Neil Sedaka and Songs looks like a special album the moment you open the gatefold to this double vinyl package. Six pages of personal photographs, some taken by Sedaka himself, others of the singer posed with Carole King, Connie Francis, Barbara Streisand, and co-writers Howie Greenfield and Phil Cody, combine with 36 performances for an intimate snapshot of an important artist with just his piano, voice, and many stories. It is brilliant, capturing the naked essence of a pop maestro without the strings, drumbeats, and production tricks others may use to hide potential flaws. And there are no major gaffes here, the term consummate performer created for people like Neil Sedaka. "Betty Grable" is the 31st of 36 titles which the singer/songwriter rattles off with ease and elegance; like every track here, it shimmers with life and is performed with total professionalism. This is a living history of this artist, beginning with Chopin's "Fantasy Impromptu" and followed by 17 Sedaka/Greenfield compositions, from the Connie Francis hits "Stupid Cupid" and a tremendous "Where the Boys Are" to "The Diary"; "Oh Carol"; "Stairway to Heaven"; "Calendar Girl," the original "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"; the latter-day minor hit "Amarillo," which Sedaka states sold three million units for Tony Christie in Europe; a brilliant rendition of the tune written for chanteuse Jane Oliver, "One More Ride on the Merry-Go-Round"; up to the first composition included here co-written by Phil Cody, the poignant "Solitaire." It is one of only four titles Cody contributes, the others include their first hit together, "Laughter in the Rain," the John Lennon-inspired "The Immigrant," and an autobiographical "Brighton." Neil Sedaka rarely writes without one of his partners, but three of his solo efforts contain his own lyrics: "Leba's Song (Any Where You're Gonna Be)" (written for his wife), "Standing on the Inside," and the Top 30 "That's When the Music Takes Me," which hit two years prior to this 1977 recording. The drama and majesty of "Cardboard California" becomes an extraordinary example of Sedaka's piano technique and audience rapport. They start clapping along on "That's When the Music Takes Me," the only accompaniment on this disc. The encore is the 1975 slow version of the 1962 up-tempo hit performed earlier, "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do." There is no exact date of the concert written on this album, which was released in 1977, and most likely recorded at that time as well. The 1976 RCA release, Sedaka Live in Australia, recorded when daughter Dara Sedaka was seven, also fails to document the tour date, which was about 1970, and was released almost simultaneously with this record to capitalize on the new found fame, featuring an orchestra conducted by Lionel Huntington. There are many Neil Sedaka live recordings, but these two in particular are good to compare the depth of the artist while performing with and without other instrumentation. He captivates audiences with the same command Carole King and Neil Diamond have over their fans while performing live, and this disc includes just the right amount of talk in between the tracks to keep the flow going without distraction. Neil Sedaka and Songs is a very fine representation of Neil Sedaka's recorded history.
The Old Joe Clarks
November Review
by Joe Viglione
[-]November is a laid-back, dreamy album which develops with its own identity before hints of the Traveling Wilburys begin to take form and prior to singer/central figure Mike Coykendall putting his emphasis on Bob Dylan fronting the Band. That kicks in on track five, "The Bright Side," which, like the very Byrds-ish "Wasted Star" before it, also brings the tempo up a pace by jolting the listener out of the temporary dream state the tight band creates. At this point, Coykendall actually sounds like Tom Petty emulating Dylan on very strong material, which takes some time to get used to. It's one of those discs which creeps up on you, taking you by surprise after giving it a chance to spin a couple or three times. The opening track, "Outward & Beyond," sets the stage for the pretty pop with country overtones. It is music that works better when it is less derivative, as on the short, but very sweet, two minutes and 30 seconds of "Following Rainbows." That song re-finds the strength of earlier numbers -- "...what it would be like to be without rainbows" -- a really terrific concept of how the inspired chase either a musical dream or a love interest or both, and how time gets tighter as the years move by during the process. A real nugget. "Haven't Got Forever" follows and seems to back up that concept. "Only So Long" is equally inspired -- picture Pink Floyd going folk-rock unplugged. The album concludes with a solo acoustic piece from Mike Coykendall, which the liners credit "Recorded at FM radio Charlie Maxton." November is a really novel experience, methodical and ambient guitar that fills in around the singer's interesting thoughts.
Professional Murder Music Review
by Joe Viglione
[-]There are some interesting musical passages on Professional Murder Music, and the lyrics are well-crafted, but where Black Sabbath's debut decades before churned out a chunk of dark rock that has lasted, there is not enough identifying structure here. Sure, the guitars blast nicely on "Does It Dream," and the additional vocals by Aimee Echo have charm, but singer Roman Marisak sounds like he listened to Kurt Cobain over and over and over again. Josh Abraham's production is adequate for 2001, but the incessant Sly Stone "Dance to the Music" riff that bubbles underneath seemed more determined when Janet Jackson ripped it off. Justin Bennett's drums should explode like cannons, but they take a back seat to the quagmire of keys and guitars; those instruments are certainly a good thing but, by not putting everything at full blast, they fail to fulfill the promise. New groups are navigating in uncharted waters and some, like Verbow and Rehab, are doing interesting things with melodies and new sounds. Other groups like Godsmack and Nine Inch Nails need a good smack now and again to put some creative spark back. You can bake some songs like a cake, and "These Days" on Professional Murder Music sounds like one part OhGr, a dash of Kraftwerk, a quarter cup of "death metal," and some emotion that Iron Maiden gave us centuries ago. It's fun for a moment or two, but is it going to stick around? "Sleep Deprivation" gets a bit monotonous -- and it's too bad -- the lyrical sentiment is somewhat original. When Jack Ely sang "Louie Louie," the big thing was trying to figure him out, but the vocals are buried so deeply in the mix here you need to read the enclosed liners to figure out what's being sung. Geffen released a four-song EP with the radio edit of "Slow," demo versions of "Your World" and "Sleep Deprivation," and a version of "A Night Like This" (originally recorded by the Cure). These gems are not on the full-length CD. Tom Lord-Alge did the mix. It's listenable, but the band seems to have more to give that hasn't been brought out yet. A little more originality might go a long way if they are to have any future.
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