"Breaking Up is Hard to Do" was my favorite Partridge Family song when I was a kid. I played it over and over. Neil Sedaka's composition was just so peppy - how could I not like it? But wait a minute. Breaking up isn't only hard to do, it's often sad! Why am I smiling when I'm listening to a song about breaking up?!
Perhaps this is what David Cassidy was wondering when he went on his world tour in 1974. He played the song but in a much slower tempo. (Bye-bye peppiness. Hello bluesyness. I'm think I'm going cry.) It became a bluesy, achy number that seduced many fans who heard it live and many more who heard it captured on his Cassidy Live! album. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find that live version on YT (call to action, people!). However, he's recently played the slow version live. Trust me though, it gives you but an inkling of that first slow interpretation. In the live 1974 version, I swear you can hear his heart breaking.
Back to Mr. Sedaka, the song's composer. From what I understand, he liked Cassidy's slow version so much that he re-recorded the song in that tempo in 1975 and got another hit out of it.
First up is The Partridge Family's uptempo version. Second, Cassidy's recent live slow version and finally, Mr. Sedaka's slow version.
What say you? Uptempo or sloooow?
Also, does anyone know if it's really Cassidy who changed the arrangement of the song or if he discovered the slow one from Sedaka and decided to play it live that way? If Cassidy did change the arrangement (and that's how he expressed it in his bio, IIRC), he should get the credit for it on those YT Sedaka uploads. The one I embedded here mentions Cassidy but none of the others do.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
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7 comments:
Slow and bluesy, hands down, from both artists! I hadn't seen the recent video, but wow, he sounds lovely.
Hello all - it's good to see this blog on the go again.
I love the slow version, especially DC's version (in a sharp suit and backed by an orchestra - something to add to my wish-list ...). Although the PF clip takes me back to when I first seriously fell for David in my early teens - my recollection is seeing this on the PF in the UK in probably mid 1972 and, around that time, I'd bought a pillow case with DC's picture on. My poor old dad was pretty disturbed by that - now I'm several years older than my dad was then and I can see why! The only songs I like of Neil Sedaka'a are his slower ones, but I reckon DC's version is far stronger.
I agree with you both, I prefer the slow version as well. This is one instance where the remake is better. Thank you both for your comments. Contrary Mary, remind me please, did you lose track of DC after his PF days? Also, do you recall how long it took for that DC pic to fade from your pillowcase? Just curious :)
DD - I kept track of DC for a while after his PF days, up until he'd finished recording with RCA, but beyond that didn't really seek out what he was up to until the early/mid-90's. As for the pillow case, well, it wasn't the best quality and for most of the time I used it the pic was pretty faint - but his face was recognisable so I used it for a while, up to the point where even I thought it was a strange concept. I guess I was supposed to feel closer to DC, but it was just a picture on a pillow case, a relatively expensive one at that I recall!
Slow, every time for me, suits the lyrics.
If I recall, thats the concert David did in Omaha with the Symphony orchestra. If he sang like this more often taking it 'seriously like' I would probably be more amoured of his current self than I am at the present. It suits his age and voice much better.
Hello,
I know this blog is very old and there hasn't been any activity on the site in many years. But just in case someone stumbles on this post and wonders if David Cassidy originated the slow version of "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" , I thought I'd add what I know about it.
Lenny Welch recorded a jazzy/bluesy slowed-down version of the song in 1969. David's 1974 Live version, and Neil Sedaka's 1975 slow version sound much like Lenny Welch's. I believe Welch also originated the intro, "you tell me that you're leaving/ I can't believe it's true ..."
I don't know if Cassidy said in his bio that Neil Sedaka heard his concert in '74, and then went on to re-record the song in '75. If he did say that, then maybe David forgot that he himself took the slow arrangement from Lenny Welch. Anyway, all versions are on Youtube if anyone is interested in comparing. To my ears it's clear that Welch's 1969 version is the original rearrangement of the Neil Sedaka hit.
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