Neil Sedaka in Concert

This delightful August 1991 live performance by Neil Sedaka was shot in Birmingham, England, before an adoring audience happy to hear the master showman perform both his early, Brill Building hits (“Oh Carol,” “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen”) and the more mature songs of his 1970s comeback period (such as “Laughter In the Rain,” performed here with daughter Dara Sedaka). In a nice preface to the concert, Sedaka talks about the old days, when rock ‘n' roll was new and he was—quite literally—writing pop classics alongside the likes of Carole King, Barry Mann, and Neil Diamond in a New York office. Sedaka also talks about his own stardom, his return to the stage after some fallow years, and how he found (and maintains) a strong relationship with British fans. The 20-plus song set features a number of highlights, including Sedaka doing a bit of dancing during “Calendar Girl,” and abandoning his piano altogether for expansive numbers such as “Good Times, Good Music, Good Friends.” The one sour note is that more than a third of the show, technically, consists of a series of encores, since Sedaka leaves the stage after a mere 12 songs, so the final nine songs are by audience demand. One can't help but groan at such hucksterism, especially since Sedaka already has the audience wrapped around his finger with both versions of “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” (fast and slow) and the sweet “My Son and I.” The best thing here is Sedaka's take on “Solitaire,” a soaring ballad he co-wrote about self-induced loneliness that never sounded right in the sappy versions by the Carpenters and Andy Williams. Presented in Dolby Digital stereo, this blast from the early days of rock ‘n' roll past is highly recommended. (T. Keogh)