The latter is considered by many as one of her classics - to me it's a qualified success, because of the ambiguous lyric. But then, the "God stuff" keeps cropping up where you least expect it - not only in the album's coda (a song which may date from the 1900s), but implicitly in "Some Say I Got Devil" and "Railroad", and explicitly in "Center of the Circle", the longest of those seemingly-unfinished songs which fortunately is rescued by arranger Roger Kellaway - who unexpectedly converts it into a wild flight of fancy, a chamber-pop tour-de-force. The album also features the singles "Some Day I'll Be a Farmer" and the Top 40 hit "Ring the Living Bell". It opens with Little Bit of Me a sincere explanation of why she can't be constantly touring and recording.

The only time I felt good about myself when I was in front of you, and we were together, and I could see and sense that all was well. 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. 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. Melanie always sounds so sweet, and even her version of protesting usually involves badges and light words rather than the more usual shouts and taunts by bare-chested young men.This is an early classic from the folk scene in the States, which, of course, is very different from the UK music scene involving folk music. Non-personalized content and ads are influenced by things like the content you’re currently viewing and your location (ad serving is based on general location). It's unfortunate that this should become, for many, her definitive album, because it's really not one of her best. The only negative being the lyrics with Melanie at times, explaining what a great person she is, which can be a little irritating.

The Southern Appalachian folk-hymn What Wondrous Love is given an appropriately simple treatment with mostly Melanie's voice and guitar.

The arrangements are mostly quiet and acoustic and even when strings are added they're not overwhelming. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. 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. 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).

You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.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. I have a very well-worn vinyl copy of this album, and I have a feeling I’ll be spinning the digital version just as much. 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. And it was that connection that motivated me to come out after the performance, meet everyone and never do a Melanie has left the building thing. 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.