Eric Carmen and The Euclid Beach Band: "There's No Surf In Cleveland"
Written: Aug 22 '03 (Updated Nov 08 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Produced by Eric Carmen. Hits: "There's No Surf In Cleveland," "I Need You"...
Cons: Expensive Japanese import. New Japanese CD booklet liner notes have no English translation.
The Bottom Line: Not a ground-breaking musical triumph, nor does it pretend to be. Just fun, glorious pop ala The Beach Boys.
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| Don_Krider's Full Review: Euclid Beach Band by Euclid Beach Band |
The Euclid Beach Band was something of a novelty act at first when their single, "There's No Surf In Cleveland," was released on Cleveland Scene Records, an off-shoot of Cleveland Scene magazine, in 1978.
Never a national hit, the tune received regional airplay and was number one on local radio playlists in Cleveland, Ohio.
Both a tribute to and a parody of The Beach Boys, "There's No Surf In Cleveland" featured the mixing hand of former Raspberries' leader Eric Carmen ("Go All The Way") and the musicianship of most of Carmen's first solo band.
The band featured lead vocalists Richard Reising and Pete Hewlett. Reising's guitar/keyboards/vocals can be heard on three Eric Carmen albums. Hewlett's work includes three Billy Joel albums.
Backing Eric Carmen:
When Eric Carmen quit The Raspberries ("Go All The Way") in 1975, he formed The Eric Carmen Band by using ex-Raspberries' drummer Michael McBride and all the members of Cleveland's number one dance band, Magic. He had heard Magic performing The Raspberries' "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)" (a Top 20 hit in 1974) in a Cleveland club and was amazed by their instrumental/vocal abilities. Magic included former Circus guitarist Dan Hrdlicka (that Cleveland band scored a 1972 Billboard Hot 100 hit with "Stop, Wait & Listen") and George Sipl (later keyboardist for the recording act American Noise).
The first Eric Carmen Band release, 1975's Arista LP "Eric Carmen" (produced by former Raspberries' producer Jimmy Ienner), went Gold (500,000 units sold) and produced three Top 40 hits, including the million-seller "All By Myself."
A follow-up, initially to be released in October, 1976, was intially to be jokingly called "There's No Surf In Cleveland," a nod toward Carmen's hometown (Carmen had written several Beach Boys-inspired tunes over the years).
The band was flown to London to record that album, but things fell apart. Ienner was replaced by Carmen with Gus Dudgeon as producer. Dudgeon, in turn, replaced Carmen's band with session musicians. Then, Carmen replaced Dudgeon with himself as producer (Carmen had penned a tune called "Hey Deanie," but refused to put it on the album (saying it didn't fit the autobiographical nature of the album's other songs), angering Dudgeon, who thought Carmen was ignoring a sure-fire hit; Carmen gave the tune to Shaun Cassidy, who scored a Top 10 single with it).
By the time that second Carmen album was finally released in August, 1977, it had been retitled as "Boats Against The Current," loaded with session players (Burton Cummings, Andrew Gold, Nigel Olsson, Tom Scott, Bruce Johnston and others) and only Richard Reising from his original solo band remained. The album fizzled at # 45 on the Billboard charts, starting a downward spiral in Carmen's solo career.
Meanwhile, back in Cleveland:
The members of Carmen's band eventually all returned home, disappointed. McBride enjoyed some success recording with Don Kriss & The Vettes in Cleveland.
Most of the band's other members regrouped in 1978 to record as The Euclid Beach Band, but mainly to have fun recording a gentle lament about wanting to be beach boys in a town without any surf.
Richard Reising, a veteran of Carmen's first two albums (recordings recorded by him during the second album sessions but not released at the time, later surfacing on Carmen's third album, "Change Of Heart," in 1978), wrote "There's No Surf In Cleveland" with Cleveland Scene magazine writer Jim Girard.
The tune, remixed by Eric Carmen, was released in 1978 as a Scene Records single, complete with a picture sleeve featuring a swimsuit-clad girl holding a beach ball. Adding to the novelty feel of the single was a record label that bore the instructions, "Please remain seated until the record comes to a complete stop," and a flipside entitled "Laugh In The Dark" (a Ventures/Arrows-style instrumental with occasional screams of laughter out-of-nowhere).
"There's No Surf...":
Once released, "There's No Surf In Cleveland" became the most played song on Cleveland radio in 1978, gaining regional airplay and national interest.
Cleveland International Records, the home of singer Meat Loaf, stepped in to sign the group, which became a duo of lead singer Pete Hewlett (a Pittsburgh native and veteran of the band Sweet Lightning, who recorded an album for RCA) and Richard Reising.
The label re-released "There's No Surf In Cleveland" as a single, but failed to chart it nationally. Still, the group was rushed into the studio, this time with Eric Carmen producing, to record their debut album, simply titled "Euclid Beach Band," which was released in 1979.
This CD:
Released on vinyl in 1979, the album was out-of-print until 2002 when Epic Records International in Japan, of all places, finally reissued the album as a CD for the first time.
The 14-page CD booklet comes complete with the original album's U. S. inner-sleeve lyrics and cover (front and back) reproduced. Also included are new liner notes --- the new liner notes, sadly, are in Japanese and without an English translation.
As a Japanese import, the album retails for around $25 (at Amazon.Com) or more, depending on your import source.
There is no bonus material (even though "Laugh In The Dark" remains unreleased on any album). You get the original 10 album tracks on a single CD.
However, pop fans (Carpenters, Beach Boys, America, Four Seasons) will enjoy the album. The remastered sound is clean and fresh-sounding, beating the heck out of my old vinyl album's sound.
Long-time fans will probably want to grab the import despite the price tag because no U. S. release is planned, according to Epic Records. Carmen fans will want it since Carmen produced the album, plays on the album and wrote two of the songs, including The Euclid Beach Band's only Billboard hit, "I Need You" (which hit # 81 in 1979).
The album is a quirky mix of pop, rock, disco and Motown rhythm and blues that works. Hewlett's lead vocals are Carmen-sweet while Reising's lead vocals remind one of Rod Stewart circa "Maggie May."
The session players are all top notch (no doubt adding to the album's reported production cost exceeding $100,000): bassist Bob Babbit (of The Funk Brothers), drummer Rick Marotta (John Lennon, Paul Simon, Stevie Nicks, The Jacksons), bassist Stanley Sheldon (Peter Frampton), percussionist Jimmy Maelen (Roxy Music, John Lennon), guitarist Jeff Miranov (Art Garfunkel, Laura Nyro), keyboardist Paul Griffin (Don McLean, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon), sax player Rick Bell (Spyro Gyra, Howard Tate), sax player Ron Bell (Coasters, Shirelles) and sax player David Sanborne (Kiss, Sting), among others.
Eric Carmen plays acoustic piano on "I Need You" and electric piano on "End Of The World."
The tracks:
"Don't Play That Song," "There's A Moon Out Tonight" (not to be confused with The Capris' 1960 hit), "Karen," "I Need You" (originally written by Carmen for singer Frankie Valli, who released his version as a single in 1977), "There's No Surf In Cleveland," "End Of The World" (written by Carmen; not to be confused with the 1963 Skeeter Davis hit), "You Make It Easy," "Don't You Know What You Mean To Me," "So Hard To Say Goodbye" and "You're The One."
Recommendation:
If you like your pop with cream and sugar, and a little bubblegum music stuck on your Motown shoes, this is the album for you. The original vinyl LP is a much sought-after collectible among Eric Carmen fans.
"Euclid Beach Band" should appeal to fans of The Beach Boys, The Carpenters, America, The Bee Gees and The Four Seasons.
The band members today:
Hewlett has other Raspberries' connections besides Carmen. In 1973, two members of The Raspberries (bassist Dave Smalley and drummer Jim Bonfanti) left the band to form Dynamite (recording an unreleased album with keyboardist Kevin Raleigh, later of The Michael Stanley Band). When Smalley left the group, the band became Windfall with Hewlett as lead singer (Phonograph Record Magazine reported in 1976 that Raspberries' producer Jimmy Ienner was considering producing Windfall, but the group split before that could happen).
Hewlett's pre-Euclid Beach Band outfit, Sweet Lightning, also featured guitarist Syd McGuinness, who is now with the David Letterman TV show band.
After Euclid, Hewlett recorded two albums with drummer Michael Shrieve (from Santana) as Novo Combo. The group opened tours for The Who and Cheap Trick, among others.
In more recent years, Hewlett has recorded and toured with Billy Joel (two studio albums, a live album and two worldwide tours, including Russia), Carly Simon, Joe Jackson, Julian Lennon and Amy Grant.
He can also be heard in his current hometown of Pittsburgh, Pa., with The Hewlett-Anderson Band (Anderson being a former keyboardist for The Vogues, among other credits).
Hewlett has also done vocal work singing commercial jingles for Burger King, McDonalds, Lipton Tea and Miller Beer.
Reising continues to be a valued session musician and producer. He has also recorded with Joe Grushecky and The Iron City Houserockers.
The Euclid Beach Band has reunited a few times over the years to record or make a live appearance.
The best songs:
"There's No Surf In Cleveland":
This may be the best Beach Boys' tribute/parody ever. It's sung in such an honest, straightforward manner that its humorous nature may escape you on first listen --- with a chorus of multi-part harmonies that would make Beach Boy Brian Wilson jealous and proud at the same time.
Opening acapella with angelic harmonies of "there's no surf in Cleveland, U. S. A.," the song revs up with drums, guitars, bass and David Sanborne's sax as the group laments in song that there's no surf in Cleveland (Pete Hewlett sings lead on the choruses, with session players John Hart and Juan Gomez singing lead on the verses):
"...now we can't shine down our Woody / or drive our boards around all day / and man we can't impress the girls on the beach / the way they do out in L. A. / 'cause there's no surf in Cleveland / there's just no surf in Cleveland, U. S. A./.../no surf, no surf, we don't care..."
Sounds hokey, but it works --- these are musicians and vocalists who love the sound they're recreating.
"Karen":
The fact that I was dating a girl named Karen in 1979 didn't hurt this song in my book, but long after she left my life I still love the tune (you can tune a piano but you can't always get two people to play the same chord of love).
Again written by Reising and Girard, "Karen" is easily one of the best power pop tunes of the 1970s. It should have been a single.
Bright, engaging, fresh and energetic pop with a gorgeously sweet lead vocal by Pete Hewlett (sounding like two of my favorite vocalists, Eric Carmen and Kyle Vincent, here), the melody fairly bounces along, carrying the listener with it adrift on Reising's understated acoustic piano work:
"...Karen, you carried it too far this time around / Karen, we should be sharin' our love / but now it's breakin' down around us / good or bad we'll make the best of it / things can work, you'll see / 'cause I know Karen / you're the only one for me..."
"I Need You":
Eric Carmen wrote "I Need You" especially for Frankie Valli's voice. Valli recorded the tune as a single and performed it on "The Tonight Show" in 1977, noting that Carmen had written it for him. The tune didn't chart for Valli, however.
Two years later, The Euclid Beach Band took the tune to # 81 as their biggest chart hit in 1979. Carmen has yet to release a version of the tune himself.
Carmen plays acoustic piano on this track, adding emotional impact to Hewlett's sensitive lead vocal here. It's a classic tune of lost romance as the singer laments:
"Well I tried to write a special song / a love song just for you / to explain the way / you make me feel inside / though the meaning may be simple / and the words may not be new / I couldn't make it clearer if I tried / I need you / and I couldn't live a day without you / I need you / more than anyone could ever know / I need you / and I wanna build my world around you..."
"You Make It Easy":
Written and sung by Hewlett, "You Make It Easy" is a disco-tinged beauty with a catchy-as-heck chorus and an uptempo melody (Bob Babbit's bass playing is super funky here):
"...you make it easy to love you / you make it easy as love can be..."
"Don't You Know What You Mean To Me":
Another Reising-Girard gem, with Reising's lead vocal easily mistaken for Rod Stewart here, rhythm and blues go pop with lots of sax and handclaps along the way:
"Well you're my guardian angel / but you're right here on earth / you make a blind man fit to see / just like a pearl in the ocean / you don't know what you're worth / don't you know what you mean to me / you're like a beautiful portrait / that I hang on my wall / and you should be in the gallery / I'd like to tell you that I love you / but the words won't come / don't you know what you mean to me..."
On the web:
My review of the CD "The Sittin' Ducks" by The Sittin' Ducks, featuring Raspberries' Wally Bryson and Choir members Dan Klawon and Kenny Margolis: http://www.epinions.com/content_239152434820
Speaking of The Raspberries, Dave Smalley's solo album, "Internal Monologue," was released in 2003 and I reviewed it: http://www.epinions.com/content_112634596996
Richard Reising plays on Eric Carmen's CD, "Boats Against The Current," recently released in Japan: http://www.epinions.com/content_113921527428
Hewlett-Anderson Band website: http://hewlettanderson.com/bios.htm
Sony Music Japan's Euclid Beach Band site (Japanese language): http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Music/International/Arch/ES/TheEuclidBeachBand/
Esquire Records Cleveland music history site: http://www.esquirerecords.com/radio/60s.asp
A 1976 Rolling Stone magazine interview with Eric Carmen mentioning his first solo band: http://www.ericcarmen.com/archive/050676.html
Promo photo of (left to right) Richard Reising and Pete Hewlett (tell me Pete doesn't have Eric Carmen's shag hair cut!), 1979: http://www.clevelandintl.com/images_photopage/cir_photo_album_2/CIRPhotoAlbum2/euclid_beach_band.html
A Cleveland Scene magazine 1979 interview with Pete Hewlett and Richard Reising: http://208.55.153.132/archive/091379.html
The official Eric Carmen website: http://www.ericcarmen.com
The official Raspberries website: http://www.raspberries.net (now run by Raspberries' guitarist Wally Bryson and his Kay, aka Kay-Wal Music)
Interested in the Cleveland music scene, try Cleveland Scene magazine: http://www.clevescene.com --- lots of links and a search engine for past issues
Related interest:
Eric Carmen reunited with Wally Bryson, Dave Smalley and Jim Bonfanti to reform the original Raspberries' recording lineup to tour in 2004-2005 for the first time in three decades. Capitol/EMI Records released a 20-track 24-bit remastered CD called "Greatest" in May of 2005: http://www.epinions.com/content_186044681860
The Euclid Beach Band is one of the many subjects talked about in the book "Eric Carmen: Marathon Man" by Bernie Hogya and Ken Sharp: http://www.epinions.com/content_153762500228
Special thanks:
To Epinions' Music Category Lead Shelly (http://www.epinions.com/user-lambchops) for adding this title to the music category's database for me.
Recommended:
Yes
Great Music to Play While: Driving
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Don_Krider
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Member: Don Krider
Location: USA
Reviews written: 301
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About Me:
Fan of power pop (Raspberries, Badfinger, Cheap Trick, The Knack, Romantics, Slade,Sweet...) --- "Play On"!!!
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