Neil Sedaka – Love Songs Review

It’s always nice to reminisce with past artists through greatest hits compilations. This isn’t one, but it is darn close. It’s titled Love Songs, and if it included “Calendar Girl” it would be closer to a hits compilation. But I could’ve sworn that “Calendar Girl” was a love song.

Neil Sedaka is a breath of fresh air from the possibly re-emerging pop, overplayed hip-hop and confused rock music that’s played on the radio. Listening to the tango-inspired “You Mean Everything To Me” makes me gag at how dancing has evolved to the body bumping and body groping of today’s generation.

The classic “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” brings fun to the lost art of back-and-forth singing between back-up singers and the artist. Neil Sedaka is a very versatile artist whose songs transcend genres from the blues (“Without A Song”) to the Vegas-style “We Kiss In A Shadow.”

My favorite track is the very deep “I Must Be Dreaming” with its rich lyrics and simple composition that emphasize those lyrics. Music today has become a spectacle with its value on showmanship, image and glamor. What it lacks is heart and talent. Most, if not all, of the tracks on Love Songs accentuate Sedaka’s vocals and the lyrics rather than drown out his vocals with instruments and synthesizers.

This might be why “Calendar Girl” was left out because the song combines both strong vocals and strong instruments. This compilation is very strong with some of Sedaka’s best songs.