LC

Yes! Turn the lights off, close your eyes, and absorb this beauty. 🙂

I hadn't listened to "Run Away" in a long time, but on a recent late-night dog walk under the stars in my quiet neighborhood, it got shuffle-played in front of me. It really makes an impact in the darkness of the night. And it still demands close listening, all these years later. It's eight minutes long, which is maybe why I haven't listened to it much in recent years. (Or maybe it's my obsession with John Stewart's brilliant catalog.) Either way, it was fun to catch up with "Run Away" again. Like seeing an old friend. I remember getting Boats Against the Current in 1977. A couple weeks before college, after that album's long, long, long delay, I finally had it in my hot little hands. And I remember this very well: The first and last songs on the LP were the two that instantly grabbed me. It didn't take long to love the six songs in between, for sure. But at my very first audition of the album, "Boats" killed me for its poetic, perfect craftsmanship — and "Run Away" killed me for its drama, power, and, again, perfect craftsmanship. After it ended, I just sat there in silence for a few minutes and though, "Whew!" It's a long-form power ballad, a story that I could tell (even as a 17=year-old) was autobiographical. "Run Away" is Eric being startlingly honest, as he himself revealed on this site. I understand that "Run Away" is maybe too over-the-top for some — too dramatic or too intense. But the intensity, I find, is incredibly cool. The lyrics are poetic, opening a window to Eric's teen angst. Remember, he later told us he intended "Run Away" as the first song on Boats Against the Current, as the start of his own story within his only "concept album." Follow the album as it is from back to front, and it really does tell a story. The opening to this song is a grabber: She was just an average blue-eyed golden high school dream, An illusion nothing real could ever touch. Funny, love seemed so much more intense at 17, When I knew she'd never love me half as much I recall the desperate vow I made, I must find a way somehow to win her heart. I've got to make her mine Gonna run away 'till I prove that I'm a man Gonna run away, be the best I know I can Got to run away, got to find my space and time And I cannot rest a day until I make her mine. Eric's writing is so good in this song, as at the next verse—my favorite within—reminds me: Trades were made for promises of a timeless memory, And I knew but still refused to comprehend That the fantasy more glamorous than she could ever be Was the course of least resistance in the end. I recall the desperate vow I made I must find a way somehow to win her heart I've got to make her mine Gonna run away 'till I prove that I'm a man Gonna run away, be the best I know I can Got to run away, got to find my space and time And I cannot rest a day until I make her mine. And on it goes, with strong lyrics getting even stronger. I love this last verse, too—it's pure poetry. That line about the winter taking its toll... going to college in the great Northeast, that one always connected. The spring has gone and will not come again? Now that's dark. Long ago an innocence lived deep within my soul In a yesterday where love and dreams remain. But disillusion clouds my eyes and the winter takes its toll For the spring has gone and will not come again I recall the desperate vow I made, I must find a way somehow to win her heart. I've got to make her mine. Gonna run away 'till I prove that I'm a man Gonna run away, be the best I know I can Got to run away, got to find my space and time And I cannot rest a day until I make her mine. The killer piano playing, the constant building up of the production, that long tag with pounding piano trading off with ringing guitar solos and soaring strings — again, whew! This is truly a tour de force. So... when you have eight minutes to really detach from life and fully soak in "Run Away" again, do it. It's not for passive, distracted listening, is it?

I can play a little piano too… but not enough to lay it down on a Stones track. Same with Mick.

Well, yes, Kirk — I know they weren't actually playing the instruments for the video. They were in a kitchen! Plus, Mick isn't a pianist. Give me a little credit!

I loved this song from the time I got the Stones' great Some Girls album in 1978. But somehow, I never saw the "official promotional video" until today, per an offline email thread with Rhonda. I still love the song, for its irreverence, lazy pace, understated humor, and country influence. And I love the video for the same reasons. The Stones make you wanna smile all the way through... The boys are sitting around some modest kitchen — Mick Jagger at a piano, Keith Richards with his guitar, Ron Wood on pedal steel, Charlie Watts doing his backbeat, Bill Wyman off in a corner on bass.... If you've never seen it or haven't seen it in a long time, enjoy.

I'm going the opposite direction... I had Sirius Radio from 2015 to 2022 and loved that '70s station. But I let my sub lapse. 😞

If you read the comments, you find out that the person who requested 'Boats" was Paul Mellette (Paulie Mississippi, as he was known here when he posted regularly). Kudos to Paulie for getting "Boats" a little ink. Good job! But I wonder why he wrote in the comments: "There is a quote from Eric I read somewhere where he states that he always thought of it as a very sad song yet a lot of his fans told him it was very optimistic from their standpoint." A quote from Eric that he read "somewhere"? Like, at this site? It was most definitely here that Eric spilled the beans on his intention that "Boats" is a breakup song. I wonder why he couldn't bring himself to mention EC.com.

Wow. Never mind "All By Myself" or "Tonight" or "Go All the Way" or even "Overnight Sensation." "Boats Against the Current" is Eric's true masterpiece. And because I've only ever heard/read "Boats" discusses this deeply here at Bernie's site, I got a huge kick out of the analysis this mom-and-daughter team give it. What perfect lyrics... perfect melody... and perfect arrangement. As a bonus, there's the mystery Eric built into the song (though he later resolved it in this space... but we'll keep that a secret). Your best share ever, Kirk.

Happy bday wishes, Craig.

Oh, man. Another face on another baseball card of our younger years, gone. But not forgotten.

Well, let’s see… site founder vs. junior moderator. Easy call here. Bernie’s right. Lol Plus, Lew called me a “puppet” recently, and it did not go unnoticed.

As a Packer fan, I always had the utmost respect for Bud Grant's coaching. He and the Vikings just killed us in the '70s. R.I.P., Bud.

Ouch! "If Eric Carmen played baseball, he'd be Lou Brock. The guy sure can steal." It was a cute and clever line in the review of Eric's 1975 Arista album. However, the writer was a copycat himself, driving home the "derivative" tag in almost every line. That narrative was already old at the time, and it seemed to hang around Eric (and the 'berries) like a noose. Fair? Or unfair? Well, I guess it depends on your perspective. You could hang the "derivative" label on pretty much everyone in pop music, including our beloved Beatles. And what's with the line about a nose job? I hated writers like this, who literally love an album but can't come out and say it. Yes, the EC 1975 Arista review is actually a rave, for the most part. You just have to keep reading between the criticisms and insults to find the "thumb's up." If I were the guy's editor, I'd have sent it back to him and said, "Stop trying to straddle the line. You like all the songs but one, you like the album, you like the guy. Why spend so much space trying to trash him? Rewrite." I'm afraid to read the other reviews! Lol

Hey, very creative review, with those 10 keywords leading off. I love the love he gives to "All Through the Night" and "Hands on You." I wish he'd have laid off the "derivative" thing, but understandable. Besides, he pulled off a truly great line about "Cruisin' Music": "Ah, had the Beach Boys only progressed." Thanks so much for this share, RCT! I had never seen it.

Maybe Eric digs Fleetwood Mac more than I imagined*. Think about what a duet with Stevie Nicks would have done for "All for Love" in 1980 or "I'm Through with Love" or "The Way We Used to Be" in 1984. Stevie was in fine voice in that era.... Remember "Nightbird" (Top 40 hit in 1983)? A truly great song, and I love the video, which features sister-in-law Lori Nicks as co-vocalist and Waddy Wachtel on guitar. * I say "more than I imagined" because in all the music posting Eric did here between around 2005 and 2013, I don't remember him ever mentioning Fleetwood Mac or Stevie. Nicks. And he wrote a lot about the artists he digs.