Lew Bundles Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 Album Reviews Eric Carmen: Tonight You’re Mine By Jeff Burger January 24, 1981 Though Eric Carmen’s Raspberries and first solo LP delighted me, I wrote him off a year or two ago on the basis of his enervated more recent albums. When this latest set arrived, I did halfheartedly track a few tunes out of a sense of duty; but I barely listened and quickly stashed the record in a reject pile. I’m glad I didn’t leave it there, because subsequent spins made it clear that Carmen has bounced back—and then some. The predominant Phil Spector-oriented rockers here explode with at least as much energy—and conviction—as the Raspberries ever projected. And while a trend toward ballads signalled Carmen’s decline, the soaring, well-sung ones here boast just as much excitement as the rockers. If you ever liked this guy, now’s the time to give him another chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 Too many people were like this guy and not enough of them went back for a second listen. No promo doomed this effort. My favorite Eric solo album. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 Best EC solo album in my opinion also. How It Hurts Too Much was not Top 40 was and is absurd. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 It's not my favorite of Eric Carmen's, but it is a brilliant album. So great it would be the flagship album for between 95% and 99% of music artists out there. So many stellar songs on this record. I can easily see how Billy and Kirk claim it as their favorite EC album. Eric Carmen, with respect to his song writing, was in the genius zone between the first Raspberries album and this one. James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 1 minute ago, James said: It's not my favorite of Eric Carmen's, but it is a brilliant album. So great it would be the flagship album for between 95% and 99% of music artists out there. So many stellar songs on this record. I can easily see how Billy and Kirk claim it as their favorite EC album. Eric Carmen, with respect to his song writing, was in the genius zone between the first Raspberries album and this one. James I would put the Geffen album in the genius zone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 t's got some signs of genius, but far from genius, imho. The album took a step back from the first 8: 1. I'm thru with love - A+ 2. I Wanna Hear it from Your Lips - A+ 3. The Way We Used to Be - A+ 4. She Remembered - B+ 5 - 10 ( the rest of the songs on the album ) - C+ It's the 6 songs that rank 5 - 10 that keep this album from being in the genius category. In fact I'd say it's a long way from genius. IMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 4 minutes ago, James said: t's got some signs of genius, but far from genius, imho. The album took a step back from the first 8: 1. I'm thru with love - A+ 2. I Wanna Hear it from Your Lips - A+ 3. The Way We Used to Be - A+ 4. She Remembered - B+ 5 - 10 ( the rest of the songs on the album ) - C+ It's the 6 songs that rank 5 - 10 that keep this album from being in the genius category. In fact I'd say it's a long way from genius. IMHO American As Apple Pie- genius You Took Me All The Way- a personal favorite (and a pretty ingenious redo of GATW) IMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 Both, when I hear the songs, ...are forced...or something. I like American as Apple PIe, but it again seems a little forced....unlike a song like "Inside Story".. ..that flows naturally....and draws a great melody and hook from way deep inside Eric Carmen's genius cells...or something like that. : ) It's been a while since I listened to the C+ songs.....I'll take a listen this afternoon and report back if my mind changes. James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 Ok, I listened to the whole Geffen album. I think it's my first listen straight thru in a while. I will up all 6 C+ s to B -- s. Kirk is right there, the songs are good, but still only a B --, or possibly a B. The first 8 albums, re: Eric Carmen penned tunes...most songs rated between a B+ and A+. While Geffen is a good album, it doesn't rate on the level of the first 8. It just doesn't. But I acknowledge that is only my opinion, and outside of the fact I have a harem, I'm just a little guy trying to do his best. : ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 James, I’m going to cut you a little slack. I realize it’s hard to focus on music with all that harem talk going on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Well, I'd side with James' original post, both the clear A+s and the C+s. I think you hit on the right word: "forced." I think the A+ numbers James cited are genuine and authentic and honest songs from the heart, and I'd have them all in the A+ to A- range. But "Apple Pie," "Come Back to My Love," "Maybe My Baby," "Spotlight" "Living Without Your Love," and "You Took Me All the Way" all sound forced—songs produced to complete the album. I'd give the first three in that list a C+, the second three a B-. And I do have a soft spot for "You Took Me All the Way." It's all at once forced, as Eric has described on this very site (and also in an interview I did with him way back in 1985), while also a clever rewrite that updated his breakthrough classic. I've tried hard to love all the songs, but I think James summed up the reason I stall out on 'em. All that said, it's still a heckuva worthy album! To have four A-quality songs on one album... not bad at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 I looked up an old thread I put up called "In Hindsight" that covered the Geffen album, and its was really interesting. Pretty much everybody had a similar thought to James' here, but with "Apple Pie" (per Kirk) seeming to be the wild card... a bit polarizing. Within the thread is a response from Eric himself in which he chose his own five favorite compositions. That was the kind of post that had people coming back here every night.... Anyway, here's what Eric told us: "I would rank "The Way We Used To Be" in my top five songs that I've ever written. "The actual recording was my one-take, piano-voice demo. We overdubbed the strings. "Rounding out my top five would be "Boats Against The Current", "Nowhere To Hide", "She Remembered" (another one-take, piano-voice demo used as the master ) and, maybe, "Run Away" ( the first vocal I ever recorded with Val Garay ). It was one take. We were testing the mic, and Val pushed the 'record' button. Seven minutes later, he said "You just sang the vocal of your life!" It was the first time I'd ever had the right mic put in front of me, an old Neumann tube U47. It sounded so great in my headphones that I was inspired to sing as well as I have ever sung. One take. Couldn't have sung it better. Val was pretty impressed. I never knew how much of a difference a microphone could make, until then. Kirk asked for a clarification—was Eric referring to his favorite one-take recordings... or his favorite compositions. Eric verified that he meant compositions. Interesting that he didn't have "All By Myself" on the list. The clarification I wish we had also asked for: Do those five encompass his entire career, including Raspberries, or was he thinking only of his solo material? I've gotta think the latter—otherwise, how could he omit "Overnight Sensation"? If you wanna revisit that post in its original context, the thread is here: 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Awesome stuff, LC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 LC, I had a hard time believing Eric's list was 'All-time'; how could "Let's Pretend" be left out, as well as "Overnight Sensation", and many others. Sonically, "Run Away" and "Nowhere To Hide" pale in comparison to these and other songs in Eric's catalog. Maybe, lyrically, they are in his top 5... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Benfer Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 On 8/16/2020 at 2:31 PM, James said: t's got some signs of genius, but far from genius, imho. The album took a step back from the first 8: 1. I'm thru with love - A+ 2. I Wanna Hear it from Your Lips - A+ 3. The Way We Used to Be - A+ 4. She Remembered - B+ 5 - 10 ( the rest of the songs on the album ) - C+ It's the 6 songs that rank 5 - 10 that keep this album from being in the genius category. In fact I'd say it's a long way from genius. IMHO Mostly agree with these, though I'm one of those in the camp of liking American As Apple Pie a lot! The Way We Used To Be might be my favorite EC song. Where I seem to be pretty different is that She Remembered never hooked me like everyone else, including Eric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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