Gather Me [Vinyl LP]

You could debate whether Candles In the Rain or Gather Me was Melanie's best album but I think fans would agree that they are together her best albums. Candles In the Rain was her second post-Woodstock album which contained the song inspired by the performance that created her career virtually overnight. Gather Me was Melanie's first album on the Neighborhood label which was founded by herself with her husband and manager Peter Schekeryk (to whom she stayed married until his death in 2010). The two albums each contained one of her two biggest hits, the first its title song and Gather Me the catchy #1 song, Brand New Key. and were her only albums to reach the Billboard Top 20. Melanie was not really a good artist-fit for the Buddha Label. She had first signed with Columbia but they let her go after two early singles failed to chard. Buddha was a relatively new label that had been spun off Kama Sutra Records (which had made it with the Lovin' Spoonful), when its distribution deal with MGM ended. When they signed Melanie they were high on Bubblegum Music, having struck gold in 1968 with groups like the Ohio Express and the 1910 Fruitgum Co. One can already see that this wasn't really the best place for Melanie. To his credit, label head Neil Bogart promoted her relentlessly and also left her style be her own rather than trying to make her a bubblegum princess. Still, they were a hit singles oriented label and their constant pressure on her took its toll. The final straw was when they wanted her to make new albums whenever they wanted one. We all know Melanie didn't work that way. So it was ironic and perhaps a bit of sweet revenge when her first single on Neighborhood was #1 for three weeks around the Holidays in 1971, and went gold and pushed her new album into the top 20. It was the big song of late '71 along with American Pie. Brand New Key had even been banned by some radio stations because its lyrics could be read as something less innocent than the song sounded when Melanie recorded it in the little girl voice she sometimes used. Buddah never did forgive Melanie for this and continued to dog her career by releasing old, in-the-can songs right around the time she'd release new songs on Neighborhood. Though she would release six more albums through 1976, this would be her peak on the radio and record charts. Interestingly, the album with her catchiest little pop hit was more folk oriented than the hit single would suggest and only Some Day I'll Be a Farmer is a "cute" song like Brand New Key. Melanie is mostly serious here, not deadly serious but certainly not cute. The arrangements are mostly quiet and acoustic and even when strings are added they're not overwhelming. It opens with Little Bit of Me a sincere explanation of why she can't be constantly touring and recording. Steppin' has a country feeling with its harmonica and piano and is a somewhat regretful break-up song with a determination to move on. Ring the Living Bell is arranged in a roots music fashion with an opening that sounds like it could have been recorded by a raw group in the Appalachian Mountains, before it shifts into more of a pop vein. The Southern Appalachian folk-hymn What Wondrous Love is given an appropriately simple treatment with mostly Melanie's voice and guitar. She must have been one of the first singers to bring this song into a pop album format. It's becoming better known now but was only found on roots and spiritual albums back then. Center of the circle is the big production number of the album, but even there the arrangement, which includes a small orchestra, doesn't overwhelm. Some Day (I Got Devil) has the Spanish guitar intonations and sound as well as the same passion found in her song Tuning My Guitar, from the Melanie LP. My personal favorite is the melancholy Railroad, an intimate, confessional song with a nice arrangement of strings, guitar and winds.The whole album presents a grown up Melanie with a interestingly wide range of material and the same intensity that marked her earlier albums and along with her sincerity was a defining characteristic. The Disc is put out by Talking Elephant Co. UK, which has used the original masters now owned by Sony/Universal. The label generally covers English folk groups like Fairport Convention and Wishbone Ash. The sound is excellent. As is getting unfortunately more common these days, there is no booklet. The inside lists musicians and the production crew and that's it except for the track listing on the back.

Great condition

We love this beautifully made CD. Melanie’s songs touch your heart. Tender, honest but powerful character voice. She is One of a kind!

I was disheartened to find the sleeve in super rough condition—maybe even a little water damaged. However, this is a great album beyond the popular "I've got a brand new pair of roller-skates" song, and the quality of the vinyl was excellent.

I never thought I would find this on CD. It was one of my first lps I purchased when in high school. It is probably Melanie's best album. Ring The Living Bell, Steppin', Brand New Key and Little Bit of Me are great songs. It came from Australia to the US, so it took awhile to get here, but arrived in great condition. I am extremely pleased with the album and the seller.

Excellent Album I have loved this for years and bought it to play on my road trips The Vinyl is goo too if you are into buying vinyl these days!

Bought this for a friend who is a long time Melanie fan. She tells me the quality is great on this CD, and the neighbors like the tunes.

She’s got a brand new roller skate. You’ve got a brand new key. Any questions?