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The power pop world lost a legend in March when it was announced that Eric Carmen - the Raspberries frontman turned soft-rock hitmaker of the '70s and '80s - passed away at the age of 74. Now - on the eve of what would have been his 75th birthday and a special tribute to his life and career from the city that raised him - Legacy Recordings today issues a trove of rare and unreleased recordings from his beloved solo career.
And Now, Eric Carmen: The Arista Archive collects 25 demos, single versions, live tracks and studio outtakes (including three heard here for the first time) to offer an alternate look at Carmen's career as he launched radio hits like "All by Myself," "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again," "She Did It" and "Change of Heart" in the '70s; then, after a long period of quiet after a one-off album for Geffen in 1984, a last burst of hits in the thunderous Top 5s "Hungry Eyes" (from the bestselling soundtrack to 1987's Dirty Dancing) and "Make Me Lose Control," co-written with songwriter Dean Pitchford, with whom he'd penned the hit "Almost Paradise" for Loverboy's Mike Reno and Heart's Ann Wilson to take into the Top 10 from 1984's Footloose soundtrack. ("Lose Control" can be heard on the soundtrack to the multiplex's current blockbuster, Marvel's Deadpool and Wolverine.). The songs included on this set further his Arista tenure even more - first into the early '90s thanks to a pair of rare singles, then into an alternate mix of his last, brilliant solo track.
A mix of familiar and intriguing discoveries, a majority of the album was first heard on Japanese CD reissues of Carmen's four Arista albums: his self-titled 1975 solo debut, Boats Against the Current (1977), Change of Heart (1978) and Tonight You're Mine (1980). Still others were included on singles pressed to vinyl (like alternate edits and mixes of "All by Myself" and "Boats Against the Current") as well as CD (the rarities "Reason to Try," included on a 1988 collection commemorating the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea; and the exceptionally rare "My Heart Stops," issued to promote a 1991 compilation that never materialized). For the faithful fans, there are two unreleased versions of "All for Love" and "Foolin' Myself," both issued on Tonight You're Mine, as well as a completely unreleased song: "I'll Never Be the Same Without You," cut to tape in 1979. The album closes with an alternate mix of the Brian Wilson-esque "Brand New Year," which closed Legacy's 2014 entry on Carmen in their Essential product line. (This mix was previously available on Japanese pressings of that compilation, as well as a 7" single released for Record Store Day Black Friday later that year.)
The timing couldn't be better for And Now, Eric Carmen. The singer/songwriter would have turned 75 on August 11 - and, as the collection releases today, Carmen's widow Amy will receive the second annual "Music Keynote to the City" from the local government of Cleveland, Ohio (Eric's birthplace) in conjunction with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. (Amy Carmen oversaw the project with Eric's creative director and webmaster Bernie Hoyga, who designed the album cover with a photo shot by John Hall.)
If you're looking for something to make you lose control, perhaps you need look no further. And Now, Eric Carmen is available to stream and download today at the below links.
And Now, Eric Carmen: The Arista Archive (Arista/Legacy, 2024) (iTunes / Amazon)
* previously unreleased
- Sunrise (Live at The Roxy, Los Angeles, CA - March 1976)
- Slow Down (Live at the Bottom Line, NYC, NY - April 1976)
- Go All the Way (Live at the Bottom Line, NYC, NY - April 1976)
- All by Myself (Single Version)
- My Girl (Original Demo w/ Backing Vocals)
- Great Expectations (Original Piano Demo)
- That's Rock 'N' Roll (Original Piano Demo)
- Change of Heart (Original 1975 Demo)
- Marathon Man (Instrumental String Mix)
- She Did It (Original Piano Demo)
- Boats Against the Current (Single Version w/ Backing Vocals)
- A Temporary Hero (Demo)
- Love is All That Matters (Piano & Strings Instrumental)
- I'll Never Be the Same Without You *
- Marathon Man (Live at Budokan, Tokyo, Japan - November 1979)
- All by Myself (Live at Budokan, Tokyo, Japan - November 1979)
- Inside Story (Live at Nakano Sunplaza, Tokyo, Japan - February 1980)
- Overnight Sensation (Live at Nakano Sunplaza, Tokyo, Japan - February 1980)
- Tonight You're Mine (Live at Nakano Sunplaza, Tokyo, Japan - February 1980)
- All for Love (Piano Demo - 1980) *
- Foolin' Myself (Early Alternate Version) *
- Long Live Rock & Roll (Demo - 1987)
- Reason to Try
- My Heart Stops
- Brand New Year (Alternate Mix)
Track 1 from Arista promo single AS 0200-SL, 1976
Tracks 2-3 and 5-7 from Japanese CD reissue of Eric Carmen - Arista SICP 5473, 2015
Track 4 from Arista single AS 0165, 1975
Tracks 8 and 15-16 from Japanese CD reissue of Change of Heart - Arista SICP 30625, 2015
Tracks 9-10 and 12-13 from Japanese CD reissue of Boats Against the Current - Arista SICP 30624, 2015
Track 11 from Arista single AS 0295, 1977
Track 14 is a previously unreleased song
Tracks 17-19 from Japanese CD reissue of Tonight You're Mine - Arista SICP 30626, 2015
Track 20-21 are previously unreleased early versions of tracks from Tonight You're Mine - Arista AL 9513, 1980
Track 22 from Japanese pressing of The Essential Eric Carmen - Arista SICP 30621-2, 2014
Track 23 from 1988 Summer Olympics Album: One Moment in Time - Arista AL 8551, 1988
Track 24 from Arista promo CD single ASCD 2264, 1991
Track 25 from "Brand New Year" Record Store Day Black Friday 7" - Arista/Legacy 88843 04978-7, 2014
In Memoriam: Eric Carmen (1949-2024)
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Great Collection, but should be noted that most of Eric Carmen's listeners come from a time when physical product was the way we purchased our Eric Carmen music. Well, we're still here, and we would like this as a physical cd set. - Eliot Wien, NYC
Amen! Music fans over the age of 50 would buy physical product, if only it was available!
When I stream a digital release, I listen once and move on. CD releases inspire repeat listening.
Ditto
1. No CD? No "Top Down Summer"? Major fail!
You know, a collection that brings together a bunch of stuff that's been scattered across various releases is a win for most people, no matter what the format might be.
Certainly, one can hope that this will see an eventual release on physical media, but for the moment, this is hardly anywhere near "major fail" territory. Keep in mind there was a time when stuff like this was just sitting in the vault and nobody could hear it. So there's a good bit of progress happening every time a release like this comes out.
The clue is in the title.
I'd buy this immediately if were coming out on CD !!!
Here's what I think...perhaps this is just testing the waters...perhaps there is a multi-CD/vinyl EC boxset in the works, with all the albums & these rarities?! Still, I have an Amazon Music subscription, as well as I buy physical product, so it's good to have both...but I would love an EC solo years box...perhaps Universal will be putting out a Raspberries box too??
No CD, no buy...
Two thoughts:
Might this eventually be released in Japan in a physical format?
Given the Arista branding, could other artists be in the queue for a similar release?
No surprise. Sony Music, once the creator of superbly curated and incredibly mastered reissues, could not make it more obvious of total disregard for the CD buyer. This assumption that everybody buys vinyl shows how out of touch they are with their market. Case in point - Bruce Springsteen The Collection Vol 2. Whilst Universal, Warners and BMG continue to serve the CD market well, Sony have made it their goal to ignore a core part of their market. An insult to those who want to listen to music without distortion, surface noise and an outrageous price-point. How quickly they forget the format that made them millions and saved their parasitic asses in the 80s/90s.
Love this, though, like others I echo the desire for a physical CD.
I also wish they'd been some kind of demo or stripped back version of "Boats Against The Current." I'd love to hear a piano/vocal only version.