Customer Reviews

Boats Against the Current / Change of Heart

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This combination CD was brought to my attention as a result of a conversation on the haunting beauty of the song "Heaven Can Wait". Yes, it is genuinely a masterpiece of songwriting, which is rare. But Mr. Carmen does this with shocking regularity. Other tracks which are equally as well-constructed and performed as "Heaven Can Wait" are "Haven't We Come A Long Way" and "End Of The World". If you have already added "The Definitive Collection" to your collection, this combination CD will enable you to get to know at least 7 tracks that do not appear on "The Definitive Collection".

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!!!

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.

I have long been an Eric Carmen fan. I had the song Love is all that Matters played at my wedding 28 years ago and this year my youngest daughter is getting married and will have it played at her wedding. The ability to order more obscure music from Amazon is great and the delivery time was amazing. Keep up the good work and keep us obscure music lovers happy!

I've been looking for Eric's second album on and off for years. I'd find an import, but I'm not into paying $40 dollars for 40 minutes of memories. This twin pack of his second and third albums is well worth the price, even though the third album is truly a throwaway. Made at the height of disco fever, "Change of Heart" will transport you back to the seventies, but not in a good way. The production is disco-slick and the inclusion of "Baby I Need Your Lovin'" was a telltale sign that Eric's career was being driven by record company moguls instead of his heart. The only salvation on COH is Desperate Fools, a great song among the pap of "Hey Deanie" and the title track. Boats Against the Current, however, is some of Eric's finest work. Mellow and introspective, the songs are a snapshot of where Eric's head was at in the late seventies. This album should have catapulted him into superstar status, but the buying public was more into "Disco Inferno" than heartfelt love ballads. It's too bad, because the failure of this album spawned Change of Heart. Every song on "Boats" is a keeper, especially the title track and "I Think I Found Myself". Well produced and well played, "Boats" gives a glimpse of what the term singer/songwriter meant.

I have all of the Raspberries & most of Eric Carmen's albums on vinyl, so I've been waiting many years for "Boats Against the Current" to be released on cd. There were big things expected of this follow up album to the very successful Eric Carmen 1st solo album, but it didn't pan out. That's too bad because there are a lot of really good songs on this album, especially the title song, Marathon Man, Take it or Leave it & She Did It (very Beach Boy's-ish.) Bruce Johnston (a long standing Beach Boy) appears on various songs on this album had a big influence on Eric's songs on this album. I recall that this was a very expensive album to make for its time due to high production costs & release delays. Eric spent a lot of time & money using orchestra backing and lots of overdubs. Apparently the public didn't care enough to make this as popular as previous Carmen songs. Eric's record label (Arista) didn't promote his future albums after this release, but I feel that anyone who like this artist at one time wouldn't be disappointed having this cd in their collection.

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.

i bought this CD for the musicians that play on these two albums. big mistake. dreadful pap that makes Debby Boone sound like Janis Joplin. avoid at all costs.