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. Steppin' has a country feeling with its harmonica and piano and is a somewhat regretful break-up song with a determination to move on.

She enthused at the time that it was her best album yet (which should always be taken with a pinch of salt), and that it was the first album she was entirely happy with, and one that reflected exactly where her head was at, at the time! My Favorite album from Melanie's stint with Buddha Records, All great songs, with a lot of complex arrangements. The inside lists musicians and the production crew and that's it except for the track listing on the back. My personal favorite is the melancholy Railroad, an intimate, confessional song with a nice arrangement of strings, guitar and winds.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. 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. 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). The album also features the singles "Some Day I'll Be a Farmer" and the Top 40 hit "Ring the Living Bell". The arrangements are mostly quiet and acoustic and even when strings are added they're not overwhelming.

The latter is considered by many as one of her classics - to me it's a qualified success, because of the ambiguous lyric. After I finish recording, I never listened back maybe if I had I might’ve known but I was on to the next thing I was working on. If Melanie has always been anxious not to be defined by her religious affiliation (which has changed over the years), and in later years has regarded herself as a secular humanist first and foremost, you'd never know it from listening to this! 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.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. It opens with Little Bit of Me a sincere explanation of why she can't be constantly touring and recording. It's unfortunate that this should become, for many, her definitive album, because it's really not one of her best.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. And of course, there's "Brand New Key" - Safka scholars aren't supposed to like it, because of the Wurzel connection and the way it stereotyped her in people's minds as a novelty act, but resistance is futile. The Southern Appalachian folk-hymn What Wondrous Love is given an appropriately simple treatment with mostly Melanie's voice and guitar. 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.The only negative being the lyrics with Melanie at times, explaining what a great person she is, which can be a little irritating. 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. It was such an unexpected surprise when I listened back to Brand New Key, Living Bell, Some Say, and I look at the girl I was. 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. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.