Eric Carmen - "I Wanna Hear it from..."

It seems that no one here has ever analyzed this one before, but there evidently is a 45/LP version difference for "I Wanna Hear it from Your Lips"...

When the song's original parent album, simply titled Eric Carmen, was first released in January of '85, it was issued here in the U.S. on vinyl LP & cassette only - there was no CD. (The album never really took off, and because CDs were still less than 10% of the market at the time, they didn't bother putting it out in the digital format. I bought the cassette myself...)

Finally, in 1997, Geffen issued it on CD for the first time as part of its budget "Geffen Goldline" series; that re-issue was identical to the original vinyl LP & cassette (i.e., no bonus tracks). However, it didn't remain in print very long, and because the CD sold so few in number (after all, the album was already more than 12 years old at that point), it has been in high demand, w/ used copies still going for about $40-$50! I'd been wanting that re-issue for several years now, but the high price tag has always held me back...

Well, yesterday (Friday), the album was re-issued on CD again for only the second time here in the U.S., on Varese Sarabande 30206740684. I'm seriously considering buying this one instead, as this new edition also includes - as a bonus track - the "single mix by Don Gehman" of "I Wanna Hear it from Your Lips" (track 11). Page for the CD on VS's official web site, complete w/ cover photo & track listing: ERIC CARMEN - "Eric Carmen" (new U.S. CD) Although I've never owned the 45 myself, sure enough, a check of this one over at 45cat here does reveal that the label states, "Re-mixed by Don Gehman", w/ a printed time of "3:12"...

According to Pat's on-line db, "I Wanna Hear it from Your Lips" has appeared on only two other U.S. CDs to date: the aforementioned 1997 re-issue of the Eric Carmen album on Geffen 24042, where it runs (3:13) and is presumably the LP version, and on the 1998 V/A compilation titled The Lost 45's of the '70s & '80s (Varese Vintage 5955), where the song interestingly clocks in :02 longer, at (3:15). Could that be the 45 version??? Any of the "45 experts" here care to detail the 45/LP differences??? :-)

Wow, that's great about the 12" of "I Wanna Hear It..." I'd seen that the bonuses were only to consist of one song, and it wasn't the 12".

And btw, I did buy this Geffen album on CD in '85. True, it didn't come out in the US on CD until '97, but I found the Japanese import CD of it in '85 at Tower Records/DC and bought it immediately (about 3 months before I had a CD player.) I knew I'd eventually be getting a player, and didn't know if I'd ever see this import CD at Tower when I went back the next time, so I bought it then and there, because I already had the LP, and it was my favorite of Eric's output (well, tied with the 1st Arista album.)

BTW, I saw the video of "I Wanna Hear It..." on VH-1 (actually both versions of the video) and never recalled it sounding any different than the album mix. So, the changes could be subtle, or the video used the album mix.

If the video did use the single mix, I can say it's not a radical remix, like we've seen in the cases of many other single mixes.

Ed:
Does the commercial 45 immediately start with Eric singing "I hear it from my friends" or does his vocal start about eight seconds later? Does the commercial 45 say anywhere on it "single mix by Don Gehman?"

Santi Paradoa wrote: Ed: Does the commercial 45 immediately start with Eric singing "I hear it from my friends" or does his vocal start about eight seconds later?

I can confirm the version on 'Lost 45's of the 70's &
80's' begins immediately with the "I hear it from my
friends" vocal.

Does the LP version have an instrumental intro?

Edited by 995wlol