Candles in the Rain

Candles in the Rain
Studio album by Melanie
Released	April 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
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[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.

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

• Melanie – guitar, vocals
• Alan Parker – guitar
• Alan Hawkshaw – keyboards, organ
• Edwin Hawkins – piano on "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)"
• Harold McNair – fiddle, flute
• Herbie Flowers – bass guitar
• Barry Morgan – drums
• Rico Reyes – congas, percussion on "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)"
• John Abbott – arrangement on "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)"; conductor on "What Have They Done to My Song Ma"
• Lee Holdridge – string arrangements on "Citiest People" and "Ruby Tuesday"

Charts

Chart	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Albums Chart [5]	17
U.S. Cash Box Albums Chart [6]	6
Australian Albums Chart	2
Canadian Albums Chart	5
German Albums Chart	33
Norwegian Albums Chart	20
UK Albums Chart[7]	5
Dutch Album Charts [8]	4

Singles

Chart	Title	Peak 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

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[9]	Gold	500,000^^
Australia (ARIA)[10]	Gold	20,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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.