RIP Eric Carmen

  The Raspberries were my favorite power pop group.  But first, what is power pop?  Bill Holdship wrote this in a review of a 2005 reunion show:  "merging the Who's power chords with the Beach Boys' sweet melodies and vocal harmonies and delivering it all with a decidedly Beatlesque rhythm and feel".

I'd say that pretty much sums it up. So, no knock on other greats of the 70's like Badfinger, Cheap Trick or Big Star, but the Raspberries stuck out for me. But up until the very early 80's I'd only heard two of their songs: 1972's "Go All The Way", their biggest hit and '74's "Overnight Sensation", their second biggest hit. Those got played more on Casey Kasem's AT40 the most and that was my format of choice throughout the 70's.

It took Robert Christgau's Consumer Guide of 70's Albums book to hook me for life on the Raspberries. His review of their 1976 Greatest Hits album plus their 1974 album, Starting Over, both received a grade of A-. I had to seek them out. And what a revelation. Hooks, melodies, harmonies all squashed together in a sound that was missing from Top 40 radio.

Eric Carmen wrote all of the Raspberries biggest hits. He had a knack as Bill Holdship's quote says of finding the right mix of The Who/Beach Boys/Beatles hookiest parts and adding some early 70's sheen. From 72-74 the Raspberries knocked out four concise slices of perfect power pop. Records that were mostly overlooked at the time but hugely influential. Just ask Bruce Springsteen or Steven Van Zandt. Carmen wasn't the only part of the group. The rest of the band contributed solid songs too. My favorite being bassist Scott McCarl's "Rose Coloured Glasses".

But bigger success eluded the band. And Carmen went solo in 1975 releasing his self-titled debut album in later that year. It was a bigger success commercially than any album the Raspberries released. The first single, "All By Myself" sounding unlike anything the band released. A ballad using a classical piece. It went to #2 in the U.S., becoming a much covered standard.

Carmen's solo career didn't abandon his power pop roots. But the hits he had until the late 80's were mostly courting the MOR format. And oddly two of his best uptempo efforts, "That's Rock'N' Roll" (#3 1977) and "Hey Deanie" (#7 '77) weren't hits for Carmen but teen idol Shaun Cassidy. "Hungry Eyes", the nostalgic "Make Me Lose Control", which turned out to be his last hit in 1988. Carmen rarely recorded after the 80's ended. But he did stage some reunion concerts with the Raspberries in the early 00's.

The Raspberries were based on the nostalgic sounds of the 60's. And the sounds they invoked still sound fresh in 2024.

Recommended Recordings

The four studio albums the Raspberries released in the 70's

Raspberries Greatest

Eric Carmen - s/t (1975)

Essential Eric Carmen