Since
Sedaka's Back was a hit,
Neil Sedaka and co-producer
Graham Gouldman saw no reason to mess with success on its follow-up,
The Hungry Years. The record is essentially Sedaka's Still Back, complete with the same adult contemporary/MOR material and slick production that marked its predecessor. It also suffers from uneven material, but it's distinguished by a slow rearrangement of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" and "Bad Blood," a duet with
Elton John. The remainder of the album is pleasant but undistinguished soft rock from the mid-'70s. (Varese Sarabande's 1998 reissue of
The Hungry Years contained four bonus tracks.)
–
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi