{"product_id":"the-definitive_collection","title":"The Definitive Collection","description":"\u003cp\u003eReleased in 2007, The Definitive Collection is a 22-track Neil Sedaka career retrospective spanning roughly five decades of his work as a singer, pianist, and songwriter. It opens with the bright, youthful pop that made Sedaka a major early-1960s hitmaker—“Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” “Oh! Carol,” “Calendar Girl,” “Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen,” and “Next Door to an Angel”—showcasing his polished melodies, buoyant piano-led arrangements, and collaborations with lyricist Howard Greenfield. The compilation runs 74 minutes and frames these familiar singles as the foundation of a wider artistic overview.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRather than stopping at the teen-pop period, the collection follows Sedaka into his more mature 1970s writing and performing career. It includes “Laughter in the Rain,” “The Immigrant,” “Solitaire” in a live rendition, “Bad Blood,” and “The Hungry Years,” alongside songs he wrote that became hits for other artists, including “Love Will Keep Us Together.” The final stretch adds less-common material: a slower reworking of “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” previously unavailable demos of “Where the Boys Are” and “It Hurts to Be in Love,” plus “What a Surprise” and “Junkie for Your Love,” then appearing on CD for the first time. As a result, it works both as an accessible introduction to Sedaka’s best-known songs and as a more rounded document of his evolution from Brill Building-era pop craftsman to adult-pop songwriter.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Record Store","offers":[{"title":"CD \/ Album","offer_id":53958251381050,"sku":"39789","price":16.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Vinyl \/ 2LP - Opaque White Vinyl","offer_id":53958251413818,"sku":"39790","price":44.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/2041\/0682\/files\/Screenshot_2026-08-25_at_1.14.58_PM.jpeg?v=1787678647","url":"https:\/\/recordstore.ca\/products\/the-definitive_collection","provider":"Record Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}