Melanie Safka - February 3, 1947 - January 23, 2024
I was heartbroken by the news of Melanie's passing and have been listening to my old records and sinking into happy memories. I heard her a lot on that old transistor radio I had as a kid in the 70s and while this blog is dedicated to Alice Cooper, I thought I'd post a few words on other artists I like, maybe in the form of a list, maybe a few thoughts on the LPs I own, just to get them out of mind and on paper (so to speak).
Melanie's big break came at 1 AM, on a rainy night at Woodstock when the band who was supposed to play, refused to do so due to the weather. So she went on their stead, the audience raised candles (which inspired one of her greatest hits) and history was made. While I've checked out other releases on Spotify, I'm going to write about the studio albums I own from the late 60s through the 70s.
All songs written by Melanie, except where indicated
Born to Be (November 1968)
Tracks: In The Hour / I'm Back in Town / Bobo's Party / Mr. Tambourine Man (Dylan) / Momma Momma / I Really Loved Harold / Animal Crackers / Cristopher Robin (Is Saying His Prayer) (A.A. Milne w/Safka) / Close to It All / Merry Christmas
Looking at old reviews, and yeah, I guess in 1968 it would sound as if Melanie was searching for a musical identity, swinging from tunes like Momma, Momma (with heavy lines like, "Sometimes I feel my life has come and gone - I live in this world, but I'm only looking on") to her goofing-around-singing on Animal Crackers - but in 2024, we know that this was her musical personality, the playful and the introspective, the childlike and the thoughtfully sober. It's what made Melanie, Melanie, it's what made her special. I think this is a fantastic debut - the first song impresses right off the bat, and its steady right down the line. Bobo's Party, Momma, Momma and I Really Loved Harold are the musical/lyrical highlights for me. And I find Christopher Robin sweet and charming. Merry Christmas is the closest thing to a skipper but for the most part, "Born to Be" is a winner.
Tracks: I'm Back in Town / Tuning My Guitar / Soul Sister Annie (Kaye) / Any Guy / Uptown Down, Again / Beautiful People / Johnny Boy / Baby Guitar / Deep Down Low / For My Father / Take Me Home
As good as the first is, the second is even better, folky but soulful, a near perfect collection, my only complaints, some of the fade outs are too abrupt, and in spots, she’s not as disciplined vocally as she’ll become (for example, she’s just yelling by the end of Tuning my Guitar... which is nevertheless, one the albums best). Favorite track? Baby Guitar, anyone who thinks of her as this frivolous childlike hippy, should listen to this darkly surreal piece with its haunting instrumentation and evocative vocals... according to something I read at Songfacts, she didn't enjoy performing this "freaky" number very often, but she made an exception for an appearance on the Johnny Cash Show.
Candles in the Rain (April 1970)
Tracks: Candles in the Rain / Lay Down (Candles in the Rain) (accompanied by the Edwin Hawkins Singers) / Carolina in My Mind (Taylor) / Citiest People / What Have They Done to My Song Ma / Alexander Beetle (Safka, A.A. Milne) / The Good Guys / Lovin' Baby Girl / Ruby Tuesday (Jagger, Richards) / Leftover Wine
A game changer, a real breakout, her first gold album, with a top 10 hit (Lay Down) and fan favorite and radio mainstay, Look What They’ve Done to my Song, Ma. She's showing a lot of growth and maturity as an artist and singer... and yes, Melanie always had an expressive voice and great range, but it's in full bloom on this, one of my favorite releases from her - I even like Alexander Beetle, which is a sweet counter to the more painful pieces that address the difficult sides of the music industry, or her empathetic look at the damage city living can have on a soul (the lovely ballad, Citiest People).
With its children's poems, hopeful anthems and looks at human nature (The Good Guys) - from the fantastic guitar picking and energetic strums of Lovin' Baby Girl to the vulnerability in Leftover Wine, "Candles" is a knockout. Last but not least, Lay Down is simply phenomenal, sweeping, inspiring, a singular listening experience.
Tracks: Good Book / Babe Rainbow / Sign on the Window (Dylan) / The Saddest Thing / Nickel Song / Isn't It a Pity / My Father (Collins) / Chords of Fame (Ochs) / You Can Go Fishin' / Birthday of the Sun / The Prize / Babe Rainbow (Reprise)
I used to consider this a step below the first 3, but revisiting it, it’s aged amazingly well, this is as good as anything she's done - looking over its wiki page, Cashbox considered it her best recording to that point, praising the maturity, vision and craft of the songwriting, arrangement and production, and they're not wrong, though Candles is still my #1. There are some nice covers (Dylan, Phil Ochs and especially the beautiful rendition of Judy Collins My Father) and some nice guitar work, Hugh McCracken plays the classical, Vinnie Bell on electric, Melanie herself plays a nylon guitar and banjo. The Saddest Thing is my favorite track for the plaintive melody and vocals. Nickle Song gave her a modest hit, ranking 35th on the Billboard Hot 100, 25th on Cashbox, I like the razor-sharp lyrics that once again speak to the business of music and fan expectations.
Tracks: 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) / Center of the Circle / What Wondrous Love (Arranged and adapted by Melanie) / Baby Day / Tell Me Why (Edwards, Parish, Spaeth)
A new career path, making music for her own label - and right out of the gate she has her biggest selling LP, with her only #1 single, Brand New Key, which was a doubled edge sword as that’s the song everyone knows, but it seems to overshadow every other accomplishment, to the point where she’s sometimes thought of as a 1 hit wonder. It’s a sweet little novelty, I do like the number, bought the single when it was released and played it over and over (it was even used that way in an inspired, dark, Kids in the Hall sketch), but there are other treasures on the record that display some lofty and varied songwriting, with the mournful ones my favorites - Little Bit of Me, Railroad (the section where she sings "Write it down now" in that small, fragile voice, coupled to sad/pretty music/instruments, simply takes my breath way) and Some Say (I Got Devil), is, wow, powerful - that one lingers long after it's over. The hippy folkster is represented in Baby Day, the soulful seeker of truth in the gospel-like, Living Bell - so all facets of Melanie are found in this gem of a record.
Tracks: Garden in the City / Love in My Mind / We Don't Know Where We're Going (De Vorzon & Botkin Jr.) / Lay Lady Lay (Dylan) / Jigsaw Puzzle (Jagger & Richards) / Don't You Wait by The Water / Stop! I Don't Wanna Hear It Anymore (De Vorzon & Botkin Jr.) / Somebody Loves Me (MacDonald, DeSylva, Gershwin) / People in the Front Row
The infamous scratch and sniff record. See that little yellow oval on the bottom of the cover? It reads… “Rub gently to release the magic of Melanie’s Garden.”, which is hilarious.
Melanie's discography can be rather confusing - LPs were retitled and repackaged (in the 90s and up, there were a lot of re-recordings), and you had her old company (Buddha) releasing compilations and unreleased tracks sold as new, when they weren’t, nor were they approved by the artist. Garden, then, is a mélange of older tunes, with a few songs from a movie soundtrack (R.P.M.) tossed in to fill it out (it only runs 28 min). It’s why it doesn’t have a unified sound - despite this, its listenable material, there’s some good music here, like the pretty, acoustical Love in My Mind, and the groovy People in the Front Row.
Another they released in 1971 was Please Love Me
This one also includes the 2 songs from the R.P.M. soundtrack, as well as the 7 she did for the 1970 movie “All the Right Noises” - there's a couple dibs and dabs (an early single from 1968, “God’s Only Daughter”, and a different version of “In the Hour” from her debut). While she wasn’t fond of doing movie work, the music is pleasant, especially the pretty, Pebbles in the Sand.
Tracks: Please Love Me (All the Right Noises) / In the Hour (ATRN) / Getting Out (ATRN) / Momma, Momma / Save The Night (ATRN) / Please Love Me (Instrumental) / Ears to The Ground (ATRN) / We Don't Know Where We're Going (R.P.M.) / Pebbles in The Sand (ATRN) / Stop! I Don't Wanna Hear It Anymore (R.P.M.) / God's Only Daughter (1968 single)
Tracks: Together Alone / Between the Road Signs / Summer Weaving / My Rainbow Race (Seeger) / Do You Believe? / I Am Not a Poet (Night Song) / Stoneground Words / Song of the South, based on a Theme from Song of the North, adapted from the original / Maybe I Was (A Golf Ball) / Here I Am / Bonus Songs: Bitter Bad / Seeds
This was planned as an ambitious double album, that sadly was cut down to a single, but -silver linings- it's a hell of a single. It, and the following album, were an attempt to pull away from the commercialism of Brand New Key and shoot for a more serious mood and sound, and that's established from the opening track (the terrific Together Alone). That's not to say there aren't radio friendly hooks, the chorus to Do You Believe traveled with me through the day after hearing it just once. You also get a song titled Maybe I Was (A Golf Ball), and that'll put a grin on your face (though the tune itself is more solemn than you'd expect).
I really admire the musical arrangement on the album, the way the keys, strings, acoustic guitars, etc., with backing vocals, move in and out and around one another. So much to delight the ear, so many pieces to focus on and enjoy.
The last 2 numbers are unique to the 2015 CD (Seeds was a non-album single released in 1973), and while the upbeat Bitter Bad is a bit out of synch with what came before, I really dig this funky, twangy thing (and she says "Y'all", ha, took me back to my Nashville days). So yeah, Stoneground is another goodie, and its sister album...?
CD Tracks: Love to Lose Again / Lover's Cross (Croce) / Pretty Boy Floyd (Guthrie) / Wild Horses (Jagger, Richards) / I Think It's Going to Rain Today (Newman) / Will You Love Me Tomorrow (Goffin, King) / Maybe Not for a Lifetime / Holding Out / The Actress / Pine and Feather / I Am Being Guided
The U.K. version had 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow', instead of 'I Am Being Guided'. The CD includes both.
Melanie decided to take a break to be with her newborn daughter; during this time her husband collected the remaining tunes from the Stoneground sessions and released them under the title, Madrugada (a Portuguese word meaning between midnight and dawn, according to the liner notes)
Considering the circumstances, the similarities with Stoneground aren't surprising. This too has a toned down, earnest vibe. It does leans heavy on the covers, but most of those matches well with the others.
I should point out that I prefer the original US LP order, Pine and Feather works better as a closer, and while she does good work on WYLMT, it doesn't really fit.
This is, yet again, an astonishingly good album, it's a wonder how she's maintained this excellence early on, it's a wonder she's not universally praised for it. Hell of a run, and it's not over yet.
Before she died, Melanie worked on restoring Stoneground to what she envisioned it to be, a double album, with a different track order. The results of these efforts were released in May 2024. I'm so used to the originals that I admit to having struggled with this order, the songs are great of course, but disc 1 just didn't jell (I prefer Together Alone as an album opener, Wild Horses doesn't fit at track 3). The blend is better on the second disc, where Pretty Boy Floyd gets that side off to a rousing start.
Disc 1 - Here I Am / My Rainbow Race / Wild Horses / Summer Weaving / Between the Road Signs / Together Alone / Maybe Not for A Lifetime / I Am Being Guided / I Think It’s Going to Rain Today / Maybe I Was A (Golf Ball) / The Actress
Disc 2 - Pretty Boy Floyd / Lovers Cross / Song of the South / I Am Not a Poet / Pine and a Feather / Stoneground Words / Do You Believe / Holding Out / Love to Lose Again / Here I Am (solo acoustic)
Tracks: Yankee Man / You're Not a Bad Ghost, Just an Old Song / Record Machine / Eyes of Man / Stars Up There / Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (Dylan) / Sweet Misery / Monongahela River / Yes Sir, That's My Baby (Kahn/Donaldson) / Autumn Lady / Chart Song / As I See it Now
It sets the tone by opening with a country song and then continues along those lines with twangy guitars and twangy singing - a couple of detours are heard on the way - the chorus of the Eyes of Man makes me think of the Caribbean, and Chart Song is one of her moving ballads. The album has its familiar qualities - she returns to Dylan with a slowed down take on Don't Think Twice; and writes about the music industry and the frustrations of the artist (Record Machine and Chart Song).
The contrasts can be interesting, Sweet Misery isn't a misery, and is rather fun, it's the following track, Monongahela River, where you find the lyrical gloom ("Some kill themselves living - Others get killed for trying"), but these two sides of Melanie are ace.
All told, there are highs (Yankee Man, Chart Song), and lows (Yes Sir...), but when you add it all up, it's another notch on her belt.
Note: As I See It Now used new songs, with several tracks from the abandoned Autumn Lady project (1973) - which was released posthumously in 2024. Of the two LPs, I prefer AISIN- though it's great to get to hear tunes that were new to me.
Track listing for 2024s Autumn Lady (CD)
Disc 1: Hearing the News / Seeds / Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right / The Other Side of This Life / Will you Love Me Tomorrow? / Bitter Bad / Ooh Child / Record Machine / Autumn Lady / Shy as a Violet / It’s Me Again / Any Day Now (home demo) / As Long as I Get There (home demo) / So, I Don’t Feel Alone (Home demo)
Disc 2: Hearing the News (Here’s the Farmer - 27 Minute version) / Record Machine / Mary Was an Only Child / Shy as a Violet (alt version) / Stars Up There / Yankee Man / Eyes of Man / As I See It Now / Yes Sir, That’s My Baby / Sweet Misery / Monongahela River / You’re Not a Bad Ghost, Just an Old Song / Desert Song (feat Mike Heron)
International Tracks: Perceive It / Almost Like Being in Love (Lerner, Lowe) / Loving My Children / You Can't Hurry Love/Mama Said (Holland, Dozier, Holland / Dixon & Denson) / People Are Just Getting Ready / Ol' Man River (Kern, Hammerstein) / I've Got My Mojo Working (Foster) / Where's the Band / Dream Seller (Meet Me On The Corner) (Clements) / What Do I Keep (Lipsitz, Devorine) / Sandman / The Sun And The Moon / Afraid Of The Dark
US Tracks: Perceive It / I've Got My Mojo Working / Loving My Children / Almost Like Being in Love / What Do I Keep / Afraid of the Dark / Where's The Band / You Can't Hurry Love/Mama Said / Sandman / People Are Just Getting Ready / Dream Seller (Meet Me on The Corner) / The Sun and The Moon
Aside from Perceive It (which reminds me of Cat Stevens) this is the first time I was flat out disappointed in a Melanie record. The songwriting and production, the covers, it all leaves me cold. There are two different versions of the record, the US release eliminates Ol' Man River (no loss) and rearranges the order (a shade better, but still...) Not a lot to say about this record, so I'll just move on to the next.
Tracks: Cyclone / If I Needed You / The Letter (Carson Thompson) / Groundhog Day / Nickel Song - Music! Music! Music!" (Weiss & Baum) / Photograph / I'm So Blue / Secret of the Darkness (I Believe) / Save Me / Raindance / Friends and Company
2005 bonus material from "Double Exposure" reissue: Groundhog Day (10-min version) / Cyclone (alt version) / Secret of the Darkness Pt. 1 / Secret of the Darkness Pt. 2 / Unfinished Business (Selma Version) / Whamp Bhomp Song / Ruby Tuesday (Jagger, Richards) / Love to Live Again / Here We Go Again / Jukebox Magazine / Miranda (Ochs) / Unfinished Business (West Version) / Remember Me Good / Over the Rainbow (Arlen & Harburg)
An album that Atlantic pulled and refused to re-release (Someone pissed off somebody - thankfully, Rhino fought and fought and got the rights to distribute it, nearly 30 years later). The record came highly praised, but I wasn't sure, the first track was so slick, and those synths? But damned if it didn't get under my skin, and I was quickly won over by it and the following power ballad (If I Needed You). Unfortunately, the CD briefly lost momentum - The Letter is a skipper, and I didn't really need this new version of Nickle Song, I even reached a point where I put those two and Groundhog Day to the side and replaced them with the country, blues flavored Remember Me Good and the 10-minute version of Groundhog Day, which is extraordinary - at times gentle, then a real pulse pounder (love the drums).
Other notables, the pretty guitar work (Save Me), the world-weary, emotion filled vocals (several) and Raindance sees her belting it out impressively.
Bonus material was mostly fair (aside from the 2 jewels mentioned above), but I'm happy to have 'em.
Tracks: Knock On Wood (Floyd, Cropper) / Bon Apetite / Spunky / Runnin' After Love / We Can Work It Out (Lennon, McCartney) / I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love (Sager, Allen) / Let It Be Me (Becaud, Curtis) / Yankee Man (Winchester) / Record People / California Dreamin' (Phillips, Phillips)
And it's back to blah. Middle of the road, soft rock blandness, with too many weak covers and Melanie just not sounding like her hearts in it. Record People is about the only thing I can muster any enthusiasm for.
The Lost 1979 Album, aka Crazy Lady
Tracks: Another Line (Crazy Lady) / Roadburn / Taking a Bath / Consider It Something Good / The Champagne Song / I Wish I Was Inspired / Wear It Like a Flag / Lifeline / Leftover Emotion / Yes, My Darling Daughter / Lay Down Sally * Bonus tracks: There's a Reason / Can't Help Falling in Love / I Wish I Was Inspired (Alt Version) / Consider It Something Good (Alt Version) / Lifeline / Lifeline (Version 2) / Lifeline (Version 3)The legendary lost album, which, according to the Cleopatra website was recorded at various studios in the late '70s while Melanie searched for a new label. In Dave Thompson's book, Melanie on Record, the singer suggested that these were never intended for an album, per se. The Champaign Song was later included in the planned Ace of Diamonds musical. Lay Down Sally, and versions of Roadburn, Wear it Like a Flag and Taking a Bath would find their way onto releases in the next decade or so - while nice to hear these tunes, it's a so/so collection.
Live Albums From this Period?
Leftover Wine (September 1970) / Melanie at Carnegie Hall (October 1973) / Ballroom Streets (January 1979 - recorded live in the studio, with a small audience) / (Also, In Concert – Live at Montreux, 1973 - a Germany and Yugoslavia-only release)
There were also several compilation albums, the most ambitious was The Four Sides of Melanie (1972), in which each side covered a different aspect of her career at that point. Side A was the formative years, Side B, the commercial (which included a 7 min version of Lay Down), Side C, the cover songs, with Side D emphasizing her imaginative, empathetic qualities. (track list here)
The colorful covers could be folded into a cube and hung as a mobile.
The 80s? I've sampled a few and might dig deeper into those and others at a later date. But for now, that's it.
Rest in peace Melanie, you gifted the world a lot of beautiful music and made my life a little better and brighter.
Part II - Melanie: 1980-1993
