Stoneground Words

1972 studio album by Melanie
Stoneground Words
Studio album by
Melanie
Released1972
Studio914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, New York
GenrePop
LabelNeighborhood
ProducerPeter Schekeryk
Melanie chronology
Gather Me
(1971) 		Stoneground Words
(1972) 		The Four Sides of Melane
(1972)

Stoneground Words is an album released by Melanie in 1972. It contains the singles "Together Alone" and "Do You Believe".

Production and Development

The album was a conscious effort to move away from the pop sensibilities of her #1 song "Brand New Key" and focus on more introspective material. “I saw Stoneground Words as a sort of statement, something that would remind people that "Brand New Key" was a complete one-off for me."[1]

The project was initially conceived as a double album. The unused tracks recorded during the 1972 sessions would later form the basis of Melanie's 1974 album Madrugada. In 2024, Melanie oversaw the release of a deluxe edition of the album to restore it to its initial double album configuration, stating “it was like restoring a precious antique… no, it was like being handed a bag full of broken china and realizing it was an ornament that you loved when you were younger, but which fell off the shelf and shattered. So you sit there and you piece it back together.” [2]

Critical reception and legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]

In their review of the album, Billboard called it "one of the finest packages of her career thus far. The sensitivity and moving lyric line and performance of "Summer Weaving" is just one of the many standouts. "I Am Not a Poet," and the rhythmic "Song of the South" are also exceptional."[4]

Record World 's review mentioned that the "charmingly packaged set is perhaps the best Melanie album yet. "Together Alone" starts things off beautifully, and the rest is consistently fine. Should do big business."[5]

Allmusic praised the album as "mature, intelligent and ambitious" and an "under-heard classic."[6]

in 2017, hip-hop producer and co-owner of Don't Sleep Records, Phoniks sampled Melanie's "Do You Believe?" on his Wu-Tang Clan remix "Back in the Game" amassing over 80 million views on YouTube.[7]

In a 2023 video for Amoeba Music, Josh Kiszka of Greta Van Fleet singled out the record as "very important to me...her voice is unique and her quirky lyric writing and her very unique melody writing is enchanting. She's this total bad ass gypsy queen."[8]

1972 Track listing

All songs written by Melanie Safka except where noted

  1. "Together Alone"
  2. "Between the Road Signs"
  3. "Summer Weaving"
  4. "My Rainbow Race" (Pete Seeger)
  5. "Do You Believe?"
  6. "I Am Not a Poet (Night Song)"
  7. "Stoneground Words"
  8. "Song of the South, Based on a Theme from Song of the North, Adapted from the Original"
  9. "Maybe I Was (A Golf Ball)"
  10. "Here I Am"

2015 CD Release (with bonus tracks)

  1. "Together Alone"
  2. "Between the Road Signs"
  3. "Summer Weaving"
  4. "My Rainbow Race" (Pete Seeger)
  5. "Do You Believe?"
  6. "I Am Not a Poet (Night Song)"
  7. "Stoneground Words"
  8. "Song of the South, Based on a Theme from Song of the North, Adapted from the Original"
  9. "Maybe I Was (A Golf Ball)"
  10. "Here I Am"
  11. "Bitter Bad"
  12. "Seeds"[9]

2024 Deluxe Edition Track listing

Disc One

  1. "Here I Am"
  2. "My Rainbow Race"
  3. "Wild Horses" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards)
  4. "Summer Weaving"
  5. "Between The Road Signs"
  6. "Together Alone"
  7. "Maybe Not For A Lifetime"
  8. "I Am Being Guided"
  9. "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" (Randy Newman)
  10. "The Actress"

Disc Two

  1. "Pretty Boy Floyd" (Woody Guthrie)
  2. "Lovers Cross" (Jim Croce)
  3. "Maybe I Was A (Golf Ball)"
  4. "Song Of The South"
  5. "I Am Not A Poet"
  6. "Pine and a Feather"
  7. "Stoneground Words"
  8. "Do You Believe"
  9. "Holding Out"
  10. "Love to Lose Again"
  11. "Here I Am (solo acoustic)" [10]

Personnel

  • Melanie - guitar, vocals
  • Sal DiTroia - acoustic guitar
  • Hugh McCracken - guitar
  • Bill Keith - steel guitar
  • Don Payne - Fender bass
  • Chuck Domanico, Richard Davis - double bass
  • Roger Kellaway - piano, arrangements
  • Ron Frangipane - organ, harmonium
  • Donald McDonald - drums
  • Johnny Pacheco - congas
  • Al Cohn - tenor saxophone
Technical

Charts

Album Charts Peak
position
U.S Billboard Charts [11] 80
U.S Cash Box Charts [12] 37
Australian Charts (Kent Music Report)[13] 69
Canadian Charts [14] 34
Yugoslavian Charts [15] 5
Singles Charts Title Peak
position
U.S Billboard Hot 100 "Together Alone" 86
U.S Cash Box Charts "Together Alone" 57
Canadian Charts "Together Alone" 37
U.S Billboard Bubbling Under Chart "Do You Believe" 115
U.S Cash Box Looking Ahead Charts [16] "Do You Believe" 108

References

  1. ^ https://www.goldminemag.com/artist-news/melanie-stoneground-words-set-for-deluxe-reissue-in-march
  2. ^ https://www.goldminemag.com/artist-news/melanie-stoneground-words-set-for-deluxe-reissue-in-march
  3. ^ Stoneground Words at AllMusic
  4. ^ "Album Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. No. 11 November 1972. p. 67. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  5. ^ https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Record-World-IDX/IDX/70s/72/Record-World-1972-10-28-OCR-Page-0001.pdf#search=%22stoneground%22
  6. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/stoneground-words-mw0000839458
  7. ^ "Wu-Tang Clan – Back In The Game (Phoniks Remix)". Archived from the original on 2021-12-12. Retrieved February 3, 2019 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ "Greta Van Fleet - What's In My Bag?" (video). youtube.com. Amoeba Music. July 25, 2023.
  9. ^ https://www.discogs.com/release/8135827-Melanie-Stoneground-Words
  10. ^ https://easyaction.co.uk/product/melanie-stoneground-words-deluxe-double-album-version-2x-cd/
  11. ^ "Melanie". Billboard.
  12. ^ https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1973/Cash-Box-1973-02-03.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  13. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). Sydney: Australian Chart Book. p. 201. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. ^ https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=3082&
  15. ^ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. No. 23 June 1973. p. 75. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  16. ^ "Looking Ahead" (PDF). Cash Box. No. 20 January 1973. p. 38. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
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