Search - Eric Carmen :: Boats Against the Current / Change of Heart (Reis)

For Eric Carmen fans only

tunestony | Dayton, OH | 07/31/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"After producing four stellar albums of rockin' power pop with the Raspberries, Eric Carmen decided to go solo in 1975, releasing the album ERIC CARMEN. Easily his best work, it contained three top 40 hits, but also contained some warning signs of things to come. The long, middle section of "All By Myself" and the show tune-esque "Great Expectations" saw Carmen straying farther away from his rock n' roll past and closer to the middle of the road.



The two albums on this CD were relased in 1977 and 1978 as his second and third solo records. BOATS AGAINST THE CURRENT leans heavy on the ballads, but is also a good showcase of Eric's fine piano playing. Burton Cummings of the Guess Who actually guests on a few tracks, most prominently "Marathon Man." Eric plays a variety of instruments, including drums on at least one track. The lone rocker, "Take it Or Leave It" is decent, but sounds oddly out of place amongst all the mellower material.



Although CHANGE OF HEART does contain a couple of ballads, it's much more of an upbeat record. The production is dated, but it was 1978, so certain songs have a disco feel, especially his cover of the Four Tops' "Baby I Need Your Lovin". "End of the World" and "Haven't We Come a Long Way" are good album cuts. Strangely, several of the tracks were actually leftover from the BOATS sessions, including one of the best songs on the record, "Someday" which was originally the b-side of "She Did It" from BOATS.



If you're a big fan of Carmen's work, it will be great to finally get these songs on CD. But, if you're just a casual fan, seek out ERIC CARMEN THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION, which gives an excellent overview of his career, including early cuts from the Raspberries and Eric's later hit from Dirty Dancing.



"

Eric's 2nd and 3rd Solo Effort's Released

D. R. Saxton | Bemus Pt. N.Y. USA | 07/20/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you were an Eric Carmen fan, you probably enjoyed his 1977 lp, "Boats Against the Current", and his 1978 release, "Change of Heart". Both are decent albums but certainly not up to the standard of his 1976 lp, "ERIC CARMEN", featuring the classic hits, "All By Myself" and "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again". The medium hit, "Sunrise" was also on that album.

A new CD company to me, AMERICAN BEAT, has released Eric's second and third albums on one disc. Both these albums had one respectable hit (each). "SHE DID IT" from "Boats" and "CHANGE OF HEART" from the Same titled album. "Boats Against the Current" was a tiny hit around the end of 1977.

To my knowledge, these albums have not been released before in the U.S. (I know you could buy expensive Japanese imports years ago, but at 35 minutes per lp, that was robbery!) The CD quality is decent, but not extraordinary.

The music is pleasant but not Eric's best. However, for the price and the scarcity of these records, I'd recommend this purchase if you are a fan of Carmen or even a seventies easy-listening fan. If you are satisfied with the big hits, I'd recommend one of Eric's compilations. He had one out on ARISTA five or six years ago which even included several of his hits with the Raspberries. That compilation is excellent!! The best songs from this two-fer CD are on the best of compilation. I give this a four star rating for the price and the availability of two long since forgotten albums of the late 70's. I hope to see some more rare re-issues!!!"

American Beat lets keep them coming!!

Garry Ford | Aurora, Illinois | 07/22/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It is really great to get these two Eric Carmen releases on a single cd. I have always been a big fan of Eric Carmen. There are a few Greatest hits cd releases available but his solo stuff is very rare. There are a couple of hits here but the other songs are great as well. I hope American Beat will continue to dig into the vaults for more of Eric's solo work."