Strange Researches and Melodical Bamboozlement

Here's a bizarre finding. I've been up to my gizzard with the work recently. To minimize my incessant Rhapsody wanderings I've been just cueing up random classical works. And as it turns out, not even the land of background music is safe from distraction.

This morning I was cruising along to this Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor when things started sounding creepily familiar. As it turns out I'm now convinced easy listening schmaltz monger Eric Carmen lifted most of the melody to All By Myself wholesale from this piano concerto. The most damning evidence is all there in the first two and a half minutes of this adagio segment.

OK. With that case closed I've got to at least pretend to get a little more work done. Happy Monday.

Not So By Myself After All, Eh?

Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18 - II: Adagio sostenuto - Sergei Rachmaninov
All By Myself - Eric Carmen

Addendum: Well, what do you know. I got around to looking deeper into this. It turns out the melodical inspiration was intentional as explained in an interview on Mister Carmen's site.