Candles in the Rain

Last updated
Candles in the Rain
Canldes Rain Melanie.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 1970
Studio
  • Wessex, London
  • Allegro, New York City
  • Catero Sound, San Francisco
Genre Pop
Label Buddah
Producer Peter Schekeryk
Melanie chronology
Affectionately Melanie
(1969)
Candles in the Rain
(1970)
Leftover Wine
(1970)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Candles in the Rain is singer Melanie's third album. Released in 1970, the album produced Melanie's first Top Ten single in North America, "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)", which was inspired by the crowd's reaction to her performance at Woodstock. The cover of the Rolling Stones' 1967 song "Ruby Tuesday" reached the Top Ten in the United Kingdom.

Contents

Reception

In their review of the album, Billboard Magazine stated that "Melanie's song creations and vocal interpretations are widely popular in Europe, and with this LP her success in the U.S. should be assured. "Lay Down (Candles In the Rain)," with the Edwin Hawkins Singers, is her current single and the most exciting cut; other outstanding originals include "Leftover Wine" and "Citiest People." Her versions of "Ruby Tuesday" and "Carolina in My Mind" are definitive." [2]

Cashbox noted that the album "offers her strongest bid to date for album success with this beautifully poetic LP....Melanie should find herself on the charts with this excellent record." [3]

Allmusic stated that "this was where she seemed to truly hit the mark for the first time...If Candles in the Rain was the album that broke Melanie to a larger audience, it did so not just because it featured her biggest hit single to date, but because it matched material and interpretation with greater skill than she had in the past, and it ranks with her finest work." [4]

Track listing

All songs written by Melanie Safka except where noted.

  1. "Candles in the Rain" 1:42
  2. "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" (accompanied by the Edwin Hawkins Singers) 3:49
  3. "Carolina in My Mind" (James Taylor) 3:37
  4. "Citiest People" 3:32
  5. "What Have They Done to My Song Ma" (fr) 4:02
  6. "Alexander Beetle" (Safka, A.A. Milne) 2:35
  7. "The Good Guys" 3:08
  8. "Lovin' Baby Girl" 4:20
  9. "Ruby Tuesday" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) 4:31
  10. "Leftover Wine" 6:06

Some versions of the album substituted "Close to It All" for "Alexander Beetle", some versions have neither song.

On the original 1970 UK release by Buddah Records (2318009), "Lay Down" is given a timing of 3:49 on both label and sleeve notes as is quoted above. On this album, the track is in fact 7:44 minutes long (from direct timing), but was 3:49 on her Very Best of album.

Personnel

Charts

ChartPeak
position
U.S. Billboard Albums Chart [5] 17
U.S. Cash Box Albums Chart [6] 6
Australian Albums Chart2
Canadian Albums Chart5
German Albums Chart33
Norwegian Albums Chart20
UK Albums Chart [7] 5
Dutch Album Charts [8] 4

Singles

ChartTitlePeak
position
U.S. Cash Box Charts"Lay Down"3
U.S Billboard Hot 100"Lay Down"6
Australian Charts"Lay Down"2
Canadian Charts"Lay Down"1
Netherlands Charts"Lay Down"1
U.S. Cash Box Charts"Ruby Tuesday"34
U.S Billboard Hot 100"Ruby Tuesday"52
German Charts"Ruby Tuesday"6
Austrian Charts"Ruby Tuesday"2
Belgian Charts"Ruby Tuesday"14
Canadian Charts"Ruby Tuesday"25
UK Chart"Ruby Tuesday"9
Australian Charts"Ruby Tuesday EP"70
UK Singles Chart"What Have They Done to My Song, Ma"39
Norwegian Charts"What Have They Done to My Song, Ma"6
Belgian Charts"What Have They Done to My Song, Ma"14

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [9] Gold500,000^
Australia (ARIA) [10] Gold20,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melanie (singer)</span> American musician (1947–2024)

Melanie Anne Safka Schekeryk, professionally known as Melanie or Melanie Safka, was an American singer-songwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buddah Records</span> American record label

Buddah Records was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's founding. Buddah handled a variety of music genres, including bubblegum pop, folk rock (Melanie), experimental music, and soul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odia Coates</span> American singer

Odia Coates was an African-American singer, best known for her high-profile hits with Canadian singer-songwriter Paul Anka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">As I Lay Me Down</span> Single by Sophie B. Hawkins

"As I Lay Me Down" is a song composed and performed by American singer-songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins. It was released in February 1995 by Columbia as the third single from her second album, Whaler (1994), and also appears on The Best of Sophie B. Hawkins (2002). The song is one of her two biggest hits, reaching number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart for six weeks during 1995. Outside the United States, the song reached number six in Canada, number seven in Australia, number 19 in New Zealand, and number 24 in the United Kingdom. Its music video was directed by Sophie Muller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruby Tuesday (song)</span> Song by the Rolling Stones

"Ruby Tuesday" is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones, released in January 1967. The song became the band's fourth number-one hit in the United States and reached number three in the United Kingdom as a double A-side with "Let's Spend the Night Together". The song was included in the American version of Between the Buttons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edwin Hawkins</span> American musician and singer (1943–2018)

Edwin Reuben Hawkins was an American gospel musician, pianist, vocalist, choir master, composer, and arranger. He was one of the originators of the urban contemporary gospel sound. As the leader of the Edwin Hawkins Singers, he was probably best known for his arrangement of "Oh Happy Day" (1968–69), which was included on the "Songs of the Century" list. In 1970, the Edwin Hawkins Singers made a second foray into the charts, backing folk singer Melanie on "Lay Down ".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oh Happy Day</span> Song by Edwin Hawkins Singers

"Oh Happy Day" is a 1967 gospel music arrangement of the 1755 hymn by clergyman Philip Doddridge. Recorded by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, it became an international hit in 1969, reaching No. 4 on the US Singles Chart, No. 1 in France, Germany, and the Netherlands and No. 2 on the Canadian Singles Chart, UK Singles Chart, and Irish Singles Chart. It has since become a gospel music standard, selling over 7 million copies worldwide, making it the second best-selling gospel song of all time.

<i>Gather Me</i> 1971 studio album by Melanie

Gather Me is a 1971 album released by Melanie and featuring the US Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart #1 song "Brand New Key". The album also features the singles "Some Day I'll Be a Farmer" and the Top 40 hit "Ring the Living Bell". The album was certified Gold in the U.S. and was arranged by Roger Kellaway.

<i>Photograph</i> (Melanie album) 1976 studio album by Melanie

Photograph is an album released by American singer Melanie in 1976, her only release on Atlantic Records. The album contains "Cyclone" which was released as a single.

<i>The Good Book</i> (album) 1971 studio album by Melanie

The Good Book is a 1971 album released by Melanie and featuring the Top 40 hit "Nickel Song". The album also features "Birthday of the Sun", a track Melanie originally performed at Woodstock in 1969.

<i>Madrugada</i> (Melanie album) 1974 studio album by Melanie

Madrugada is a 1974 album released by Melanie featuring the singles "Lover's Cross" and "Love to Lose Again". In November 1973, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" became a Top 40 hit in the United Kingdom and was subsequently added to the British release of the album.

<i>Leftover Wine</i> 1970 live album by Melanie

Leftover Wine is a live album released by Melanie in 1970 on the Buddah label. Production and arrangements were conducted by her husband, Peter Schekeryk. The album was recorded at Carnegie Hall in New York City, except for the closing track "Peace Will Come", which was a studio recording that was released as a single to promote the album.

<i>Garden in the City</i> 1971 studio album by Melanie

Garden in the City is a Melanie album released by Buddah Records in 1971. Although marketed as an album of new recordings it was actually a compilation of "leftover" songs from Melanie's time at that label and released without her consent, after she left to form her own record label. Two of the songs had been previously released on the soundtrack album to the movie R. P. M. in 1970.

<i>Stoneground Words</i> 1972 studio album by Melanie

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

<i>Melanie at Carnegie Hall</i> 1973 live album by Melanie

Melanie at Carnegie Hall is a 1973 double album released by Melanie and the second concert record after the release of Leftover Wine in 1970. The album contains material from Melanie's Carnegie Hall concerts of February 2 and 3 in 1973.

<i>Ballroom Streets</i> 1978 studio album by Melanie

Ballroom Streets is a 1978 double album released by Melanie. The album is essentially a live album but recorded in the studio with a small audience. It mixed new recordings of old songs with some new songs and featured the vocals of the Persuasions. When first issued on CD in 1989, it did not contain "Holding Out", "Any Guy", "Groundhog Day" and "Friends and Company". There was a rare promotional only 12-inch single with the songs "Cyclone " and "Running After Love" [Tomato TOM 12D-0004] distributed at the time of the album's release.

"Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" is the second single from Melanie Safka's 1970 album Candles in the Rain. It was her breakthrough hit in the United States, climbing to number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Cash Box Top 100. The record was ranked number 23 on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1970. It was released in March 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sit Yourself Down</span> 1971 single by Stephen Stills

"Sit Yourself Down" is a song written by Stephen Stills that was released on his 1970 solo debut album Stephen Stills. It was also released as the second single from the album, following the Top 20 hit "Love the One You're With." and reached the Top 40, peaking at #37.

<i>Live in London</i> (Helen Reddy album) 1978 live album by Helen Reddy

Live in London is the first live album by Australian-American pop singer Helen Reddy that was released in 1978 by Capitol Records and, as with her previous release, did not reach Billboard magazine's Top LP's & Tapes chart. On June 25, 2002, the album was released for the first time on compact disc.

"What Have They Done to My Song Ma" is a song written and performed by Melanie (Safka).

References

  1. Candles in the Rain at AllMusic
  2. "Album Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. No. 25 April 1970. p. 70. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  3. "Album Reviews: Pop Picks" (PDF). Cash Box. No. 18 April 1970. p. 36. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  4. https://www.allmusic.com/album/candles-in-the-rain-mw0000203834 [ bare URL ]
  5. "Melanie : Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  6. "Cash Box" (PDF). Worldradiohistory.com. 1970-07-11. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  7. "MELANIE | full Official Chart History". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  8. https://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Melanie&titel=Candles+In+The+Rain&cat=a [ bare URL ]
  9. "American album certifications – Melanie – Candles in the Rain". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  10. "Cash Box" (PDF). Cash Box. 12 August 1972. p. 40.