The Southern Appalachian folk-hymn What Wondrous Love is given an appropriately simple treatment with mostly Melanie's voice and guitar. Steppin' has a country feeling with its harmonica and piano and is a somewhat regretful break-up song with a determination to move on. Steppin'", which also sounds today like a pre-echo of Orton, and incidentally was the first "wronged-woman song" in her catalogue (if you overlook "Wait By the Water" and, indeed, "You Can Go Fishin'"). After I finish recording, I never listened back maybe if I had I might’ve known but I was on to the next thing I was working on. It was such an unexpected surprise when I listened back to Brand New Key, Living Bell, Some Say, and I look at the girl I was.

And it was that connection that motivated me to come out after the performance, meet everyone and never do a Melanie has left the building thing. Buddha was a relatively new label that had been spun off Kama Sutra Records (which had made it with the Lovin' Spoonful), when its distribution deal with MGM ended. The arrangements are mostly quiet and acoustic and even when strings are added they're not overwhelming. The only time I felt good about myself when I was in front of you, and we were together, and I could see and sense that all was well.However, this is a great album beyond the popular "I've got a brand new pair of roller-skates" song, and the quality of the vinyl was excellent. And of course, there's "Brand New Key" - Safka scholars aren't supposed to like it, because of the Wurzel connection and the way it stereotyped her in people's minds as a novelty act, but resistance is futile. It opens with Little Bit of Me a sincere explanation of why she can't be constantly touring and recording.

For this listener, the biggest problem with the album is a more mundane one - there's too much religious content. Interestingly, the album with her catchiest little pop hit was more folk oriented than the hit single would suggest and only Some Day I'll Be a Farmer is a "cute" song like Brand New Key.

Buddah never did forgive Melanie for this and continued to dog her career by releasing old, in-the-can songs right around the time she'd release new songs on Neighborhood.

Melanie always sounds so sweet, and even her version of protesting usually involves badges and light words rather than the more usual shouts and taunts by bare-chested young men. I have a very well-worn vinyl copy of this album, and I have a feeling I’ll be spinning the digital version just as much. If Melanie has always been anxious not to be defined by her religious affiliation (which has changed over the years), and in later years has regarded herself as a secular humanist first and foremost, you'd never know it from listening to this! I'm convinced it's a bit of a mickey-take - a metaphor has to make sense on one or both levels, but this can only be read (with difficulty) as, nothing more and nothing less than, a "hymn" to a night on the town. The album also features the singles "Some Day I'll Be a Farmer" and the Top 40 hit "Ring the Living Bell".This is an early classic from the folk scene in the States, which, of course, is very different from the UK music scene involving folk music.