Melanie

Anthology (2 CDs)
$15.98
melanie is the best singer ever. i've listened to her since i was 11 years old. she has shaped my life. this music is so true to life. i sang melanie, john prine, and harry chapin to my daughter when she was an infant.

Beautiful People: The Greatest Hits of Melanie
$9.99
I was a huge Melanie fan "back in the day" and was considering attending one of her live concerts but my wife and friends had never even heard of her! Bought this album to acquaint them with her music (and reaquaint myself) and was surprised to find that I didn't enjoy her music nearly as much as I had back in the 60s and 70s. Guess that our tastes really do change sometimes as we get older. However, there are a couple of songs here that I thoroughly enjoyed but I'll probably not be adding this album to iTunes and it will join hundreds of other CDs that I only listen to very sporadically. Bottom line: a decent enough grouping of her best stuff and probably a must have for any true Melanie fan but only okay recording quality. by the way, my wife and friends weren't enthralled with her music so we're not going to attend her concert.

The Bridge
$13.98
It's not bad for a debut, but it leans a bit too much on the Motown imitations.

While borrowing so heavily from the Motown playbook isn't bad -- the songs are catchy and even entertaining -- it does simply make me want to play the classic songs that she's referencing rather than listen to her tracks.

When she finally steers a bit away from the Motown sound, her songs are sometimes and more point to potentially good albums in the future.

It's a slightly welcoming detour in that she simply doesn't mimic the styles of most R&B-pop female singers these days, but her other tracks tend to sound like Alicia Keys and, at this album's worst, generic pop R&B.

She's a name to look forward to, and hopefully the label will give her chances to grow on subsequent albums, something that labels don't seem to do much anymore.

Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)
$0.99