Eric Carmen
The Essential Eric Carmen
(Arista/Legacy/Sony)
3.5 out of 5 stars
Videos by American Songwriter
āIām a rocker,ā Eric Carmen once sang as frontman for 70ās power poppers the Raspberries. And anyone who heard that or most of his other sexed up, adrenalized songs for that band would surely agree. There were some slow ones mixed into their albums such as the lush, lovely, Elton John styled āStarting Over,ā but generally Carmen seemed most comfortable cranking out power chords and hooky choruses as on Beatles/Who rave up āGo All the Wayā and ā I Wanna Be with You,ā two Raspberriesā nuggets from this double disc Carmen career recap.
Yet no sooner did he go it alone in 1975 than the melancholy āAll By Myselfā piano based ballads dominated his output. That culminated in 1987ās Top 5 charting, sugar slick āHungry Eyes,ā a tune destined to outlive Carmen with its featured appearance in that yearās Dirty Dancing film. To their credit, the compilers of these 30 tracks mix up the vibe with enough upbeat material, much of it tapping into the singer/songwriterās lifelong Beach Boys infatuation, to keep the momentum going.
That gets a little tough with mushy fare such as the string laden āDesperate Foolsā and 1984ās soggy āThe Way it Used to Be,ā which sounds like a rejected demo for Barbara Streisand. A few lunk-headed rockers like the as-bland-as-its-title āTonight Youāre Mineā donāt fare much better. But anyone capable of writing a song as timeless, powerful and catchy as the classic āI just want a hitā musician tell-all āOvernight Sensationā (from ā74, with the Raspberries) deserves your attention and respect. Even if it means slogging through the extended eight minute āRun Away,ā twice as long as necessary with the addition of a āMacArthur Parkā-styled middle interlude. Like Billy Joel, Carmen is heavily influenced by early 60s Brill Building pop, resulting in 1980ās āIt Hurts Too Much,ā a tune with castanets and a honking sax break that even the great songwriter Doc Pomus would have been proud to call his own.
While 30 tracks might be pushing it for all but the most adoring fans (who probably already own nearly everything here), this covers every album Carmen released from his first garage rock outfit, 1969ās Cyrus Erie, through Raspberries highlights (including three live tracks) and five solo albums. The extra room allows for deeper cuts like āSomeday,ā inspired by the singerās appreciation of Lesley Gore, to get a much deserved airing. The closing āBrand New Year,ā Carmenās first new composition in 18 years, shows there is still gas left in his melody tank even if he remains in awe of āSurfs Upā era Brian Wilson.
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