Vinyl-a-Day #11 - Melanie Safka - Gather Me (Neighborhood/Buddah, 1971)

Melanie Safka is one of those prolific artists who was seemingly everywhere in the late-60s and early-70s, including the original 1969 Woodstock music festival and the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, but who does not really get enough credit today as a seminal artist of that era. I would describe Melanie’s music and sound as Donovan + Bobbie Gentry = Melanie. As with most prolific musicians, it was hard to pick one of her albums, but I selected her 1971 album “Gather Me.” It contains her biggest hit “Brand New Key,” which was banned from some radio stations upon release for its overt sexual innuendo (though she denies that was the message of the song). The other cuts I like from the album are "Some Day I'll Be a Farmer,” “Ring the Living Bell,” and “Center of the Circle.”