darth

Razzberry, You needn't feel embarrassed. When expressing yourself everything is in play and all is fair. I'm glad you enjoyed my work with Frank Previte and John DeNicola. I spent a lot of time (way too much!) producing the version you have been listening to. I don't care what publishers say. A solid sounding track, a compelling lead vocal, and an imaginative arrangement is so much easier to absorb than having to suffer through listening to a lousy acoustic guitar version recorded through a microcassette recorder with built in microphones that are clipping throughout the entire performance. In closing, I agree with you. All things considered I think I nailed it on the version you've been listening too. Cheers, David Prater

I'm sorry but that is not Eric's voice. The person singing is Frank Previte.

Way to go Bernie! Great ears! These are the things that as a producer and songwriter we struggle with constantly. That had to be Eric all the way. It sings better, reads better and is better. It was never changed during my commission. The original changed "tense" improperly. It always seemed awkward to me but we were moving so fast it just got thrown under the bus like a lot of other things at the time. Cheers, Prater

Hello everyone, I just sent an e-mail to Bernie with the "new original" original 1985 "Hungry Eyes". The mix I sent is from a waterlogged cassette I retrieved from my old 1977 Ford E-150 van around 1990. For the last 20 years it's been in various boxes with hundreds of other 4-track song ideas and demos. Between 1985 and 1990 I'm afraid it was probably underwater somewhere unfortunately. The audio quality is somewhat dodgy at times with dropouts and distortion, however, if you listen like Eric had to you're only concerned with the lyric, melody, key, arrangement, rhythm section, etc. All of those ingredients are pretty much there to be extracted and tailored to an artist's taste. I for one especially like the dreamy ahhhhhhssss in this version's b-sections of the song's verses. It kinda reminds me of 10 C.C. circa "I'm Not In Love". In the final analysis, Eric does a great job of cleaning up the sections that he felt were problematic and singing the melodies in a way that sounds like "Eric Carmen". I did find the first version ("A Darker Side Of Love") with the girl singing but I have to locate a working Tascam 244 porta-studio in order to play it back. That will take some effort on my part I'm afraid. If I can find one you can rest assured I will gladly make it available to everyone. For the time being, be on the lookout for the version I sent to Bernie. I imagine he'll have it up somewhere in a day or two. Cheers, David Prater p.s.-Please forgive me for the horrendous application of the grainy-sounding digital reverb on the original 1985 drum bounce, okay? I had just purchased my 1st digital reverb (MXR 01/a 12-bit) and unfortunately it shows.

For those of you interested I found the original mix that Eric heard when he was recording his version in late 1987, early 1988. It's fascinating to listen to in retrospect. I also found the master to the song, "A Darker Side Of Love", that "Hungry Eyes" was based on. I'll see if there's a way that everyone can hear both versions it if you like. Cheers

If I'm reading this right, I totally agree with Eric. The version Frankie is putting out is bogus and I'm not buying it being the original for one minute. Also, Eric is correct about the vocal he heard Frankie sing on the demo I did. Frankie committed to a much sweeter approach. The song was in a much more "moody" vein. As a version to be used just for getting the idea across it did the job fine. I'll see if I can go upstairs in a few and find it the original. For what it's worth, the part about this being a 501c-3 dedicated to cancer research? Hmmm...that's not the Frankie I know. This has become very convoluted with respect to what the core intention is. This sounds like a bait and switch if I ever heard one. Once the non-profit connection is established, it protects him from any criticism because it makes the critic look like a sore loser or bad sport. Man...this whole thing stinks.

Wendy, Believe me...you're in the majority of people here and elsewhere with your "Texas" recollections.

Ugh...Texas I'm afraid. I grew up in NYC though.

As Frankie was so fond of saying..."BINGO!"

I have the original master multi-track upstairs and am actively looking for it. For reasons I cannot imagine, Frankie wants everyone to believe his 1991 version is the original.

My brother-in-law insisted I come and have a look at someone who was slagging me.

So now, assuming you've read this narrative, does anyone still think that the song as it has become known would have occurred had I not done what I did.

Hello Moosehead. My name is David Prater. You're correct. I'm not given any credit whatsoever for any contributions I made to both songs. There are many reasons why but before I address those, it's important to me for people to realize that I had a very large role in the development of both songs that were later re-recorded by Eric and Michael Loyd. I produced two versions of "Hungry Eyes". One was for John DeNicola and Debbie "Pantera" Robinson entitled, "A Darker Side of Love". It was recorded in 1984. The other version was for Frankie Previte and John DeNicola. It was recorded in 1985. The 1st version for John and Debbie not only had a different title but also a completely different melodic signature. The chord structure, however, was virtually identical. "A Darker Side of Love" was to be included in the second installment of songs I was producing for her as a solo artist. The three of us had been in a group named after Debbie's stage persona, "Pantera". We were managed by Tommy Mottola. As "Pantera" the three of us had recorded a significant amount of material. Throughout that time John, Debbie and I had grown to be very close friends. During the vocal sessions, Debbie had an emotional breakdown and I never saw her again nor did we complete her version vocally. Debbie is a black female and at the time was involved in a top-secret relationship with one of the world's most famous actors who, (legend had it) only dated black women. I always wondered if the story line of her version was an account of her troubled relationship with him. Towards the end of that endeavor I fell in love with Frankie's previous girlfriend, Patty Maloney. She was a superb singer/songwriter in her own write and was very supportive of my work as well (later her and DeNicola formed a band together). She suggested that I meet Frankie and start writing songs together. After agreeing to give it a try, in early 1985, Frankie and I started recording material in what was to become a very lucrative partnership for him less than three years later. I introduced Previte to DeNicola around the time Debbie disappeared. A few months later, John was lamenting to me that it sucked not being able to finish the songs we had started with her. He asked what I thought of stripping her voice off the 4-track version and letting Frankie have a go at writing a new vocal. I told him that he was asking for trouble but if it ever came to that, it would be easier to say you’re sorry than to have asked for permission. As luck would have it, that’s exactly what happened later in 1988. After John gave Frankie a copy to work with, Frankie booked a date to lay down his new improved vocal. For recording, all I had at the time were 2 Tascam 4-track cassette recorders and Frankie only paid me $100 per song. I would hustle as many songs from him and as many people as I could in hopes of earning enough to make rent. It was grueling. Frankie tried laying down his new vocal and after a few passes we both liked it, however, Frankie kept getting stuck on the first line. He was getting frustrated and asked me what he should do? I said, "Gimme the mike" and I sang what is now the first line of the song: "I've been meaning to tell you". He said, "Bingo!" and after singing my new lyric said, "let's lay down some BGVs". The song's lyrics were now complete. At the time, Frankie was an all-world class singer and liked the way our voices blended. We came up with a three-part harmony for the choruses and sang various ear-candy for the bridge and verses. On the final incarnation of the song as it was presented to Eric Carmen, I had played drums and sang BGVs with Frankie. One of my favorite musical collaborators, Douglas Worthington, played rhythm and lead guitar. DeNicola played bass and keyboards. In 1985 I didn't consider receiving a songwrite's share on a song destined for nowhere to be as important as making rent. Although I should have, I didn't pursue the matter at that time. I wanted to keep the work flow intact. Frankie and I were going and blowing. We wound up writing in the neighborhood of 30-35 songs, however, neither one of us had a clue as to what was soon to pass. My career began to slowly take off in 1988 and my circle of associates began to change along with it. Patti Maloney and I still saw each other on occasion. One evening we walked in to my home in Montclair, New Jersey and turned on MTV. Something caught my attention and I said, "What's that?" She replied, "It's that song you, Frank and John wrote, remember?" I couldn't believe it and walked back into the bedroom to get a better look. That's when I saw that ridiculous scene of a girl with horrendous looking breast implants miming the sax solo. I thought to myself, "God!!! Whose bright idea was that?" The 1987 Academy Awards had yet to take place. The movie's single "Time of My Life" had been previously released but made no lasting impression on the marketplace. It disappeared without fanfare. The movie on the other hand was causing Mt. Saint Helen sized eruptions. A short time later I heard they had re-released the song. Then I heard the news that it had been given a nomination for "Song of the Year". In the back of my mind I knew that it would probably win. It gave me horrible remorse to think back to what all had happened. I knew that I would be passed over. After the awards my phone ended my phone rang off the wall. In all the pre-awards pandemonium, Frankie had been nominated as spokesperson for receiving the Oscar. People were furious that I hadn't been thanked for all I done for Frankie and John just a few months earlier. Frankie later told me how disgusting everyone made him feel when it came time to draft who would be thanked. According to him, the movie's various producers were literally fighting over when their names were to be mentioned, in what order their names were to be mentioned, how their names were to be mentioned, how many times they would be mentioned and who could be thanked and who couldn't. He said it was disgusting beyond words. DeNicola's mother was dying at a hospital in Boston and he hadn't been given any indication he could say anything about anyone much less her. Frankie had a notorious manager at the time who had been legendary for having steered Peter Frampton's career into the sewer right after his massive double album, "Frampton Comes Alive!" His name was Dee Anthony. According to Frankie, before the awards Dee said he would sign his 25% percent of Frankie's publishing catalogue minus "Time of My Life" and "Hungry Eyes" back to Frankie if he would thank him when he accepted the award for "Song of the Year". Frankie signed off on it. Dee was thanked during the television broadcast where he said I was to be thanked. A few months later, John and Frankie found out that Debbie Robinson had filed a lawsuit claiming damages for the theft of her percentage of "Hungry Eyes". She had never been contacted by DeNicola nor made aware that a song she had caused to be written had been recorded without documenting her involvement as a writer. Exactly what I told him might happen did in fact happen. The song's royalties were held in escrow pending settlement of the case. Eventually it was settled out of court for a small amount of money. At that time I considered filing an additional injunction on the song's royalties for what I had contributed lyrically in the song's composition. I decided not to because at the time I knew it would become a pissing match between who had the best lawyer. At the time, I was still a struggling young record producer and didn't have the resources to go head to head with all parties concerned. Besides, how could I prove that I did what everyone knew I did? It would be all hearsay. Last week I called Frankie and John to ask them what their feelings were about my original demo being released with all the other "Dirty Dancing" demos. That's when Frankie told me he wasn't releasing mine. My demo was the one that Eric learned the song by in terms of key, tempo, arrangement and rhythmic content. Eric's and my versions are very similar in terms of what was played where and when. Nevertheless, Frankie said he was releasing the one he recorded in 1991 even though it had nothing to do with how Eric came to learn the song. Frankie only recorded it to put on his "Frankie and the Knockouts" retrospective.