Freedom Knows My Name
This album continues in the same direction as Melanie 1987, only it's a bit more mellow. The production is a bit more polished, and the Pat Benatar association is gone, but at the same time it's less intense as a result. In comparison with Melanie '87, the songs don't stand out as much, although there are some that grow after a few listens. Highlights are the Cheryl Wheeler composition Estate Sale, and Silence is King, written by Gary Burr and Jim Photoglo. Another interesting cover is Dylan's Hard Rain which has been given a very inventive makeover. But there is not enough new Melanie material on the CD, making it appear to lack ambition. Not that the songs she wrote are bad, but there are too few of them, two of them (Rock and Roll Heart and Detroit or Buffalo) are not new and the others are good but not great. However, the American edition, which was for sale at her recent shows, contains six bonus tracks from her then forthcoming Silver Anniversary album, and these tracks do include some stunning Melanie compositions, as well as another Cheryl Wheeler song and a great, I mean really unspeakably great version of Jimi Hendrix' Purple Haze. If you can't get Silver Anniversary (if you live in the US, you can't :-)), buying this album will at least give you this superb track.
One thing that should be mentioned is how good the backing vocals sound on both the main tracks and the bonus tracks. AFAIK this is the first album where Melanie's kids are the backup singers, and I don't think it would have worked as well is it had been someone else. Not for any reasons of technique, although there is nothing wrong with the backing vocals in that respect, but because of, well, genetics, maybe? or telepathy? or maybe it's because these young voices (Beau Jarred looks about 13 in the picture) are a kind of foil to Melanie's mature voice, and bring back a kind of naivete that was also there in the early albums? Judge for yourself if you find the album.
Reinder Dijkhuis