Melanie — Madrugada

This was the one that started it, my first Melanie record. I bought it at some point in 2019, running across it in the bins somewhere, and being in both a ’70s mood and a singer-songwriter mood, decided there was no reason why my collection should remain Melanie-less. I thought I might like it a bit, and in fact I like this album a lot. It’s a little unusual in that it has four cover songs, and right in a row – Lover’s Cross followed by “Pretty Boy Floyd,” followed by “Wild Horses,” followed by “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today.” All good covers, though only “Lover’s Cross” journeys very far from the original. Her own strongest song is “Maybe Not for a Lifetime,” but the others are solid too, and it’s well-produced.

Since I liked this one plenty I just kept on picking up any Melanie records I found, throughout the pandemic, and I haven’t been disappointed yet.