The Essential Eric Carmen

The Essential Eric Carmen

by Eric Carmen
The Essential Eric Carmen

The Essential Eric Carmen

by Eric Carmen

CD

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Overview

It's been a long time since Eric Carmen has had his body of work compiled -- 1997's Definitive Collection, to be exact, which had 18 hits on a single disc. Legacy's 2014 The Essential Eric Carmen easily trumps that set by offering 30 tracks from every phase of Carmen's career, beginning with the little-heard 1969 single "Get the Message" from his first band Cyrus Eri, and ending with the pretty good brand-new "Brand New Year." Carmen's professional career spans over four decades, but there aren't that many studio albums to draw upon: four albums from the Raspberries, six solo albums, plus the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, which provided him with some of his biggest hits (so big, he effectively stopped recording afterward, cutting only one album in the years since). That means that this collection does indeed have almost everything of note, from the big Raspberries hits "Go All the Way" and "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)," through the '70s solo smashes "All by Myself" and "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again," through those late-'80s sensations "Hungry Eyes" and "Make Me Lose Control." Inevitably, there are a handful of songs missing -- most regrettably, the superb 1985 single is absent, but so is 1979's minor "Baby, I Need Your Lovin'," and anything from the 2000 comeback -- but these are ultimately minor omissions, with The Essential Eric Carmen offering a thorough retrospective of a pop singer/songwriter who, at his best, could splice Brian Wilson, Paul McCartney, and Phil Spector, sometimes spiking it with some power chords borrowed from the Who. This collection makes it plain that Carmen always worked in this vein -- it's fascinating to hear the "Please Please Me" "come on, come on" refrain repeat back to back on the opening "Get the Message" and "Go All the Way" -- and just found ways to appealingly refine his craft as the years rolled by. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date: 03/25/2014
Label: Arista / Legacy
UPC: 0888837455220
Rank: 28370

Tracks

Disc 1

  1. Get the Message
  2. Go All the Way
  3. I Wanna Be With You
  4. Let's Pretend
  5. Tonight
  6. Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)
  7. Sunrise
  8. My Girl
  9. All By Myself
  10. Never Gonna Fall in Love Again
  11. Last Night
  12. Starting Over [Live 1976]
  13. That's Rock 'N' Roll [Live 1976]
  14. Run Away
  15. Love is All the Matters

Disc 2

  1. Boats Against the Current
  2. Marathon Man
  3. She Did it
  4. Nowhere to Hide
  5. Change of Heart
  6. Hey Deanie
  7. Desperate Fools
  8. Someday
  9. It Hurts Too Much
  10. Tonight You're Mine
  11. The Way We Used to Be
  12. Hungry Eyes
  13. Make Me Lose Control
  14. Ecstasy [Live 2005]
  15. Brand New Year

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Eric Carmen   Primary Artist,Piano,Vocals
Cyrus Erie   Featured Artist
The Raspberries   Featured Artist
Darian Sahanaja   Vocals,Keyboards
Jeffrey Foskett   Vocals
Nick Walusko   Guitar
Mike D'Amico   Bass,Drums

Technical Credits

Mikio "Hossy" Hoshino   Memorabilia
Ken Sharp   Project Coordinator,Liner Note Coordination,Liner Notes
Franke Previte   Composer
Eric Carmen   Composer,Producer,Liner Notes,Executive Producer
John DeNicola   Composer
Dean Pitchford   Composer
Mark Linett   Producer
Sandy Linzer   Producer
Mike Petrillo   Producer
Nick Celeste   Memorabilia
Mark Wilder   Mastering
Jimmy Ienner   Producer
Harry Maslin   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Darian Sahanaja   Mixing,Engineer
David Longworth Wallingford   Engineer,Additional Production
Nick Walusko   Mixing,Engineer
Jeffrey Mayer   Photography
Mark Larson   Art Direction
Patrick Griffin   Memorabilia
Bob Gruen   Photography
Norman Seeff   Photography
Bernie Hogya   Liner Notes
Mike Cimicata   Project Director
Timothy J. Smith   Compilation Producer
Alex Castino   Photography
Don Ladanyi   Photography
M.E. Martens   Memorabilia
Bob Gaudio   Producer
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