Personnel includes: Eric Carmen (vocals, guitar, piano, tack piano, electric piano, harpsichord, Mellotron, synthesizer, bass, drums, percussion); Scott McCarl, Dave Smalley (vocals, acoustic guitar, bass); Wally Bryson (vocals, guitar); Dan Hrdlicka, Andrew Gold, Ritchie Zito, Richard Reising, Daniel Kortchmar, Burton Cummings (guitar); Tommy Morgan (harmonica); Jay Winding (acoustic & electric pianos); Jeff "Elbows" Hutton (keyboards); James Newton Howard (synthesizers); Steve Knill (bass, background vocals); David Wintour (bass); D. Dwight Krueger, Michael McBride (drums, percussion, background vocals); Jim Bonifanti, Michael Botts, Jeff Porcaro (drums); Gene Estes, Ollie Brown, Joseph Porcaro (percussion).
Producers: Eric Carmen, Jimmy Ienner, Bob Gaudio.
Engineers include: Shelly Yakus, Jack Sherdel, Kevin Beamish.
Includes liner notes by David Wild.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
From the edgier, more rock-oriented material he recorded with the Raspberries in the '70s, to his more easy-going material recorded in the '80s, THE DEFINITIVE collection makes clear the prodigious talents of singer/songwriter Eric Carmen.
"Go All the Way," which contains a classic hook, is a Beach Boys-inspired smash with a few alluring time changes thrown in. "I Wanna Be With You" is a rock & roll number lifted from Todd Rundgren's "Couldn't I Just Tell You," as Eric explains in the liner notes. "Let's Pretend," with its catchy harmonies, is a lost classic that unfortunately only rose as high as #35 on the pop charts. "Tonight" features the raucous drumming of Jim Bonfanti. Another can't-miss track is "All By Myself," which appeared in 1975 on Eric's first solo album. The piano and string arrangements, combined with Carmen's reflective voice, make for a song that's certain to played as long as adult-contemporary stations exist. "That's Rock n' Roll" is a danceable number that chronicles the road life of a rock & roll band. "Hey Deanie," a '50s-style rock tune that was later a hit for Shaun Cassidy, rounds out the set.
