After scoring a massive solo hit with 1975's dewy-eyed ballad "All by Myself,"
Eric Carmen spent the remainder of the decade recycling the same treacly formula, effectively scrubbing the last vestiges of
the Raspberries' immortal power pop from his DNA in the process. While the ludicrous S&M-inspired cover art of his final Arista effort,
Tonight You're Mine, may promise a return to edgier fare, the album itself is pure pabulum -- ballads like "Foolin' Myself" and "Sleep with Me" are excruciatingly sappy, and even rockers like "Inside Story" are shockingly tepid given
Carmen's past glories. That dumb-ass cover notwithstanding, if anyone here deserves a good spanking, it's
Carmen himself. ~ Jason Ankeny