Like Rick Springfield and Richard Marx, Eric Carmen could be looked at as a relic of a big haired, big ballad past. The guy sang “Hungry Eyes,” after all. But Carmen is more than that. The former Raspberries frontman is getting a light shone on his 40-year career with the new Essential Eric Carmen, out March 25 on Legacy Recordings. Yes, “Hungry Eyes,” is on the record, but so are power pop tracks like “Go All The Way” and “I Wanna Be With You.”
Below, The A.V. Club is exclusively streaming one of the album’s unreleased live cuts. “That’s Rock N’ Roll” was recorded live in 1976 at New York City’s Bottom Line, right after the release of Carmen’s self-titled solo debut.
A full tracklist for the greatest hits is below, just so readers can peruse it carefully and remind themselves just how many great songs the native Clevelander has put out. Pre-orders can be had through Amazon or iTunes.
Disc One
1. Get The Message (w/ Cyrus Erie)+
2. Go All The Way (w/Raspberries)
3. I Wanna Be With You (w/Raspberries)
4. Let’s Pretend (w/Raspberries)
5. Tonight (w/Raspberries)
6. Overnight Sensation (Hit Record) (w/Raspberries)
7. Sunrise
8. My Girl
9. All By Myself
10. Never Gonna Fall In Love Again
11. Last Night
12. Starting Over (Live 1976) *
13. That’s Rock N’ Roll (Live 1976) *
14. Run Away
15. Love Is All That Matters
Disc Two
1. Boats Against The Current
2. Marathon Man
3. She Did It
4. Nowhere To Hide
5. Change Of Heart
6. Hey Deanie
7. Desperate Fools
8. Someday
9. It Hurts Too Much
10. Tonight You’re Mine
11. The Way We Used To Be
12. Hungry Eyes
13. Make Me Lose Control
14. Ecstasy (Live 2005) (w/Raspberries)
15. Brand New Year **
+ Previously Unreleased Digitally
* Previously Unreleased
** Previously Unreleased New Recording