Neil Sedaka - Laughter In The Rain: The Best Of Neil Sedaka 1974-1980

Artist:

Sedaka, Neil

UPC:

030206553925

See Also:

Rivers, Johnny (Pop) Warwick, Dionne Joel, Billy

Description:

Compilation producer: Cary E. Mansfield.
Includes liner notes by Neil Sedaka and Fred Bronson.
Digitally remastered by Bill Inglot.
Personnel: Neil Sedaka (vocals, piano).
Laughter in the Rain: The Best of Neil Sedaka, 1974-1980 supersedes the out-of-print 1977 LP compilation Neil Sedaka`s Greatest Hits, including all 12 of its tracks and adding another eight, among them two (the U.K. Top 40 hit "The Queen of 1964" and "Rock and Roll Wedding Day") not previously released in the U.S. Nine of Sedaka`s ten Billboard Hot 100 hits of the period are included (as with Neil Sedaka`s Greatest Hits, the missing title is "Amarillo," which reached number 44), along with his versions of songs he wrote that were hits for others: "Love Will Keep Us Together," "Lonely Night (Angel Face)," and "Solitaire." After disappearing from the charts in the mid-`60s, Sedaka forged a comeback in the wake of fellow Brill Building writer Carole King`s early-`70s breakthrough. Always a faithful student of the hit parade, Sedaka realized that, like King, he could modify his initial teen pop sound into a modicum of the currently popular singer/songwriter style, even to the point of re-tooling his old hit "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" into a melancholy ballad that hit all over again. He also became the willing prot¿g¿ of his primary disciple, Elton John, whose style is a clear influence and who even steps in to provide prominent background vocals on "Bad Blood" and "Steppin` Out." But beyond his adaptive abilities, Sedaka, working alternately with his old lyric collaborator, Howard Greenfield, and a new one, Phil Cody, and even writing a few lyrics himself, demonstrated growth as a songwriter capable of appealing to the mature concerns of the audience who had listened to him in their innocent teens and were now facing middle age with a combination of sober experience and guarded hope. ~ William Ruhlmann

Track Listing:

DISC 1

1. Laughter in the Rain
2. Love Will Keep Us Together
3. That`s When the Music Takes Me
4. Immigrant, The
5. Hungry Years, The
6. Queen of 1964, The
7. Rock & Roll Wedding Day
8. Bad Blood - (featuring Elton John)
9. Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
10. #1 With a Heartache
11. Lonely Night (Angel Face)
12. Standing on the Inside
13. Love in the Shadows
14. Other Side of Me, The
15. Steppin` Out
16. You Gotta Make Your Own Sunshine
17. Little Brother
18. Solitaire
19. Should`ve Never Let You Go
20. Our Last Song Together

Album Information

Release Date:

09/27/1994

Type:

Performer

Genre:

Rock & Pop

Label:

Var¿se Sarabande (USA)

Catalog Number:

5539

Original Release Year:

1994

# of Discs:

1

Studio/Live:

Studio

Mono/Stereo:

Stereo

Runtime:

73 : 51

Guest Artist:

Elton John; Captain & Tennille; Dara Sedaka

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