Workin' on a Groovy Thing (Neil Sedaka album)

Workin' on a Groovy Thing
Studio album by Neil Sedaka
Released 1969
Recorded Festival Records
Sydney, Australia
Genre Pop
Label Festival, MCA
Producer Neil Sedaka and Pat Aulton
Neil Sedaka chronology

Smile
(1965)
Workin' on a Groovy Thing
(1969)
Oh Carol
(1970)
Alternate cover

Workin' on a Groovy Thing is a 1969 in-studio album containing the works of American pop singer Neil Sedaka. The album was recorded while Sedaka was touring Australia in late 1969; he recorded it on a one-off basis for the Sydney, Australia-based label Festival Records; by that time his career had slumped, and his contract had not been renewed by his former label in the USA, RCA Victor. It was recorded in Festival's studios in Sydney, Australia. It was co-produced by Sedaka and Festival house producer Pat Aulton. The LP featured many notable Australian session players of the period including guitarist Jimmy Doyle (later a member of jazz-rock band Ayers Rock) and veteran jazz musician John Sangster.

In the United Kingdom, the album was released on the MCA label under the title Sounds of Sedaka.

Program

Side one

No. Title Length
1. "Puppet Man"   3:52
2. "Johnny Walker, Old Grandad, Jackie Daniels and You"   3:18
3. "Ebony Angel"   4:21
4. "Wheeling, West Virginia"   3:31
5. "You with Darkness on Your Mind"   3:22
6. "The Love of a Woman"   3:28

Side two

No. Title Length
7. "Workin' On a Groovy Thing"   4:01
8. "The World I Threw Away"   2:58
9. "Don't Look Over Your Shoulder"   2:28
10. "Cellophane Disguise"   2:39
11. "The Girl I Left Behind"   3:06
12. "Summer Symphony"   2:51

Personnel

Neil Sedaka - vocals, piano
Alan Turnbull - drums
Len Hutchingson - bass
Jim Doyle, Mal Clarke - guitars
Mal Cunningham - piccolo & flute
John Sangster - percussion
Alan Nash, Bob McIvor - brass section leaders
Gordon Bennett, Lal Kuring - string section leaders
John Farrar - arrangements

Singles

In Australia, one single was released, "Wheeling, West Virginia", which reached No. 20 on the Australian pop chart in 1970. "The Love of a Woman" served as the B-side.

In the UK, "Ebony Angel" was released as a single, with "Puppet Man" as its B-side.

Re-issue

This album itself has not seen a re-issue since its original 1969 release, but the contents of the album are available as tracks 15-26 of the second disc of the 2002 compilation album, Let the Good Times In.