Hey Deanie

If I recall correctly, Dave Marsh once gave Shaun Cassidy a not entirely blistering overview for one of the Rolling Stone guides, saying the singer was a notch better than the other teen idols of his era. I remember thinking at the time that Marsh, one of my favorite writers, had really missed the ball on this one, and that for his Lovin' Spoonful and Crystals covers, if nothing else, Cassidy deserved all the scorn one could heap.

Yeah, as usual, Dave knew better. This is a pretty great damn pop song. And I was trying to figure out what it was reminding me of, in a good way, when I discovered it was written by Eric Carmen, writer of the incredible "Go All the Way" (and, yes, "Hungry Eyes") and shares the same guitars.

On the other hand, the added crowd noise at the end, when he couldn't possibly be more alone in a studio, is ridiculous, as is the amount of eye shadow he's wearing. But I admit that could just be my extreme jealousy over the fabulousness of his "what would Dorothy Hamill's hair look like if she grew it out?" hair, which is fabulous.

Go All the Way

There are many notable things here. The fact that lead singer Eric Carmen copped not just Paul McCartney's way with melody and penchant for power pop but also his singing mannerisms, with those puppy dog eyes peeking out from beneath lhasa apso hair and the way he nods and tilts and bobs his head strategically. That someone apparently had to sedate the drummer with massive quantities of valium before this take. That a double neck guitar, famously heavy and unpleasant to wear, is required for absolutely no discernible reason but doesn't it look cool?

But most of all that joining the Loch Ness Monster, Sasquatch, the jackalope and the MPDG is the girlfriend of the song's protagonist who is only slightly less likely to exist than any of those.

And who cares? Those crunchy chords driving that insanely catchy melody...the lyrics could be about the yeti marrying the mothman while the ceremony's overseen by a chupacabra and I'd be all in.