Customer Reviews

Living in Black & White

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

 

 

You had better fasten your seatbelts for this one. It is Eddy's first CD of all new material since "Right for the Flight," and it is nothing short of a powerhouse. Eddy pulls out all the stops to display the full scope and range, as well as every color, of his celestial voice, and also every possible emotion, from the heartfelt father to son love song "Till I Can't Hold You Anymore" to the good-time, Mardi Gras feel of "Hearing It in French" and "New Orleans Is a Mighty Good Town." The diversity of the material is as impressive as the songs themselves, featuring everything from hard-core country ("Cowboys Don't Cry," "Coldest Fire"), country-rock ("Living in Black and White," "You Don't Have to Live With It'), blues ("Blue Cajun Moon"), Cajun and zydeco ("Hearing It in French," "New Orleans Is a Mighty Good Town"), calypso ("Bermuda Triangle"), and ballads ("Till I Can't Hold You Anymore," "A Little Bit More"). My personal favorites are "Blue Cajun Moon," "Hearing It in French," and "You Don't Have to Live With It," but all 12 cuts are outstanding, and you may find it as hard as I did to decide which are your favorites. This just may be Eddy's best album ever, and it will leave you breathless and wanting to listen to it again and again.

What SONGS! WHAT a VOICE! The people that put this record together really did themselves proud. EXCELLENT production THROUGHOUT...I work in a record shop and have listened to this one MANY, MANY times during the course of my workday, and NEVER seem to tire of hearing any of the twelve magnificent cuts, which offer a delectable variety of country styles ranging from traditional--to blues-y--to rockin'--to Cajun--to, even Carribean-flavored!! Hard to describe!! I can only say I have rarely enjoyed an album in its entirety as much as I do this new offering from Eddy Raven!!

I have loved Eddy Raven since his first releases in the early to mid 70s, when he got very little radio airplay except at the smaller stations. Raven is oh so talented as a singer and a songwriter. He writes wonderful lyrics and catchy tunes and know how to sing them. If you like Eddie Rabbitt, you'll like Eddy Raven, too.

I worked at a small country station in Port Sulphur, Louisiana and we played all of his ABC-Dot releases like "Carolina Country Morning", "Ain't She Something Else", "Free to Be", and "Good News, Bad News". None of them charted high enough to make him a household name. I moved from Port Sulphur to Baton Rouge in 1977 and got a job at WYNK, one of the top stations there. Same thing happened on "Sweet Mother Texas", "Dealin' With the Devil" and "Peace of Mind". The last three were on Dimension Records, a small independent label. We played all of his songs on WYNK. "Dealin' with Devil" was a strong song and would have been a hit if it had been on a major label. Finally Eddy got on a major label Elektra and his "Desperate Dreams" album had 4 hits in it over 2 years, 1980-1981: "I Should've Called", "Who Do You Know In California", "A Little Bit Crazy" and "She's Playing Hard To Forget". I have all of his Dimension and Elektra songs except for "San Antonio Nights". In 1984 he signed with RCA and they made him a star, beginning with his first #1 "I Got Mexico". The rest is history. Over the next few years Eddy had 6 number one songs and about 15 top 10s.

"Living in Black and White" is a good album with four fine tracks that should have been played by country radio. However, since about 1980 big town country stations only play artists on major labels. Small, independent record company have no chance. I thoroughly enjoyed the title song "Living in Black and White", "Hearing It In French", "Bermuda Triangle" and "Cowboys Don't Cry".

If you are an Eddy Raven fan, you need to get this album. And if you like Eddie Rabbitt and Jimmy Buffett, you should give Eddy Raven a listen. He is just as gifted and talented.

Bought the CD for Cowboys Don't Cry, but all of ER's stuff is good. Such a mellow voice.