Welcome to the newest regular feature here at True Genius Requires Insanity, the “Crate Dig.” As you may already be aware, we strongly feel as though it’s time to advocate a “back to basics” movement in music. We feel that instead of everyone being an innovator, that some of us need to be preserving the importance of original source material. To that end, the “Crate Dig” will feature members of the TGRIOnline.com staff, the “Hustlers of Culture,” digging through their mental crates to remember the songs that made them appreciate music. There will be some amazing, and yes, embarrassing choices here, but always the key impact is to remember when music was not something to be over studied, remixed, downloaded, forgotten and torn asunder. We’re remembering when music was simply a song you liked, and really couldn’t tell you more than a sentence or two why. Sit back, reminisce, and enjoy the building blocks of music appreciation.
Song: Melanie f/ The Edwin Hawkins Singers – Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)
Year Released: 1970 Year “Discovered” by Me: 2001
Reason Discovered: Time Life Music’s AM Gold 1970 CD
Why a fan?
I’m a big fan of multiple part harmonies going back to the days of growing up loving the Mamas and the Papas, and a fan of dope drum pickups from listening to Motown classics for about 75% of my childhood and having multiple family members who were great drummers to always point out the drum’s importance in every song I ever appreciated. The AM Gold collection highlighted a great deal of really banal music that I was into ironically at first, but then was won over by either the songwriting or vocal performances. This was the latter, as between Melanie’s multiple octave vocal workout here is unbelievable, as having originally known her only for the playfully salacious hippie pop of “Brand New Key,” this was a vast cry in a different direction. Her histrionics are such that on the final record pressing, she even sounds distorted, as if the studio mic levels were not managed in such a manner to handle her vocals. And the Edwin Hawkins Singers of “Oh Happy Day” fame on here blow away the chorus, making the song go from a simple post psychedelic era tune about Melanie singing at Woodstock (the people apparently looked like “candles in the rain”) into something potentially religious, though the intent is not there, the vocal effort more than takes the track in that direction.
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