Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel includes: Neil Sedaka, Elton John. | | The 1998 reissue of THE HUNGRY YEARS includes 4 bonus tracks. | | Personnel: Neil Sedaka (vocals, piano); Dean Parks, Steve Cropper (guitar); Chuck Findley, Dick "Slide" Hyde, Jackie Kelso, Jim Horn (horns); David Foster (keyboards); Leland Sklar (bass guitar); Nigel Olsson (drums); Milt Holland (percussion); Donny Gerrard, Elton John, Brian Russell, Gail Haness, Ann Orson, Brenda Russell (background vocals). | | Audio Remixer: Dan Hersch. | | Liner Note Author: Don Charles. | | Recording information: Clover Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA. | | Arrangers: Richard Hyde; Jackie Kelso; Richard Carpenter ; Artie Butler. | | THE HUNGRY YEARS, the follow-up to SEDAKA'S BACK, is essentially a companion-piece to that highly successful album, and kept pop singer Neil Sedaka's mid-1970s comeback going strong. The main attractions of this set are Sedaka's slow, smooth update of his own '60s hit "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do," and "Bad Blood," his vibrant collaboration with fan and friend Elton John. However, the rest of the record won't disappoint fans of shiny '70s pop either, thanks to the presence of the upbeat "Lonely Night (Angel Face)," which, like "Love Will Keep Us Together," was turned into a hit single by Captain & Tennille. | | Since Sedaka's Back was a hit, Neil Sedaka and co-producer Graham Gouldman saw no reason to mess with success on its follow-up, The Hungry Years. The record is essentially Sedaka's Still Back, complete with the same adult contemporary/MOR material and slick production that marked its predecessor. It also suffers from uneven material, but it's distinguished by a slow rearrangement of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" and "Bad Blood," a duet with Elton John. The remainder of the album is pleasant but undistinguished soft rock from the mid-'70s. (Varese Sarabande's 1998 reissue of The Hungry Years contained four bonus tracks.) ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine |
Producer: Neil Sedaka; Robert Appere; Bill Inglot; Cary E. Mansfield (Reissue) |
Engineer: Robert Appere |
Musical Guests | | Elton John |
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