Reviewed by Geo Rule
Released: 1980 Neil Sedaka In The Pocket Genre: The Silky Smooth Musical Stylings Of The Incomparable Neil Sedaka Rating: 3.75 out of 5 Highlights: Junkie For Your Love My Friend Should’ve Never Let You Go “Down, doobie-do, down down, comma, comma. . . “ You KNOW you heard Sedaka in your head reading those words. “Junkie For Your Love” is jazzy, smooth, upbeat, and with a decent hook. IMO, it should have been the lead single from the album instead of “Letting Go”, which disappeared without a chart ripple. I have no idea what Neil was thinking with “You Better Leave That Girl Alone” which belongs in the “Johnny Get Angry” genre of the early 60’s. A peppy, upbeat jingle about a subject that even as early as 1980 shouldn’t have been on an album like this. . . certainly not a Sedaka one. “My Friend” is just a classic Sedaka ballad, that if you have an urgent need to feel warm and fuzzy, queue it up, stat! “You” is half a step behind, but same idea. In The Pocket would provide Sedaka’s last Hot 100 appearance on the singles chart, in a duet with daughter Dara, which charted at #19. “Should’ve Never Let You Go” is actually a remake of a ’78 Sedaka solo tune, turned into an “Awwww!” duet with his daughter. Yeah, it’s sweet and sappy. Just like Neil. If you can’t stand having honey poured over your metaphorical head, what are you doing listening to Sedaka in the first place? The album ends with the obligatory retro cover, this time of the 1934 classic “What a Difference a Day Makes” (made popular in the US in 1959 by Dinah Washington) in jazzy Neil form. You can practically smell the smoke in the club. For the most part, if you like Sedaka, you’ll find multiple tracks to like on In The Pocket. I did.
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