Eric Carmen (1975 album)

Eric Carmen
Studio album by
Eric Carmen
ReleasedNovember 1975
RecordedAugust – September 1975
StudioO.D.O. Sound Studios, New York City
GenreSoft rock
Length48:19
LabelArista Records
ProducerJimmy Ienner
Eric Carmen chronology
Eric Carmen
(1975) 		Boats Against the Current
(1977)
Singles from Eric Carmen
  1. "All by Myself"
    Released: December 1975
  2. "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again"
    Released: April 1976
  3. "That's Rock and Roll"
    Released: May 1976 (non US single)
  4. "Sunrise"
    Released: August 1976
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [1]
The Village VoiceC+[2]

Eric Carmen is the debut album by American rock musician and singer-songwriter Eric Carmen. It is also his first of two self-titled albums, the other released in 1984. It peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard album chart upon its release in 1975, the highest position of his career, and generated the No. 2 pop single "All by Myself" in the same year. The song reached No. 1 on the Cashbox and Record World charts. The album also included two follow-up top 40 hits, "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" (#11), and "Sunrise" (#34), both of which charted in 1976.

All tracks were written by Carmen except the Drifters' song "On Broadway", which was written by Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. This LP also contained Carmen's original version of "That's Rock and Roll", which became a No. 3 hit for Shaun Cassidy in 1977.

The album was Carmen's first solo production after leaving the Raspberries, a power pop group which scored several top 40 hits in the early 1970s.

Songs

Eric Carmen wrote all of the songs on the album except for "On Broadway" (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber). Several of his songs interpolate classical melodies:

Track listing

All tracks are written by Eric Carmen, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Sunrise" 5:21
2."That's Rock 'n' Roll" 3:10
3."Never Gonna Fall in Love Again"
3:45
4."All by Myself"
  • Carmen
  • Rachmaninoff
7:11
5."Last Night" 2:57
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."My Girl" 3:02
7."Great Expectations" 3:03
8."Everything" 2:01
9."No Hard Feelings" 5:40
10."On Broadway"
3:26
Total length:48:19

Personnel

  • Eric Carmen - piano, lead vocals, guitar
  • Dan Hrdlicka - lead guitar, backing vocals
  • Steve Knill - bass, backing vocals
  • Richard Reising - synthesizer, organ, backing vocals
  • Dwight Krueger, Michael McBride - drums, percussion, backing vocals
  • Jackie Kelso - flute solo on "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again"
  • Hugh McCracken - slide guitar solo on "All By Myself"[4]
Technical
  • Jack Sherdel - engineer
  • Robert L. Heimall - art direction, design
  • Norman Seeff - photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1975/76) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[5] 15
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[6] 41
UK Albums (OCC) 58
US Billboard 200 21

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[7] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[8] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Eric Carmen [1975] Review". AllMusic.
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert (22 December 1975). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice.
  3. ^ Hogya, Bernie (2002). "Interview". ericcarmen.com.
  4. ^ "Eric Carmen interview". 2005. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  5. ^ Kent, David (1975). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives: Australian Chart Book. p. 55. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 19 June 1988.
  6. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Eric Carmen – Eric Carmen". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  7. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Eric Carmen – Eric Carmen". Music Canada.
  8. ^ "American album certifications – Eric Carmen – Eric Carmen". Recording Industry Association of America.