Ring The Living Bell: A Collection

Melanie | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 22, 1999)
• Original Release Date: June 22, 1999
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Renaissance
• ASIN: B00000JFRK
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,026 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #33 in Music > Indie Music > Pop > Singer-Songwriters

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. You Could Have Had Me For A Nickel

2. Any Time At All

3. Beautiful People

4. Every Breath You Take

5. Life Will Not Go Away

6. Racing Heart

7. Sun And Moon

8. Natural Man (San Bernadino)

9. Candles In The Rain

10. Percieve It

See all 16 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Someday I'll Be An Old Record

2. Look What They Done To My Song

3. Missing You

4. Cyclone

5. Close To It All

6. Bitterblue

7. Friends And Company

8. Ballerina

9. Brand New Key

10. Peace Will Come

See all 15 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honest music, passionately performed, December 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ring The Living Bell: A Collection (Audio CD)

I haven't purchased a Melanie album for over 15 years. I think the last one was Phonogenic: Not Just Another Pretty Face. And I don't believe I have listened to Melanie for about the same amount of time. Not that I don't like her, but to me she was more a novelty of my single-digit years. My mom was a fan and I learned Brand New Key, Look What They Done To My Song, etc. but not much beyond that period. My coming across this CD was a random event and I purchased it for nostalgic reasons only. I couldn't be luckier. What a find. Not every track is great, but the vast majority are and they clearly are the work of a committed, sincere artist. So what if she's not recorded using state of the art technology. I'm glad that is not the case. So many tracks have an intimate feel that almost gives me the sense that Melanie is singing for me alone in my living room. Her thoughtful lyrics and renditions of others' songs are so reflective of the humanity in all of us. Music that touches and soothes the soul. I guess I am lucky not to be too familiar with her old hits, for Beautiful People is brand new to me and evokes such strong emotion that I fear might not be evoked with thirty years' familiarity. Buy this if you want music that will move you. So real, so genuine, so unlike anything you will hear on radio or coming out of a state-of-the-art studio.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars YOU MUST HAVE THIS CD!, August 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ring The Living Bell: A Collection (Audio CD)

Are you tired of all the dead CDS out there... and deadbeat singers. Does it seem that knowone sings anymore. THEN you need to get yourself a copy of MELANIE SAFKAS new RING THE LIVING BELL CD. SOME of her older classics have been revamped with new style and craftsmenship. Like a fine wine her voice has a flavor that speaks for itself. Some of her newer tracks like FREDOM KNOWS MY NAME, RACING HEART, BALLERINA, NATURAL MAN, LIVE COAL. AND YOU COULD HAVE HAD ME FOR A NICHOL...ALL show that this artist has a message to sayand she says it well. I will never understand why this artist does not recieve the aclaim that she so richly deserves...get this CD and see for yourself that someone can still make the music COME ALIVE...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Must for Melanie fans., July 2, 1999

By 

Harold (Phoenixville, PA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ring The Living Bell: A Collection (Audio CD)

I was never as big a Melanie fan as I was for some of her contemporaries: Laura Nyro, Joni Mitchell and Carole King always appealed to me more. But as a teenager, I loved "Brand New Key", and when Rhino released THE BEST OF MELANIE in 1990, I bought the disc and came to appreciate more, if still not all, of her music. When I heard of this new disc, RING THE LIVING BELL: A COLLECTION, I decided to buy it to hear how Melanie and her artistry had matured over the years. I have to say, I like this 2-disc collection a lot. I can see where long time, die hard fans will be absolutely crazy about it. It's a very intimate recording, and the whole thing has a very live sound to it. Melanie herself is in great voice, and is backed by some terrific musicians and singers. They've recorded some Melanie classics to great effect, and in many cases, they're much better then the originals. The new songs are even better, especially "Racing Heart", which sounds like a Stevie Nicks hit, and great covers of "Long, Long Time" and "Long Train Running". Highly recommended for Melanie fans, and worthwhile for fans of acoustic singer/song writers. ONE MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT: The rehersal session of "Ring the Living Bell" is great, but there's no finished version of the song. BIG mistake to not include it, as it's one of Melanie's best songs.