Eric Carmen: The Essential Eric Carmen

eric carmen
Eric Carmen
The Essential Eric Carmen
(Arista/Legacy/Sony)
3.5 out of 5 stars

Videos by American Songwriter

ā€œIā€™m a rocker,ā€ Eric Carmen once sang as frontman for 70ā€™s 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 ā€œStarting Over,ā€ but generally Carmen seemed most comfortable cranking out power chords and hooky choruses as on Beatles/Who rave up ā€œGo All the Wayā€ and ā€œ 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 ā€œAll By Myselfā€ piano based ballads dominated his output. That culminated in 1987ā€™s Top 5 charting, sugar slick ā€œHungry Eyes,ā€ a tune destined to outlive Carmen with its featured appearance in that yearā€™s 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/songwriterā€™s lifelong Beach Boys infatuation, to keep the momentum going.

That gets a little tough with mushy fare such as the string laden ā€œDesperate Foolsā€ and 1984ā€™s soggy ā€œThe 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 ā€œTonight Youā€™re Mineā€ donā€™t fare much better. But anyone capable of writing a song as timeless, powerful and catchy as the classic ā€œI just want a hitā€ musician tell-all ā€œOvernight Sensationā€ (from ā€™74, with the Raspberries) deserves your attention and respect. Even if it means slogging through the extended eight minute ā€œRun Away,ā€ twice as long as necessary with the addition of a ā€œMacArthur Parkā€-styled middle interlude. Like Billy Joel, Carmen is heavily influenced by early 60s Brill Building pop, resulting in 1980ā€™s ā€œIt 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, 1969ā€™s Cyrus Erie, through Raspberries highlights (including three live tracks) and five solo albums. The extra room allows for deeper cuts like ā€œSomeday,ā€ inspired by the singerā€™s appreciation of Lesley Gore, to get a much deserved airing. The closing ā€œBrand New Year,ā€ Carmenā€™s first new composition in 18 years, shows there is still gas left in his melody tank even if he remains in awe of ā€œSurfs Upā€ era Brian Wilson.

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