[.ca] Eric Carmen

Rachmaninoff throughout:
Truly one of the great albums of its genre/time, the music 'borrows' from Rachmaninoff throughout. If you're interested try Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto #2 for starters.

POP POP POP:
If you love pop melodies that have that commercial zing to them, you will love this album. I wore out two copies in vinyl, and ran to buy two copies of the CD, and have listened to it non-stop since purchasing. Eric's mournful, soulful almost-whine vocals lend his ear-candy a definite edge, making these classically-based compositions all the more enjoyable. The pure sunshine pop of SUNRISE and LAST NIGHT is deliriously joyful. A deftly made record that has withstood the test of time. Cannot wait for Eric's new release...coming soon! Where is BOATS/CURRENT on CD? It is his best album.

Not that I don't still miss the Raspberries,:
but I have to admit that this album was pretty good for a first outing. There honestly isn't a weak song on it, although All By Myself has been wrung out about as much as a pop song can be, and That's Rock And Roll was spoiled for eternity years ago. (If you don't know why, count yourself lucky.) Among the highlights are All By Myself (if you've been living in a cave for years,) Sunrise, Never Gonna Fall In Love Again, and My Girl, but even the requisite cover, On Broadway, benefits from Carmen's vocal prowess. That said, Eric's summation of his Raspberries years, Great Expectations/Everything/No Hard Feelings, is a nicely done tip of the hat to his old band. (Although I can't say I buy the part about No Hard Feelings.)

Great:
Along with Rasberries Best this really captures the talents of Eric Carmen. His later albums were weak, but this one was really good. A brilliant songwriter who seems to have lost it at some point.

Ex-Raspberries Singer's Debut Release Is Full Of Great Songs:
Ex-lead singer for the group The Raspberries, Eric Carmen released, in my opinion one of 1975's best albums. The huge radio hit "All By Myself" and the followup hit "Never Gonna Fall In Love Again" were very touching songs. "All By Myself", included on this cd is in it's full length (7 min.) and single versions (5 min.), was a masterpiece with Carmen playing piano and singing with great emotion. No wonder it was played so much on radio back then - a real tear jerker. The album has some great pop rock songs with the standouts being the catchy "Sunrise", "Last Night", "My Girl", "No Hard Feelings", and "That's Rock & Roll" (also made popular by teen idol Shawn Cassidy). Carmen also does an excellent version of The Drifter's hit "On Broadway". Also included is a "live" version of "Sunrise". If you enjoy melodic seventies pop rock and ballads then Carmen's debut is a cd you'll certainly treasure.

• Sunrise
• That's Rock'n Roll
• Never Gonna Fall in Love Again
• All by Myself
• Last Night
• My Girl
• Great Expectations
• Everything
• No Hard Feelings
• On Broadway
• All by Myself \oSingle Version\c\o*\c
• Sunrise \oLive\c\o*\c