Gather Me - MELANIE****

Little Bit Of Me/Some Day I'll Be A Farmer/Steppin'/Brand New Key/Ring Around The Moon/Ring The Living Bell/Railroad/Kansas/Some Say (I Got Devil)/Centre Of The Circle/What Wondrous Love/Baby Day/Tell Me Why

Singer-songwriter Melanie was the epitome of the Woodstock generation so it should have come as no surprise that her appeal began to wane as the seventies progressed. Gather Me was the last of her classic albums and includes the quirky chart topping single Brand New Key. (US:15 UK:14)

“Gather Me remains one of Melanie's very best recordings. Of course there are the purists who complain about the orchestration. Fans who feel she should not be playing with anything more than an acoustic guitar and a microphone. But the musical arrangements on this album are almost uniformly brilliant providing an advantageous setting for both Melanie's vocals and songwriting.”

“Her singing matures dramatically with this album. She never had difficulty belting it out, but the quieter phrases here are much deeper and sustained. There is a mellow, rich quality throughout. Of course this is also the album that contains Brand New Key, the huge hit that unfortunately pegged her forever as a novelty singer of cute little ditties.”

“Most of these songs are thoughtful, sophisticated efforts burnished with an ascendant maturity. The world weary, almost country western Little Bit Of Me, the simply brilliant Steppin', Railroad and Kansas, are virtually flawless. Someday I"ll Be A Farmer and Baby Day revisit the Brand New Key territory a bit, but there is a sardonic aspect to all these songs that resolutely removes them from overly cute category.”

“Melanie's career never really took off. Certainly, during the early 70s she was one of the most creative forces in music. But, her commercial decline was fast and abrupt, here today; gone tomorrow. There are numerous reasons for this, the main being poor management and bad choices. Gather Me is her best album, hands down. It is not, however, without flaws. Baby Day is too cute for its own good and reinforces her hippy-dippy image. The rest of the songs are the strongest of her misguided career.”

“Great production values and perfect arrangements for her voice and style are the reasons why Gather Me was Melanie's best. It really does provide a nice cross section of her ability to sing country, pop, folk, and some traditional styled songs.”