The Essential Eric Carmen

Eric Carmen (former member of the Raspberries) has always had a talent for writing great pop hits. Here you get it all along with a few surprises. This is a must for any Eric Carmen fan. Great sound, production and best of all, all the hits are here along with a few classic album tracks. Great job Sony. You got it right this time.

I grew up with Eric Carmen's music. Go All the Way cemented itself in my psyche riding in the back seat of my parents' car watching the world go by. Only later did I realize what the song wasy about. All By Myself whispered in the dark on many nights complete with its long Rachmoninoff bridge. The Beach Boys rose from the dead and backed up Carmen for boppy She Did It. This catchy popsmith admired by musicians for his deceptively complicated song structure hovered in the background of fame. I got this brand new, remastered collection and have rediscovered the soaring, glorious harmonies of My Girl which would sound like a contemporary indie pop gem if released today. The husky, plaintive Boats against the Current, an ode to The Great Gatsby. The Rachmaninoff inspired All By Myself and Never Gonna Fall in Love again. The sparkling, frisky Raspberries odes to teenage lust. And, yes there are dark periods which ironically brought him his biggest fame (Hungry Eyes, eh) and recognition but not many can continue to turn out the perfectly crafted pop tunes through the decades like Carmen. A stroke of genius is getting the Wondermints to play on his first new recorded song in many years. A genius pairing. I was lucky enough to catch The Raspberries reunion performance at the House of Blues a few years ago and dammit, they still got it. Pop fans would do well to discover or rediscover these gorgeous songs.