Melanie - Seventh Wave (2024 Remastered Expanded Edition) (1983)

Review by Charles Donovan
Seventh Wave restored Melanie to the lower reaches of the UK chart in 1983, when "Every Breath of the Way" was a minor hit. It also heralded the short-lived revival of her Neighborhood label. Like most of the album, "Every Breath" is three-chord rock & roll. Although fine players were involved -- John Guerin, Jeff Porcaro and Dean Parks -- Seventh Wave sounded cheap and uninspired, an impression that wasn't helped by its drab, monochrome cover depicting....er....a wave. Melanie's pre-adolescent daughters Leilah and Jeordie provided squeaky backing vocals on "Lovin' the Boy Next Door" -- proof at least that Melanie's melodic edge hadn't taken a permanent vacation -- and a brief respite from the monotonous bluster of the rest of the album.