Perhaps the most bargain-bin of my Melanie records, this one was only $3 (in 2020 dollars, mind you!), but even though the cover’s edges are a bit rough, it looks good and the sound is just fine. This one is also known as ‘Live at Carnegie Hall,” or, as the cover indicates, “Recorded Live at Margie’s Birthday Party.”
Not at all sure who Margie was, but holding your birthday party at Carnegie Hall suggests some things. This is Melanie and her guitar, no backers, and she is relaxed and intimate, but still able to present tremendous voice. Her performance of “Leftover Wine” is stunning on this. For ’70s era live recording, this is pretty decent (in fairness, it only had to capture voice and guitar), and of course you can barely hear the spoken bits — which is accurate, because you usually can’t hear them well in the venue, either. It’s a great little record, and as I’ve been saying, Melanie’s voice helped get me through the worst of the pandemic.
My mom is the same age as Melanie, and this album was on frequent rotation in our house when I was little. This puts her in a unique class of albums for me that include Fiddler on the Roof and Sesame Street Fever. The news that Melanie passed away just came out last night, which sent me looking for this album cover to look at again. Thanks for posting.
Yeah, I was a little shocked to hear the news of her passing yesterday – she was still very active, had a very engaged fanbase, and could be found on social media as well as apparentlly recording a new album. This is one of my favorite Melanie albums, so thanks to your comment it’ll be the one I play in her honor today.