Eric Carmen - Boats Against The Current & Change Of Heart

2007 budget two-fer of Eric CarmenÂs second and third solo albums from the mid 70s. "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."-Tunestory.

"Though at times Boats Against the Current almost drowns under the weight of overwrought arrangements, it is still a highly listenable record. Producing himself, Carmen is joined by such stellar musicians as Andrew Gold, Tom Scott, and Jeff Porcaro. The title track, inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald`s The Great Gatsby, is reportedly Carmen`s favorite song. And it is a good one, an adult song about love lost and the illusions that people cling to (though Carmen has said it is actually inspired by the breakup with producer Jimmy Ienner). Most songs are ballads, with the exception of the Beach Boys-inspired hit "She Did It" and the hard-rocking "Take It or Leave It." The problems enter in when strings predominate beyond what the songs or Carmen`s voice can really can support, such as the final cut, "Run Away." Though most of the string arrangements are well thought out, on several occasions the songs would have been better served with a more sparse arrangement. On the other hand, Carmen has not lost the knack for writing great melodies, and he is in fine voice throughout. Though one might wish he would stray more from the sensitive songwriter mold that is apparent on this record, it is also true that Carmen is still a pop craftsman at heart, and a very good one."-AMG.

Song #1 - mp3

Song #2 - mp3