MELANIE's "Stoneground Words"

Original Released on LP Neighborhood Records

NRS 47005 (US, November 1972)

Sadly, "Brand New Key" had sounded the death knell on Melanie's commercial prospects. Stoneground Words was in another class altogether — a mature, intelligent and ambitious work, easily as good as most singer/songwriter fare of its time. Building on Gather Me's better moments, Melanie effectively shed her cuteness but didn't get cynical, either. The lyrics of "Summer Weaving," "Do You Believe," and "I Am Not a Poet" have a pretty, almost painterly quality, and Melanie's ear for an interesting melody was at its strongest. Session heavyweights Sal DeTroia and Hugh McCracken, as well as the first-rate arrangements of Roger Kellaway, ensure Stoneground Words' status as an under-heard classic. What should have been a renaissance ended up a mere footnote to Melanie's glory days. (Charles Donovan in AllMusic)

"Stoneground Words" was another strong offering from Melanie, with fantastic original songs and a cover of Pete Seeger's "My Rainbow Race." This was Melanie's follow-up to her "Gather Me" album, which was awarded a gold record. This was a pivotal record in Melanie's development as a songwriter. In my mind, she was transitioning to a more sophisticated style of songwriting and it baffles me that a larger record-buying audience eluded her from this point on in her career. Well produced, marketed with several album cover size color photographs of Melanie. "Together Alone" made it to the lower rungs of the singles charts, but the album lacked a commercial blockbuster in the vein of "Lay Down (Candles In the Rain)" or "Brand New Key." (in Amazon)