Melanie
Ring The Living Bell: A Collection
DISC ONE
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You Could Have Had Me For A Nickel Any Time At All Beautiful People Every Breath You Take Life Will Not Go Away Racing Heart Sun And Moon Natural Man (San Bernadino) Candles In The Rain Perceive It Long Long Time (Rehearsal & Song) Freedom Knows My Name Live Coal Ring Around The Moon How Can I Help You Say Goodbye Long Train Runnin' |
3:11 |
Safka |
ASCAP Two Story Pub. |
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DISC TWO |
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Someday I'll Be An Old Record Look What They Done To My Song Missing You Cyclone Close To It All Bitterblue Friends And Company Ballerina Brand New Key Peace Will Come Arrow Ruby Tuesday The Nickel Song Ring The
Living Bell session |
3:09 |
Safka add.Lyrics: Jess Leary |
ASCAP Two Story Pub./Loose Angel Music ASCAP Bienstock Pub./Jerry Leiber Music/Mike Stoller Music ASCAP Fallwater Music Inc /Markmeem/WB Music/Alley Music Corp. ASCAP Two Story Pub ASCAP Bienstock Pub./Jerry Le ber Music/Mike Stoller Music BMI Island Music Inc. ASCAP Two Story Pub. ASCAP Two Story Pub. ASCAP EMI/April Music MCA Inc. ASCAP Bienstock Pub./Jerry Le ber Mus c/Mike Stoller Music ASCAP Amachrist Music/Penrod and Higgins Music ACF Music Croup BMI Abkco Music Inc. ASCAP Two Story Pub ASCAP Two Story Pub. |
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Bonus Cut By SAFKA |
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One Mistake |
3:24 |
Leilah and Jeordie Schekeryk |
ASCAP Two Story Pub. |
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On April 18, 1999, I had a very entertaining conversation with Melanie.
Most of you holding this CD think you already know her, either through
personal experience or through her music. Your perception is accurate. She is
forthright, funny, introspective and honest. And she likes to talk.
Melanie: Well,
that's such a strange question, because I'm involved in what I do and I'm
just doing it and I think I'm really busy. I get asked that question a lot,
you know, "Where have you been?" And I've been here. The only thing
is I haven't had a high visibility, I haven't had any PR company working for
me, I've just been independent and working. I'm a working legend. |
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Mark: While
we're on the subject of going back, how do you view the world since Woodstock?
I'm only six years younger than you. Did our generation live up to your hopes
and expectations? Melanie: No,
in a word. I truly believe, well, the thing that's different about me
compared to some cynical types is I didn't get very cynical. I do believe
that people will rise to an occasion. |
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I think that the war was an occasion but there was
a spirit that was amassing even before the war. It was sort of a spiritual
awakening or something. At least for me it was. I thought I invented the
60's, by the way. I was living in Long Branch, New Jersey and I was the only
beatnik. It was before hippies. I had moved from New York, just in time for
high school. It was a strange experience. I became known as this radical I
was the person in the sandals, Indian moccasins, boots, or barefoot. I was
just the freak, the only one. And so l thought I was the only one in the
whole universe. I thought high school was The Universe, but when people get
out they realize it's not. Anyway, I was the first freak that I knew. And I
thought that I must be crazy because they sent me to the school psychologist
in my third year of high school. I don't know why, I don't even know why. To
me, It was, "I'm cool everybody else is not". And they said yes,
that's what a true crazy person is. Everybody else is crazy, I thought I was
the only sane one. At one point, I realized I wasn't the only person having
these feelings, you know. My God, we're in this together. |
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We're the family of man and what hurts one person
hurts everybody. Karma and all this stuff started coming from everywhere. I figured
that everybody wearing long hair and dressing a certain way with love beads,
and anything that was individualistic, I thought, "that is a person who
is a kindred spirit". |
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And early on in the 60's l realized that wasn't
true. There was a lot of posing going on, but there always is. To some people
it was no more than a fashion trend and a great excuse to get promiscuous, do
drugs and do things that were not cool. I believed humanity was in for the
big Renaissance. There was never going to be a war again and people were
going to get sane and they were going to follow their hearts and do the thing
that felt right. What happened is people became reactionaries to the 60's.
And I'm going "what is going on, has everyone gone mad?" And I just
continued doing what I did and I said "well screw it, I'm not going to
try to become something that I'm not". I figured I was successful in
doing this thing and people like it. I know they still do, they always did,
and they always will. Whether I sing to 500 people or 500,000, it's not
really important. Mark: True.
Speaking of that, you've got some great new songs on this collection that mix
social commentary and humor much in the way Brand New Key, The Nickel Song, or
Look What They've Done To My Song do. Obviously, music has changed
dramatically since you first recorded, yet your songs remain timeless. What's
your secret? |
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Melanie: I
don't know, I do this mental exercise, and it's just for my own fun. I always
think of things like "how is this going to look"? When I used to see
the rock bands when everybody had long hair, I used to picture what these
guys would look like when they're 50. And I would laugh. It would be funny to
think about the Rolling Stones performing and how they would look. I didn't
foresee that the industry and the media were going to make it look
ridiculous. I think of my songs sometimes, like, is this forever? Is what I
do someday going to be dated? You know what I'm talking about... the
embellishments. Say we recorded certain records and they sound very 70's or
very 60's. I even recorded a very 80's and I thought I was being myself. You
can't help but getting sucked into some of the sounds... Mark: It's
true, you started out and things were a little more folky, and then it moved
to pop and rock. And you kept up with it. Melanie: Oh,
yeah. I'm a belter and I hate just holding back or anything so I've felt
maybe I'm a rock-n-roll singer. I didn't care what it was called. I was
hoping the music was transcending style. All the people who are big and stay
that way sort of follow a formula. As soon as I found a formula, I would say,
what else can I do? What can I do that's so totally different that nobody's
going to like it who liked me before. A negative as far as building a career, Mark: "How many fans can I lose"? Melanie: Right.
And I've gotten that from so many record company presidents. They would have
me in their office and say "You know Melanie, we have this Brand New Key
now, can we do another one like that? |
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Instead of these other things that are kind of introspective and kind of deep. And I wouldn't even know how to talk to that because that wasn't why I was doing it. I mean, I like the success, and I really didn't totally want to throw it all away but my main motivation wasn't money or marketing. It's funny. Now performers including my own two girls have a very strong sense of who their audience is and I never had that. I always felt I could sing to any age group or any kind of person. I sang at punk festivals, and people would say "oh, my God, what is she doing at this"? Somehow, you get out there and it's the common denominator that you're singing to. I wasn't out to please my peers. I was more out to please the people who were paying for it. I still get ridiculously nervous before a show, even though I know everybody in the audience is my fan. I'm like, stupidly nervous. Mark: Even after all these years? Melanie: People say you've been doing this for 30 years, are you still nervous? I get ridiculous. I'm very serious. I feel like this could be my very last performance on this earth. This might be the very last time I go for that note. Mark: Well,
that's pretty cool, because the audience always gets a great performance, if
you think of it that way. |
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Melanie: Yeah, it's hell on me, though. I just look at some of the other veterans who can eat a pizza, drink a beer and walk out on stage. I would get sick. I don't eat for hours before I go on stage. I can't even swallow, it's that bad. Mark: That's funny, because you could do anything and your audience would love you anyway, and you know that. There's almost nothing you could do to screw it up. Melanie: You know, there's 500 in the room, but maybe there are two who have never heard my music . . .and that's probably who I'm thinking about when I'm nervous. And they don't know anything about me. And I don't want to come out, I make sure I pronounce every word in case nobody's ever heard this song before. It's new to them. Also, when you do a song over and over and over, you have to find something new in it all the time. Mark: For
example, James Taylor. Melanie: Yeah, just something to keep it thrilling. The newest addition keeping stuff thrilling is my son Beau. He is really creative. . .so many great ideas. He can do anything he thinks about. Mark: Speaking of Beau, I heard about a dozen tracks from your kids' band, SAFKA. Actually, what we're doing is including one of their songs as a bonus track on this CD to let your fans hear what your talented offspring are up to. |
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Melanie: Great...Thank
you, that's so cool. Mark: What kind of advice do you have for them? You and Peter have been in the business for a while now. I think they're about to launch a huge career. Melanie: Oh
good, they've had a hard life. They need a good career.... Well, for me, I'm
still a freak for honesty. Just really do it because you like it and don't
try to cater to a market, even though we're in that world Music should come
from the I play that isn't. I think that was why there was such great music
in the 60's, and I say the 60's but it was 60's, 70's, because so much of it
came out of a spontaneity and maybe the spontaneity came from people smoking
grass and they were able to lose the part of them that was inhibited, but you
don't have to do that to become uninhibited. Some people don't know that. It's
imagination. Imagination is a good thing for uninhibiting yourself. Find
things interesting instead of trying to be interesting. Be interested rather
than interesting. And I think that just comes through in them. They're not
trying to be interesting, they're just who they are... |
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Very talented. But I also think if you're not
talented, don't do it. Just because you look good. Go be a plumber or
something There's such a shortage of them. Good plumbers, electricians, people
who know how to do things. Mark: ..
To help some body. Melanie: Yeah,
there's so many mediocre people out there trying to become musicians. It's
pathetic already. They should just ... |
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Mark: ...Do
what they do well. Melanie: Yes,
it's so sad. So many people who have hit records are really pretty mediocre,
and what does that say? It says hey, I could make a million dollars being
mediocre. What a way to make artists totally crazy. I mean people who are
really good and they're unable to get a record deal. It's enough to make
every artist in the universe slit their wrists. My message is just be as true
to yourself as you could possibly be, because people need to have musicians
and artists to create things that are spectacular. Mark: For
an artist that is about to span 5 decades of recording, your voice actually
seems stronger and richer than it did in the beginning, unlike many of your
peers. I won't name names. |
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Melanie: True.
Well, I use it a lot. I think that has a lot to do with it. I just keep
singing. I had all kinds of trouble touring with my voice. I stay away from doctors
who want to cut things out. Mark: Perception
being reality. |
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Melanie: Exactly.
What I'm saying might not work for others, but it worked for me because I
believed it. Mark: Tell
us about some of the songs you chose to cover on this collection. Melanie: I
have a few songs in the back of my mind that I'm going to sing when they're
old enough. Long, Long Time...I've always loved the song. |
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He asked me what happens when you die, and I got
all choked up and I thought, "God, this is the biggie. I don't want to
freak him out, say the wrong thing". Mark: Let's
talk a little bit about the title track for this compilation, Ring The Living
Bell. Thanks for being so gracious to allow us to hear you, flaws intact, as
you go through numerous punches to hit very difficult notes. Frustrating for
you and Jess Leary, but arguably some of the most entertaining moments on
this CD. Melanie: It's
so cool that you're doing that. I love live stuff on tape. Mark: This
next question is the only one I screened. Not exactly "60 Minutes"
stuff, but I checked with your liaison, Patti, to make sure that you had a
sense of humor about this. Melanie: (feigning
resignation): Ok, go ahead. |
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Mark: Conspicuously
absent from this collection is I Don't Eat Animals (and They Don't Eat Me). Melanie: Oh
yeah, my politics. Mark: Your
politics and hamburgers. Melanie: Vote
Libertarian, don't worry about wasting your vote. We've got to get all of
them out of there. That's the only way. We need to clean the slate and start
over again. Maybe it will be a little chaotic but totally Libertarian. I'm a
total Libertarian and I am not a Democrat, a Socialist or Republican. Totally
leave us alone and we'll be better off. Mark: Back
to the burgers. |
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Melanie: I
eat animals and they don't eat me. Mark: I agree, then you can't grow. Melanie: And
you're fixed and some thing's wrong. So it's really good to have a change of
thought here and there. It's not inconsistent; it's not a negative. For me I
was not doing well as a vegetarian. I just ate fruit and vegetables. I was
getting sicker and sicker. And my doctor thought I was not a great candidate
for vegetarianism. He said I was way too high strung and I needed animal
substance to live. |
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Musicians and Vocalists Include: |
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Renaissance would like to thank: |
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Melanie Safka |
Beau Jarred Schekeryk |
Bob Feldman, Steve Massie, Andrea
Davis, Dean Fetherling, Toby Knobel, Bill Morgan, Stefan
Kolle, Dave Howe, Ken Brown, Neil Wright, Joe Bojalad, Brad Curtis, Dave George and Jim Cuomo. |
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Special thanks to: |
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Patti Petow |
Jess Leary |
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Executive Producers: |
(The Nickel Song is for Sloup) |
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Bob Feldman |
Steve Massie |
A Special Note from Melanie . . . |
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Produced by: Compilation produced by: Engineered by: Design and layout by: Photos Courtesy: Ring The Living Bell session |
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Mark Saxon |
Steve Massie |
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One Mistake produced/ Project Liaison: |
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remember all your
faces and names too. Though I may not put the right name to the right face.
Thank you for letting me in and for letting me know I didn't disappoint you
because that is the only thing I ever worry about.
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