.

Can’t Hold Back reached stores in fall 1986, co-produced by Richie Zito, an in-demand session guitarist-turned-producer.  Money co-wrote six of the album’s ten tracks, crucially stepping back to accept Mike Leeson and Peter Vale’s soaring “Take Me Home Tonight.”  The anthem tapped into nostalgia in a most clever way via an interpolation of Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector’s “Be My Baby,” the 1963 classic by The Ronettes.  Beyond just quoting the song, Money and Zito brought in the voice of the Ronettes, Ronnie Spector, to add her inimitably husky vocals.  The result inspired a memorable music video with Money and Spector, and gave both artists a top five hit in the U.S. (his highest-ever placement on the Hot 100) and an international smash.  Money received a Grammy nomination for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, and the success of the song spurred Can’t Hold Back to million-selling status and a top 20 berth on the Billboard 200.  (It also goosed Ronnie Spector out of retirement and to a resurgent career which is still thriving today.)

The second disc of BGO’s set opens with 1988’s Nothing to Lose, the belated follow-up to Can’t Hold Back.  Indeed, as the title indicates, Money was riding high.  Richie Zito naturally returned to co-produce a similar mix of glossy uptempo rock and power ballads, and Money co-authored five of its ten songs.  “Walk on Water,” the top ten hit penned by Jesse Harms, welcomed back Money’s old bandmate Jimmy Lyon on guitar.  Other songwriters represented included Adrian Gurvitz (“The Love in Your Eyes,” a No. 24 chart entry) and Diane Warren (“Boardwalk Baby”).  The third single, “Let Me In,” went to No. 30 Rock but only No. 60 Pop; it would subsequently appear in a version by pop queen Laura Branigan.

Disappointed by the sales of Nothing to Lose, Columbia issued a greatest-hits collection (with three new recordings).  Money returned to the studio for 1991’s Right Here, his final album for the label and the concluding chapter of this collection.  This time, the formula changed; Randy Jackson (the top-flight session bassist and future American Idol judge) oversaw a diverse production team also including Money, Keith Olsen (of Fleetwood Mac fame), Marc Tanner, and Monty Byrom.  Diane Warren was back with “Run Right Back,” and Robert “Mutt” Lange (AC/DC, Def Leppard) co-wrote the louche opening track, “Heaven in the Back Seat.”  The hit single was “I’ll Get By,” produced by Olsen and Money, and co-written by the artist.  Despite the appeal of the heartfelt, shimmering ballad, Right Here stalled at No. 160.

Since Right Here, Eddie Money has only released three full-length studio albums, with the most recent having arrived in 2007.  He still enjoys great popularity, and even spoofed himself in a 2018 episode of Chuck Lorre’s sitcom The Kominsky Method, playing a fictionalized version of himself who is in such debt to the IRS that he assumes the role of Freddie Money in an Eddie Money cover band (!).  Charles Donovan (compiler and annotator of BGO’s recent, essential Pamela Polland release) has provided an excellent overview of Money’s fascinating career arc in his new liner notes.  The 24-page booklet within the slipcased package also includes the credits for the original albums.

If you’re looking to fill in the gaps on your Eddie Money shelf, or are just looking for the album that spawned one of his greatest hits, you’ll surely want to take BGO’s new four-for-one CD home tonight.  Whoa-oh-oh!

Eddie Money, Where’s the Party? / Can’t Hold Back / Nothing to Lose / Right Here (BGO BGOCD1379, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

Where’s the Party? (Columbia FC 33862, 1983)

1. Maybe Tomorrow
2. Bad Girls
3. Club Michelle
4. Back on the Road
5. Don’t Let Go
6. The Big Crash
7. Where’s the Party?
8. Leave It to Me
9. Backtrack

Can’t Hold Back (Columbia CK 40096, 1986)

10. Take Me Home Tonight (Be My Baby)
11. One Love
12. I Wanna Go Back
13. Endless Nights
14. One Night
15. We Should Be Sleeping
16. Bring on the Rain
17. I Can’t Hold Back
18. Stranger in a Strange Land
19. Calm Before the Storm

CD 2

Nothing to Lose (Columbia FC 44302, 1988)

1. Walk on Water
2. Magic
3. The Love in Your Eyes
4. Let Me In
5. Boardwalk Baby
6. Forget About Love
7. Pull Together
8. Far Cry from a Heartache
9. Bad Boy
10. Dancing with Mr. Jitters

Right Here (Columbia CK 46756, 1991)

11. Heaven in the Back Seat
12. She Takes My Breath Away
13. Another Nice Day in L.A.
14. Fall in Love Again
15. Run Right Back
16. Things Are Much Better Today
17. Fire and Water
18. Prove It Every Night
19. Think Twice
20. I’ll Get By​