"PLAY ON"

[DeanTylerVO]

Jeezus!!!!!

Just listened to the Raspberries mp3 radio

special Bernie put up a few weeks back. Hadn't heard "Play On" in a LONG while, and well....

It just blew me away!!! This time hearing the main vocal and background vocals again, and I close my eyes and can swear The Beatles sat in..UNREAL. From the huge intro riff, Scott's heartfelt vocal and everything else thrown in and once again I am amazed as to what this band was able to bring and how soooo many didn't then and STILL don't "GET IT"...

So Scott (and hope like heck he gets to read this..)Bernie and the boys in the band, damn!!!THANK YOU ANOTHER MILLION TIMES OVER FOR YOUR MUSICAL GIFTS TO THOSE WHO INDEED, "GET IT", THEN AND NOW....

Dean Tyler

[skip from st.paul mn]

Dean, I agree with your assessment fully. While the Scott version on vinyl, CD, etc., are tremendous, Play On without Scott, has lived on in the shows that I have seen. I do think Mr. McCarl's presence in the "current" band would be extremely cool. I think the guy can still sing, he sure did back in '98.

[Early Wynn]

I agree with Skip. It would have been cool to see Scott as the third guitarist, or have Dave playing guitar and Scott on bass. He wrote or co-wrote some great songs, and his voice is incredible. And from reading interviews with him and comments from other band members, Scott seems like a really nice guy that loved his time with the band, and just loves to play the songs.

[skip from st.paul mn]

Thanks Early for your kind words. It is tough to get someone on the ec site to be in agreement, so that is cool. If history serves me correctly, Mr. McCarl didn't "jump ship" during the Starting Over tour. I believe Mr. McBride also remained for the conclusion of Raspberries contractual agreement(s). McCarl would have been a real asset, if asked, to be part of the '05 Raspberries road crew. Loyalty should have some place in the line-up, especially when Eric has had some difficulty in that respect.

[Eric Carmen]

Just for the record, a month or so before the Sunset Strip HOB show, I got an email from Scott. He said he had heard about the reunion and people had been calling and asking if he would come up and play some songs with us. He said he really thought long and hard about it, but his answer would be 'no." He felt the tour was about the four original members and very poignantly added " It's kind of strange, I fit but I don't fit." And, just like that, he took himself out of the equation. I frankly think Scott deserves more respect than to be brought onstage to do a couple of tunes and then dismissed. He was every bit as important to the "Starting Over" album as any of us were to the first three. I have nothing but respect for Scott. He's a fine singer, a good solid musician, and a helluva songwriter. He had the incredible good/ bad luck to get to join a band that had been his heroes, and then watch helplessly while everything came crashing down around him. And none of it was in any way his fault. It was just a case of "right band/ wrong time." Scott was always a gentleman.

I'm not sure what you meant about "loyalty." Maybe you could clarify that for me. ec

[skip from st.paul mn]

That is great, I totally did not realize the level of communication with Scott during the '05 tour. My comment about loyalty was specific, regarding who finished the Starting Over tour. We've been loyal listeners since '72. If I had lived in Cleveland, it would have been a few years earlier. Your clarification of this matter is greatly appreciated.