Where the Boys Are: The Songs of Neil Sedaka & Howard Greenfield

by N/A

Overview

Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield formed one of the most successful Brill Building songwriting teams, and as a solo artist, Sedaka was by far the most successful of the Brill Building songwriters who released records under their own name in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Yet they haven't quite achieved the critical respect accorded to Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, and Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. This 25-song compilation of 1958-1971 recordings written by the pair (some of them by Sedaka or Greenfield with other partners) won't change that, but it's ample demonstration of their talents as commercial and usually worthwhile pop/rock composers, even though it doesn't have any of Sedaka's numerous big hits. Instead, like Ace's other anthologies devoted to outstanding '60s songwriters, it mixes hits with flops and rarities by a wide variety of artists. While that means it doesn't collect all of their most significant work, it does give a representative sampling of the wide scope of their tunes when the writers were in their prime. A few of these songs were big hits, particularly Connie Francis' "Stupid Cupid" and "Where the Boys Are"; the Everly Brothers' "Crying in the Rain" (written by Greenfield with Carole King), and Gene Pitney's "It Hurts to Be in Love" (written by Greenfield with Helen Miller). A few were less impressive modest hits, like Jimmy Clanton's "Another Sleepless Night," LaVern Baker's ballad "I Waited Too Long," and Clyde McPhatter's "Since You've Been Gone." Some of the other selections are fairly forgettable period pop, but Ace makes things interesting by including some little-known versions of songs that were hits by others. "Fallin'" (a hit for Connie Francis) in particular improves in the hands of the more talented and rockin' Wanda Jackson, and while the Cookies' "Foolish Little Girl" (a hit for the Shirelles), Carole King's "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (a chart-topper for Sedaka himself), and Dee Dee Sharp's "Calendar Boy" (a hit for Sedaka as "Calendar Girl") aren't in the same class as the more familiar versions, they make a welcome change from hearing the same old smashes again. Also of interest is Little Anthony & the Imperials' take on "The Diary," which was originally written for them before it became a hit for Sedaka. Mixed in with songs that usually stick to the lighter side of early-'60s pop/rock are the odd, worthwhile, overlooked quality efforts (Dionne Warwick's "Get Rid of Him") and a few cuts that show them adapting to the changing '60s times with reasonable success, like Lesley Gore's 1967 single "Magic Colors." Of special note is Patti Drew's 1968 Top 40 R&B hit version of "Workin' on a Groovy Thing" (written by Sedaka with Roger Atkins), which predates the Fifth Dimension's more famous hit version, and proves that Sedaka could write in a credibly soulful vein. While a Sedaka best-of is necessary to get a full sense of his and Greenfield's contributions, this has its share of memorable tunes too. Ace's customarily excellent liner notes feature numerous comments from a first-hand 2011 interview with Sedaka himself. ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	09/06/2011
Label:	Ace
UPC:	0029667046725

Tracks

1. Stupid Cupid  - Morty Craft  - Connie Francis  - Howard Greenfield  - Larry Holmes  - Neil Sedaka
2. Keep A-Walkin'  - Bobby Darin  - Ray Ellis  - Ahmet Ertegun  - Howard Greenfield  - Neil Sedaka
3. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do  - Gerry Goffin  - Howard Greenfield  - Carole King  - Neil Sedaka
4. Another Sleepless Night  - Jimmy Clanton  - Howard Greenfield  - Billy Mure  - Neil Sedaka
5. Fallin'  - Howard Greenfield  - Wanda Jackson  - Neil Sedaka
6. Calendar Boy  - Dave Appell  - Howard Greenfield  - Kal Mann  - Neil Sedaka  - Dee Dee Sharp
7. Ooh-Sha-Lala  - Ahmet Ertegun  - Howard Greenfield  -  Mickey & Kitty  - Neil Sedaka  - Jerry Wexler
8. Crying in the Rain  - Lou Adler  -  Everly Brothers  - Howard Greenfield  - Neil Sedaka
9. The Diary  - Howard Greenfield  -  Little Anthony & the Imperials  - Neil Sedaka
10. I Waited Too Long  - LaVern Baker  - Ahmet Ertegun  - Howard Greenfield  - Chuck Sagle  - Neil Sedaka  - Jerry Wexler
11. Get Rid of Him  - Stan Greenberg  - Howard Greenfield  - Neil Sedaka  - Dionne Warwick
12. Since You've Been Gone  - Ahmet Ertegun  - Howard Greenfield  - Clyde McPhatter  - Chuck Sagle  - Neil Sedaka  - Jerry Wexler
13. Where the Boys Are  - Stan Applebaum  - Ray Ellis  - Connie Francis  - Howard Greenfield  - Arnold Maxin  - Neil Sedaka  - Joe Sherman
14. Foolish Little Girl  -  Cookies  - Gerry Goffin  - Howard Greenfield  - Carole King  - Neil Sedaka
15. Bewitched  - David Cavanaugh  - Howard Greenfield  - Lou Levy  - Neil Sedaka
16. Magic Colors  - Al Capps  - Lesley Gore  - Howard Greenfield  - Neil Sedaka
17. Walking in the Footsteps of a Fool  - Ahmet Ertegun  - Howard Greenfield  - Ben E. King  - Klaus Ogermann  - Neil Sedaka
18. It Hurts to Be in Love  - Howard Greenfield  - Helen Miller  - Gene Pitney  - Neil Sedaka
19. Puppet Man  - Howard Greenfield  - Gordon Mills  - Neil Sedaka  - Johnnie Spence
20. Workin' on a Groovy Thing  - Patti Drew  - Howard Greenfield  - Neil Sedaka  - Phil Wright
21. Don't Look Over Your Shoulder  - David Cavanaugh  - Howard Greenfield  - Neil Sedaka
22. The Girl I Left Behind Me  - Howard Greenfield  -  Monkees  - Neil Sedaka
23. Rainy Day Bells  - Jeff Barry  -  Globetrotters  - Howard Greenfield  - Don Kirshner  - Neil Sedaka
24. While I Dream  - Morty Craft  - Howard Greenfield  - Neil Sedaka  -  Tokens
25. You're Knockin' Me Out  - Bob Bollard  - Howard Greenfield  - Neil Sedaka

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Mickey & Kitty   Primary Artist
The Tokens   Primary Artist
Dionne Warwick   Primary Artist
Carole King   Primary Artist
Gene Pitney   Primary Artist
Lesley Gore   Primary Artist
Little Anthony & the Imperials   Primary Artist
Neil Sedaka   Primary Artist
Jimmy Clanton   Primary Artist
The Monkees   Primary Artist
LaVern Baker   Primary Artist
Patti Drew   Primary Artist
The Everly Brothers   Primary Artist
The Cookies   Primary Artist
Bobby Darin   Primary Artist
The Globetrotters   Primary Artist
Connie Francis   Primary Artist
Clyde McPhatter   Primary Artist
Dee Dee Sharp   Primary Artist
Wanda Jackson   Primary Artist
Ben E. King   Primary Artist
Lou Levy   Musical Direction
Johnnie Spence   Musical Direction
Stan Applebaum   Conductor
Chuck Sagle   Conductor
Klaus Ogermann   Conductor
Ray Ellis   Conductor
Larry Holmes   Director

Technical Credits

Carole King   Arranger
Don Kirshner   Music Supervisor
Joe Sherman   Producer
Lou Adler   Producer
Neil Sedaka   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Photo Courtesy
Jerry Wexler   Producer
Phil Wright   Arranger
Kal Mann   Producer
Duncan Cowell   Mastering
Gordon Mills   Producer
Al Capps   Arranger
Ahmet Ertegun   Producer
Gerry Goffin   Producer
Stan Applebaum   Arranger
Morty Craft   Producer
Helen Miller   Arranger,Producer
Dave Appell   Producer
Arnold Maxin   Producer
Chuck Sagle   Arranger
David Cavanaugh   Producer
Stan Greenberg   Producer
Niall McCormack   Package Design
Klaus Ogermann   Arranger
The Everly Brothers   Producer
Bob Bollard   Producer
Mick Patrick   Liner Notes
Billy Mure   Producer
Jeff Barry   Producer
Howard Greenfield   Arranger,Composer,Producer
Ray Ellis   Arranger,Producer