I Think I Found Myself

[LC]

Well, as long as I'm up in the middle of the night, having worked late (too late), I figured I'd listen to my favorite night-into-morning song... and there it was at YouTube:

[marvin]

Easily one of my most favourite Eric ballads. I love the bridge, and how it goes from negative emotion to positive:

"I trusted everyone else so completely

Well I was deaf, dumb and blind

But I'll be damned if I'll let 'em defeat me"

If you consider that the actual track running order for the "Boats" album was the reverse of what was eventually released, then the optimism of "I Think I Found Myself" segues nicely into the pop-ness and sunnyness of "She Did It."

[darlene]

Great share, Larry! GREAT song! And great post, Marv. I adore this song. Love the whole album. Thanks a million!

--Dar

[elle4ec]

Good one, LC! A few months back some smart person uploaded all of the songs from the Boats Against The Current album.

Thanks for sharing this one today! BTW, hope you get some rest tonight. Sometimes I listen to the Boats album just to relax...works every time!

[Wendy-Ann]

It was kind of surreal to be half asleep and hearing "I Think I Found Myself." What are the chances you happen to wake up out of a deep sleep to hear this song on the radio?

Same as winning the lotto. But then again, I guess you did.

[bahoodore]

its unbelievable that i still do not own this CD.....I bought the LP, and never really played....I found it too cerebral...of course that was when I was ignorant....one of these days I will buy it...listening to this, I really think it is a gem...almost outside of Eric comfort zone, and that is exciting...

bahoo

[Aventurine]

One of my most favourite Eric ballads. The album is true

gem.

I listen to the Boats album to relax as same as Elle. And I listen "Winter Dreams" to relax.

[december25]

I love the whole album but Boats is the standout for me. I love that song and what it means to Eric.

[LC]

its unbelievable that i still do not own this CD.....I bought the LP, and never really played....I found it too cerebral...of course that was when I was ignorant....one of these days I will buy it...listening to this, I really think it is a gem...almost outside of Eric comfort zone, and that is exciting...

bahoo

Attaboy, Andy! Go for it! I kind of envy the nice discovery you have in front of you, when you finally cue up Boats and play it from start to finish. If you really let it soak it in, well, you'll never be able to forget it.

I agree what you said above, and I like the way you put it: this is almost outside of Eric's comfort zone. It's true -- you'd be hard-pressed to find a song in his archive that feels like this one.

Best,

LC

[Tony Cartmill]

Cool little moody song, "Boats" is definitely one of the greatest pop albums ever, when it comes to lyrics. But there are a 2-3 of songs that don't move me melodically, and a couple of the production choices that still gnaw at my brain, as to what could have been...

Sincerely,

Tony Dudgeon

[Raspbernie]

its unbelievable that i still do not own this CD.....I bought the LP, and never really played....I found it too cerebral...of course that was when I was ignorant....one of these days I will buy it...listening to this, I really think it is a gem...almost outside of Eric comfort zone, and that is exciting...

bahoo

Wow. Staggering that you haven't given Boats—one of my favorite albums of ALL TIME—more spins! There is so much to love there, both musically and lyrically. Just an awesome artistic accomplishment!

Bernie

[Tony Cartmill]

I ordered that CD for Andy 3 years ago...Freakin' Canadian Postal Service!

[marvin]

Andy certainly knows all the songs on "Boats." He's either heard them at my place or elsewhere. He's just never purchased the album...yet.

[Aventurine]

Tony, did you get "winter Dreams" album?

[Tony Cartmill]

Yes Aventurine, I paid $35 dollars for the Japanese release, when it came out! Totally worth it!

[marathon mama]

Back to the topic of this thread, it sounds like Eric could just do "Boats" songs in concert to satisfy his diehard fans (Wouldn't we all want to be in the first row?) I'd love to hear "I Think I Found Myself" with Eric singing alone on a dimly lit stage, and WITHOUT backing vocals. He could arrange it anyway he felt to fit the current mood. (We may have learned in human development class that the identity crisis occurs when we begin to discover our true selves, but we continue finding ourselves as we learn from our children.)

Of course if he wanted to attract a more mainstream audience he would have to add songs from other albums.

[PaulMaul]

It sounds like Eric could just do "Boats" songs in concert to satisfy his diehard fans...

Of course if he wanted to attract a more mainstream audience he would have to add songs from other albums.

I'd consider myself a diehard fan at this point, and "Boats" is not one of my favorites. I much prefer Eric's Raspberries material and the first solo album. I do like Marathon Man and She Did It, but for the most part it's not my bag musically (though lyrically very interesting).

[marathon mama]

Instead of "diehard", I should have chosen a different adjective when referring to "Boats" fans, because I didn't intend to exclude those who strongly prefer Eric's other works.

I became infatuated with every single "Boats" song, since they showed me more of Eric's dimensions. Yet, I still enjoy his earlier material just as much, depending on the mood I'm in.

[Kirk]

Such a diversity of opinion…I think “Boats†is all of the above. It is a lyrical masterpiece but, at times, I think Eric might have been struggling to meld words with music- he spoke of agonizing for days to find just the right words. This album was written in retrospect; I don’t think that comes as easily as reading a friend’s lyric sheet and hearing the melody already playing in your head.

Some of the songs, while telling this story, don’t necessarily have ‘hit record’ written on them. I’ve always said this album was a shock to my system on first listen- not nearly as accessible as his first album.

And, at times, the production may have suffered from Eric’s first shot at being his own producer, all the while attempting to resurrect his vision from the wasteland of unmarked tape cans Gus left for him.

Imagine the pressure Eric was under- following a highly successful debut album- having his producer leave (and the ensuing mess Eric inherited)…over budget…behind schedule- and yet, Eric was able to give us this introspective, cohesive album with one of the most moving songs ever (Boats), a piece of pop perfection (She Did It), an anthem to the power of love (Love Is All That Matters) and more.

Just one more opinion…

[marvin]

Well here's my opinion, not on I Think I Found Myself, but more on the Boats album:

I loved Boats because for me it put Eric into the ‘serious’ lyric/songwriter category of artists that I admired at that time, eg., Jackson Browne, Dan Fogelberg, etc. Not saying that musically it was in the same vein as those writers (it wasn’t), but generally speaking, the lyrics were as strong as anything that Eric had written, up to that point. It was around that time that lyrics started to become a focus of my music appreciation. With Boats, I found myself paying closer attention to what Eric was saying, trying to analyze the meaning behind each songs. The arrangements were also more complex than the previous album’s three minute ‘pop’ songs, and herein lies (in my opinion) the indifference that some people have with the album.

I know quite a few people who rank Boats low on their list, and it’s because it’s farther from the ‘pop’ sound of Raspberries and Eric’s first album than they expected. Eric has even called the album depressing and not one that he’d recommend taking onto a deserted island.

The people who are indifferent to Boats, I think, were expecting the ‘pop’ sound of the first album to be furthered. In fact, I think the Tonite You’re Mine album, if it had followed Boats, would have been the natural progression and would have made those fans happy.

Like I said, just my opinion.

[Tony Cartmill]

I love the last 2 opinions...and the men behind them!

I'd like to take a poll on whether the full band should have come in sooner on "Nowhere To Hide", or is it fine just where it comes in?

I say, standard drum and bass start coming in on second verse...then full arrangement on second chorus. But that's too common, I guess. Eric was thinking outside the box.

Still, he could have had more fun with that great full arrangement swirling around for 2 choruses?

I know the "Got Milk Dude" thinks it's perfect the way it is...What does HE know?...

[Kirk]

Tony, you and I are in lock step about 99% of the time, this one included...

Marv, the music has to grab me before I'll really listen to the lyrics. If you don't have the tune, stick to poetry! My appreciation for the "Boats" album has grown over the years. It will never be my numero uno Eric album, but it's a masterpiece none the less!

[marvin]

Tony, you and I are in lock step about 99% of the time, this one included...

Marv, the music has to grab me before I'll really listen to the lyrics. If you don't have the tune, stick to poetry! My appreciation for the "Boats" album has grown over the years. It will never be my numero uno Eric album, but it's a masterpiece none the less!

Totally agree - the music has to grab me first. However, when it came to listening to people like Jackson and Dan F, it was always their lyrics that moved me, at least on an emotional level.

I think there was a thread many years ago that I started, that asked "what music did you turn to after the 'berries broke up?" For me, it was the singer-songwriters such as those who I've already mentioned, and others such as CSN, James Taylor, and a lot of the stuff that was coming out of California. Lyrically, I thought that Eric's Boats fell right in place with these artists. The music on Boats is not quite the ear-candy that most of Eric's previous songs were, and therefore I found myself looking beyond the music and really trying to interpret the lyrics. While I loved the lyrics, it took many listenings for me to musically 'get' songs like "Nowhere To Hide" and "Runaway."

[angelina]

I've always been amazed at the "tightwire dance" artists have to perform to remain true to their intellectual/emotional self whilst still having to "move product". That was true AND a point of focus in ec's career where the two efforts met thus framing most of the future angst in ec's career (IMHO). Is he an intelligent songsmith channeling Sergei Rachmaninoff and F. Scott Fitzgerald...or is he a pop guy toiling within the narrow framework that the record company suits wanted out of a pretty-boy singer? Of course ec showed you can be pop, pretty AND DEEP!

"To me, "Boats" is one of the most mature albums through and through save for "She Did It" which was sort of the sorbet course at a luxurious meal set aside to clear the palate in a light manner for the rest of the intense meal.

I loved "Boats" upon its release when I was 17 yrs old....and I still love (and relate) to it at age 52. The song "Boats Against The Current" remains so mature, introspective and deep...that I am blown away that a 26 yr old could have written it. I bet...when Elton John heard "BATC" he noted that "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" seemed like a little brother to ec's masterpiece. He probably thought....."now THAT'S what I meant to do".

I could count on one hand the number of songs that have resonated with me throughout my adult life. "Boats" is one.

BTW Tony et al......I agree with "Nowhere To Hide"...I wanted the full musical impact earlier and longer!

[darlene]

Such great posts here! The observations on the music are themselves a testament to the depth and beauty of Eric's work.

I agree that the music is the thing. It has to grab me first. If it doesn't, I don't give it much attention unless the words are phenomenal, and then, like Kirk, I think of it as "beautiful poetry."

I adore "Nowhere to Hide," but think it's infinitely more effective just as it is. I had a violin teacher once who said, "Less is more, don't give too much. Not until the end, and maybe not all even then. Too much too soon is common." I agree. I think the vocal and piano just as they are underscore the loneliness and desperation and that the song is perfect just the way it is. Any sooner would destroy that feel. It's almost like a tease, but on a much deeper level of meaning. Not even a tease, but just expressing everything that must be expressed plaintively, starkly, and then, when you've exhausted that whole possibility (or almost, because Eric didn't exhaust it, like he never does--he kept it fresh all the way), THEN give it the rest. Perfect.

I once listened to cellist David Finckel play the Haydn Cello Concerto in C Major (my favorite). On the second movement, he spun such long phrases (never heard any other cellist do this and it's SO difficult to do on a bowed instrument) and elongated them before cadences, that he literally made love to those phrases and I'm not kidding, I found myself (along with all the other women in my row!) literally breathing, begging for those cadences! It sounds crazy, but in that beautifully romantic movement, we were all like, "Ahhhhhhhhh..." at the end of each cadence.

Less is indeed more, especially in music. At least until the end.

--D