Eric Carmen (1975 album)

Last updated
Eric Carmen
Eric Carmen (1975 Eric Carmen album - cover art).jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 1975
RecordedAugust – September 1975
StudioO.D.O. Sound Studios, New York City
Genre Soft rock
Length48:19
Label Arista Records
Producer Jimmy Ienner
Eric Carmen chronology
Eric Carmen
(1975)
Boats Against the Current
(1977)
Singles from Eric Carmen
  1. "All by Myself"
    Released: December 1975
  2. "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again"
    Released: April 1976
  3. "That's Rock and Roll"
    Released: May 1976 (non US single)
  4. "Sunrise"
    Released: August 1976
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Village Voice C+ [2]

Eric Carmen is the debut album by American rock musician and singer-songwriter Eric Carmen. It is also his first of two self-titled albums, the other released in 1984. It peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard album chart upon its release in 1975, the highest position of his career, and generated the No. 2 pop single "All by Myself" in the same year. The song reached No. 1 on the Cashbox and Record World charts. The album also included two follow-up top 40 hits, "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" (#11), and "Sunrise" (#34), both of which charted in 1976.

Contents

All tracks were written by Carmen except the Drifters' song "On Broadway", which was written by Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. This LP also contained Carmen's original version of "That's Rock and Roll", which became a No. 3 hit for Shaun Cassidy in 1977.

The album was Carmen's first solo production after leaving the Raspberries, a power pop group which scored several top 40 hits in the early 1970s.

Songs

Eric Carmen wrote all of the songs on the album except for "On Broadway" (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber). Several of his songs interpolate classical melodies:

Cash Box said of the opening track and third single "Sunrise" that "There's a beautiful introduction, with horns and everything, and then the music breaks into some serious rock ’n’ roll. Carmen's voice is in top form, and he makes the melody soar." [4] Billboard said of it that Carmen's "wonderfully unmistakable sad tenor voice attacks an uptempo lyric message this time and produces the effect of a breaking heart desperately winning through to an optimistic outlook. The melody and production are a sleek counterpoint to Carmen's emotional singing." [5] "Sunrise" peaked at #34 on the Billboard Hot 100. [6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Eric Carmen, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Sunrise" 5:21
2."That's Rock 'n' Roll" 3:10
3."Never Gonna Fall in Love Again"3:45
4."All by Myself"
  • Carmen
  • Rachmaninoff
7:11
5."Last Night" 2:57
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."My Girl" 3:02
7."Great Expectations" 3:03
8."Everything" 2:01
9."No Hard Feelings" 5:40
10."On Broadway"3:26
Total length:48:19

Personnel

Technical

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1975/76)Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [8] 15
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [9] 41
UK Albums (OCC)58
US Billboard 200 21

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [10] Gold50,000^
United States (RIAA) [11] Gold500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

  1. Ruhlmann, William. "Eric Carmen [1975] Review". AllMusic.
  2. Christgau, Robert (22 December 1975). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice .
  3. Hogya, Bernie (2002). "Interview". ericcarmen.com.
  4. "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. August 7, 1976. p. 18. Retrieved 2023-06-03.
  5. "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. August 7, 1976. p. 70. Retrieved 2023-06-03.
  6. "Eric Carmen". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-06-03.
  7. "Eric Carmen interview". 2005. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  8. Kent, David (1975). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives: Australian Chart Book. p. 55. ISBN   0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 19 June 1988.
  9. "Swedishcharts.com – Eric Carmen – Eric Carmen". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  10. "Canadian album certifications – Eric Carmen – Eric Carmen". Music Canada.
  11. "American album certifications – Eric Carmen – Eric Carmen". Recording Industry Association of America.