danmichel

thanks for the info...i had forgotten how some of the other SWEET tracks had fared in BILLBOARD.

these days when i play a RASPBERRIES song on the air on 107-1 fm WKRV...i can say something i have not been able to say in all my 30 years in radio...i can say that the RASPBERRIES are on tour...i think that's pretty cool...

thanks to you folks...i just downloaded "love is like oxygen" and "fox on the run"...i remember playing "love is like oxygen" on the air when it was current...and "fox on the run" i had on 8 track when i was 16...alas "desolation boulevard" was eaten by my tape deck, like all my other 8 tracks.

the problem with setting up based on room acoustics before a show...acoustics are never a constant...between an empty room...and a room full of screaming fans...the differential between these two states could be radically different in some venues...leading to unexpected sound quality.

"CRAZY WATER" from BLUE MOVES. "TEACHER I NEED YOU" from DON'T SHOOT ME I'M ONLY THE PIANO PLAYER "SOCIAL DISEASE" "THE BALLAD OF DANNY BAILEY" and "HARMONY" from GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD

"calling occupants of interplanetary craft"-by KLAATU...and then covered by THE CARPENTERS.

i've heard DEBBY BOONE sing "little grass shack" on an album by BIG KAHUNA AND THE COPA CAT PACK...it's kind of cool.

are you sure that hair is really his?...i always thought PHIL SPECTOR wore a toupee.

i think the sound you hear on the record is the way the band intended it...i hear echoes of ROY ORBISON records from the previous decade in "go all the way"...it was a record made for radio...the radio that existed in the early 70's...hearing it today...in it's original mix takes me back to that time...and it also does that for people who weren't even born then...the digital age has introduced a sterility into the recording process that can rip the power right out of a power chord...leaving it to sound alone and empty. still...even though i'm not much for live albums...i think a song like "go all the way" would fare well in that format...because it was made without alot of studio tricks...relying instead on the most basic elements of rock for it's sound. btw...i think it's the background vocals that will need sweetening...if anything...i think ERIC'S vocal will rise to the occasion...but sometimes the background vocals can't be reproduced in concert by people who are busy playing the music.

ERIC'S solo career built upon the success of his earlier work with THE RASPBERRIES...if you listen...you can hear the maturation of the music when you compare the sweet joy on LET'S PRETEND...to the sadness that permeates the vocal...and arrangement of NEVER GONNA FALL IN LOVE AGAIN...i think of those two songs as great examples of how his RASPBERRIES music led to his solo career...yeah...NEVER GONNA FALL IN LOVE AGAIN can be heard as a sequel to LET'S PRETEND...and that's why i appreciate both eras of ERIC'S music.

i'm looking forward to seeing your press archives...back in the day...all i knew was the music...it'll be fun to see stories from the past that give light to how the world and the press percieved the band.

btw mamacote...i just listened to "ecstasy"...and i can hear it!

i just bought RASPBERRIES GREATEST from I-tunes...this is the first time i've ever heard these songs in crystal clear digital...in fact the last time i heard the first song i listened to..."LET'S PRETEND" was on a tinny AM RADIO...i've waited too long to get back into the RASPBERRIES...but i'm making up for lost time!

thanks guys for filling in some more details on "NEVER SAY DIE" for me...how apt that this song was resurrected in the way it has been...brought back to life with love and care from some true fans. just to let you know...when i first listened to "NEVER SAY DIE" i had a overwhelming sense of deja-vu...like i had heard this track...even played this track on the air before...after years in radio...and years of feeling this way about certain songs...i've come to realize that i usually only have this feeling about songs that later become hits...although this one would seem a long shot at this point in time...i really believe there is a place for "NEVER SAY DIE" on pop radio...and as i said earlier...the movies. strings have always capitivated me...their presence in "ALL BY MYSELF" really fueled my love for ERIC CARMEN'S solo work...as an amateur songwriter i can hear where they should be in the songs i write. thanks TOMMY for the superb string arrangement in "NEVER SAY DIE'...and again...thanks to all the players on this track who have put together a recording i really enjoy...there may yet be more to this story in the future...i hope so...i would really like to see this saga continue...in the form of a major label single release...from a major movie soundtrack.

btw...the synth strings you added are a really cool hook...back in the day when AM radio rules...subtle hooks like that would be lost in the compressed audio...but now with clear, clean audio...little things like that can add alot to a record...yet another hook to grab ya...i think there is a movie soundtrack that is in desperate need of this track...as it is right now...without any changes...wouldn't that be the ultimate musical fairy tale.?

thanks for the details BERNIE...that's quite a story...and your labor of love paid off...yeah...sometimes dreams do come true...years after the fact...my best to you and all the other people who made this finished track happen...i've listened it to a bunch of times already...with more listens yet to come...

i'm new to this forum...so pardon me while i get up to speed on the wide variety of information and people here...as a newbie...i just stumbled upon the ERIC CARMEN track "NEVER SAY DIE"...and i must say...what a great track it is...the instrumentation took the hooks and ran with 'em...ERIC'S vocal was superb...and the unvarnished truth of his vocal shines without overdubs and some of the other studio sweetening that can hide the heart of a singers soul...i've been in radio a long time...in various formats...and i'm here to tell you that "NEVER SAY DIE" is airplay worthy...and as an amateur songwriter i appreciate the song too...it's loaded with subtle hooks that capture a listener without trendy gimmicks...just a pure power pop sound...which echoes both ERIC'S solo work...and his work with THE RASPBERRIES. it was a unexpected pleasure to find this place...dedicated to one of the most talented singer-songwriters of his generation...ERIC CARMEN...i'm a fan from way back...he was a big part of the soundtrack of my teenage angst...and then beyond that into adulthood. again...sorry to rehash something that you have already covered quite well...but i'm new here...and i wanted to get my 2 cents worth in.

i think all the guys in the band were probably harboring special dreams for this reunion for many years...all that pent up creativity they had invisioned for the group during that time could lead to some interesting new recordings...obviously quite different due to the passage of time...and the changes in their lives...but retaining that sound that says RASPBERRIES...they had a timeless sound way back when...i think it may just be that it's their time again.