cts Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 This song really captivates me. I think it started with the live version from the Don Kirshner show on Youtube. While that vid is woefully lacking in shots of anyone but Eric, the performance is great. At least you can see Dave some, and appreciate how tough it had to be to play live. The mellotrons helped alot.The other aspect I really like is that everyone contributes so much. Wally's guitar picking up where the strings leave is brilliant. The background vocals of that impossible "Memories, melodies,summer breeze autumn leaves" bit is inspired. Jim's drumming throughout is about the most impressive I've ever heard.What really cemented this in my mind was the reunion video's extras. If you've got it, you probably know what I mean. During the tuneup for the Sunset Strip show Wally launches into a rehearsal of I Can Remember, with Dave. It seems obvious that the song is so complex they want to be sure they're ready. A nice moment with Wally and Dave, very relaxed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LatetotheParty Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 ICR is in my top 5 Raspberries favorites. I love watching Eric play the uptempo piano. The lyrics are unbelievably beautiful from a very young Eric (I know lots of his early stuff is just as deep and beautiful and it still amazes me what he could do so young...) Interestingly enough, I think Jim Bonfanti on record that it is his favorite song to play. It's such a complex song, it is an awesome Raspberries team effort. Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darlene Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Your fantastic and discriminating musical taste is showing, Jean! This has always been in my top 5 also. Deep and beautiful hits it right on the head. I always called it "Eric's Opus." Complex and gorgeous, the lyrics are amazingly poetic. I fell in love with it at age 24 and am still in love. If indeed there were a song that disproves Eric ever needing a lyricist, it's this one. He is as gifted in language as he is in music, which becomes apparent the moment he begins speaking. In short, he's the total package. No lyricist EVER need apply. This song is a true masterpiece. Love it, and always will. --Dar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim From Wisconsin Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Hands down my favorite Raspberries song! Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Mine too. Though "Overnight Sensation" and "If You Change Your Mind" are close seconds.James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelina Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 I can remember (pun intended) @ the BB King 2005 show leaning over to my wife as ICR started. I said something along the lines that it should be interesting if they could pull it off. Damned if I didn't like the live version even BETTER than the original.Sure the "Overdubs" helped on the soaring vocals...but my goodness...I still get goosebumps thinking how great it sounded. EASILY in my top 5. (BTW James ....."If You Change Your Mind" has one of the best codas in pop history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 If you have access to the full-length concert dvd, you'll notice that Eric has a very satisfied look on his face at the end of ICR...as if to say, "That's as good as it gets"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LatetotheParty Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Kirk: YES!!! John: YES!! (the bridge on IYCYM...Eric's passion on that just kills me every time I hear it... ) James: YES!! Darlene: Always quick to be SO kind.. Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Tim From Wisconsin said: Hands down my favorite Raspberries song! Hands down the one Raspberries song that I don't 'get.' Mind you, I like it a lot more now having heard it live multiple times, than when I first heard it on record. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew C. Clark Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 "I Can Remember" ranks with Derek & The Dominoes "Layla" & "Bell Bottom Blues" as one of the best songs of the early 70's. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy-Ann Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 I first heard this song and saw this video on YouTube in Aug. 2007, right before my Daddy passed anyway. Like, a few days before. Then I listened to it over and over again after he died. In 2010, I used the 2nd verse as the ending of my (late) sister's eulogy. I was not able to attend her funeral, but I heard that it brought tears to the mourners' eyes. Then, just last month as I followed my late boss and forever friend's hearse, I played this song all the way to the cemetery. And...I cried. No, I sobbed. Honestly, it was like a scene out of a movie. I suppose this sounds sooooo "melancholic", but to me, this song was very apropos for the feeling(s) I had in my heart during those three occasions. However. The lyric of a "love that has moved on", is extremely apparent to me. I love the "premonition" that letting said girl into said person's life may not be the right thing to do. Knowing that this gal will most likely be unforgettable. I mean, who wants to risk getting hurt, huh? That my friends, sucks! BIG TIME! It is indeed scary to give your heart, to truly give yourself, (body and soul), to be completely open to rejection, (whether it is immediate or in the future). But if one doesn't, one will never know what could be. No one likes a broken heart, especially if that very heart once danced lightly and blissfully upon the proverbial cloud of love. And then if it ends, all one may have are memories of that happiness, but nothing tangible anymore. It can be painful; to say the least. And you can hear pangs of said pain throughout the song. You know the saying of "Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all"? All I can think of is, "Really? Isn't it better to never know what you're missing?" Kind of like a starving person being given a chance to enjoy the best buffet ever and then, it be taken from them. And to top it off they are told, "So glad you enjoyed it, and now, you can't have any more of it, but at least you can remember how delicious it was!" Oh goodie! NOT! I don't know if many of us would want to just "remember" how sweet something "tasted". It's only natural to want to have what is "oh so delicious" available to us, always. Love is indeed so unpredictable and I suppose that's why some of the greatest songs (like this one) are about "love". But I digress... I love how the "seasons changing" are incorporated into this song, intertwining with the changes of said relationship. *sigh* And. I just love the violins in this piece on the CD. They make me melt. And. I love this live video. It really makes me go to a place of "calmness and solitude" in my soul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LatetotheParty Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Beautiful post, Wendy. You certainly have many memories wrapped up in this song.So amazing to me...that a 21/22 year old Eric could write feelings at this deep and reflective level. And the music, from the beautiful strings to his uptempo statement on the piano...That Don Kirshner Youtube is a treasure.I wonder if Eric knew at the time just how good he really was. Assuming he did, how devastating it must have been to have such wonderful work go largely underappreciated. Tough.Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darlene Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 A magnificent post for a truly magnificent song, Wendy. I so agree with you and Jean. I was absolutely transfixed when I first heard it on the album. It happens to me still whenever I hear it. The most truly beautiful marriage of music and lyrics that represent a heart full of love that I have ever heard. The melody is so pure and simple--no hooks, no gimmicks--it just FLOWS like the love itself. I truly believe music, superbly beautiful music, is divinely inspired. It's like God (or "The Source" or whatever one believes as the Power of the Universe) just poured this into Eric's heart and his musical and linguistic gifts transformed it into one perfect song. Because perfect is just what it is. I always call it "Eric's Opus" because it's purity and simplicity (of melody *and* feelings) belie the absolute grandeur of the work. And it *is* a "work" rather than a song. Ahhh, it lifts me far above this world every time I hear it, so I would say it is sublime, even Divine. --Dar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 I dusted off the dvd of their HOB concert to see the live version of ICR...thought I'd just watch the jubilant opening number and then skip to ICR- HA! Ended up watching the whole concert (again)! Still wearing that stupid grin I get every time I watch this gem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darlene Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Even a stupid grin looks great on you, Kirk. Watching Raspberries is like eating potato chips--Betcha can't watch just SOME. --D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cts Posted August 6, 2012 Author Share Posted August 6, 2012 Who do you think plays bass on the original track? As we all know, Eric was technically playing bass until the second record. I don't think that is necessarily a hard and fast rule, though. On the credits, Dave is listed as playing bass and guitar on the album. It seems logical that on some tracks where Eric is obviously playing piano, Dave might be playing bass.Also, on some of the compilations it list the track as "Live in studio". At any rate, the bass on the the studio sounds very much like Dave's live playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raspberrybelle Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 What an amazing and thrilling performance! I remember how EC's passion and talent inspired and uplifted this listener when I first heard and viewed the video.It's good to know that others share the admiration I feel for EC's music.Belle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaspBen Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 I love the way Eric transitions so smoothly from singing a ballad to rocking it out, great song, great performance!Monica Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reid C. Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Always has been my favorite Raspberries cut by far. Many times I have played this, then, "Starting Over," right after. Somehow seems very appropriate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.