The Definitive Collection is a 1997 greatest hits album of all the singles released by Cleveland, Ohio singer-songwriter Eric Carmen. It features five hits by the Raspberries, a power pop group which he led in the early 1970s. It also contains his versions of two major hits which he wrote for Shaun Cassidy, his popular song from the movie Dirty Dancing, and his greatest hit, "All By Myself", which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 on March 5, 1976.[2]
| The Definitive Collection | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | June 17, 1997 | |||
| Genre | Soft rock, Pop rock | |||
| Length | 72:00 | |||
| Label | Arista | |||
| Producer | Bob Irwin | |||
| Eric Carmen chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
Critical reception
editStephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic writes, "The Definitive Collection lives up to its title. Over the course of a single disc, the compilation features all of Eric Carmen's best-known songs and biggest hits"[1]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Eric Carmen, unless otherwise noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Go All the Way" (with The Raspberries) | Raspberries (1972) | 3:18 | |
| 2. | "I Wanna Be With You" (with The Raspberries) | Fresh (1972) | 3:00 | |
| 3. | "Let's Pretend" (with The Raspberries) | Fresh | 3:36 | |
| 4. | "Tonight" (with The Raspberries) | Side 3 (1973) | 3:39 | |
| 5. | "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)" (with The Raspberries) | Starting Over (1974) | 5:20 | |
| 6. | "All by Myself" | Eric Carmen (1975) | 4:30 | |
| 7. | "Sunrise" | Eric Carmen | 5:10 | |
| 8. | "That's Rock 'n' Roll" | Eric Carmen | 3:06 | |
| 9. | "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" | Eric Carmen | 3:41 | |
| 10. | "No Hard Feelings" | Eric Carmen | 5:34 | |
| 11. | "Boats Against the Current" | Boats Against the Current (1977) | 4:17 | |
| 12. | "She Did It" | Boats Against the Current | 3:43 | |
| 13. | "Change of Heart" |
| Change of Heart (1978) | 3:38 |
| 14. | "Hey Deanie" | Change of Heart | 4:27 | |
| 15. | "Desperate Fools" | Change of Heart | 3:06 | |
| 16. | "The Way We Used to Be" | Eric Carmen (1984) | 3:13 | |
| 17. | "Hungry Eyes" | Dirty Dancing (Original Soundtrack) (1987) | 3:59 | |
| 18. | "Make Me Lose Control" |
| The Best of Eric Carmen (1988) | 4:43 |
| Total length: | 72:00 | |||
Musicians
edit- Eric Carmen – Bass, Drums, Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Harpsichord, Mellotron, Percussion, Piano, Electric Piano, Synthesizer, Tack Piano, Vocals, Background Vocals
- Jim Bonfanti – Drums, Vocals
- Mike Botts – Drums
- Ollie E. Brown – Percussion
- Wally Bryson – Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
- Charles Calello – Horn Arrangements
- Tony Camillo – Horn Arrangements
- Burton Cummings – Piano
- Gene Estes – Percussion
- Jimmie Haskell – Horn Arrangements
- James Newton Howard – Synthesizer
- Dan Hrdlicka – Guitar, Background Vocals
- Bruce Johnston – Background Vocals
- Steve Knill – Bass, Background Vocals
- Danny Kortchmar – Acoustic Guitar
- D. Dwight Krueger – Drums, Percussion, Background Vocals
- Michael McBride – Drums, Percussion, Vocals, Background Vocals
- Scott McCarl – Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
- Tommy Morgan – Harmonica
- Nigel Olsson – Drums, Background Vocals
- Joe Porcaro – Drums, Percussion
- Richard Reising – Guitar, Electric Guitar, Harpsichord, Synthesizer, Background Vocals
- Valerie Carter – Background Vocals
- Joe Chemay – Background Vocals
- Curt Becher – Background Vocals
- Brenda Russell – Background Vocals
- Brian Russell – Background Vocals
- Samantha Sang – Background Vocals
- George Sipl – Organ, Synthesizer, Background Vocals
- Dave Smalley – Bass, Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
- Jai Winding – Piano, Electric Piano
- Dave Wintour – Bass
- Richie Zito – Electric Guitar
Production
edit- Eric Carmen – Arranger, Producer
- Bob Irwin – Compilation Producer, Mastering, Producer
- Bob Gaudio – Producer
- Jimmy Ienner – Executive Producer, Producer
- Tom Rabstenek – Mastering
- George Marino – Mastering
- Greg Calbi – Mastering
- Doug Sax – Mastering
- Bernie Grundman – Mastering
- Mark Howlett – Engineer
- Tim Kramer – Engineer
- Jim Bell – Engineer
- Kevin Beamish – Engineer
- Arnei Rosenberg – Engineer
- Shelly Yakus – Engineer
- Howard Steele – Engineer
- Thom Wilson – Engineer
- Jack Sherdel – Engineer
- Dennis Kirk – Engineer
- David Henson – Engineer
- Don Gehman – Engineer
- Larry Emerine – Engineer
- Tony d'Amico – Engineer
- Jim DeMain – Engineer, Remixing
- Val Garay – Mixing
- Joe Barbaria – Assistant Engineer
- Rod O'Brien – Assistant Engineer
- George Ybara – Assistant Engineer
- Corky Stasiak – Assistant Engineer
- David Thoener – Assistant Engineer
- Kevin Herron – Assistant Engineer
- Dennis Ferrante – Assistant Engineer
- George Sipl – Remixing
- Rita Karidis – Art Direction
Track information and credits adapted from AllMusic[3] and the album's liner notes.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ "Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ "Eric Carmen – The Definitive Collection". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ The Definitive Collection (liner notes). Eric Carmen. Arista Records. 1997. 07822-18963-2.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)