When my wife and I started dating, we went through that phase every new couple goes through where you share mix CDs back and forth.

One of the mixes that she gave me included “Brand New Key,” a bouncing, Honky-Tonking raucous track led by Melanie’s powerful voice and a mischievous innuendo (the key is a…you know).

I found this record in a dollar bin years ago, and haven’t listened to it until now. And with that single as my only preview, I’m a bit surprised.

Despite “Brand New Key”‘s status as a “novelty hit” (according to Wikipedia), the record leans much more toward tender country-western and folk than the jubilance of the hit, much more appropriate for the Grand Ole Opry than the Muppet Show. Across the track listing, only “Kansas” approaches the same boisterousness.

Instead, the rest of the songs play like they were made by a Serious Artist.

The record opens with the whisper-quiet “Little Bit of Me,” which started out barely audible under the crackle of this dusty copy. Many of the tracks are similarly subdued, yet with some dramatic additions. “Railroad” is a subdued chamber pop track that recalls the best work of Simon & Garfunkel. “Some Say (I Got the Devil)” is practically operatic, aided with Melanie’s emotive delivery and a full orchestra.  In fact, most of tracks on the B side are packed with full orchestration.

It’s a welcome surprise. I’m not sure I could have sat through forty minutes of “Brand New Key” soundalikes.  But instead, Gather Me is an understated and overlooked record by a singer-songwriter with a powerful voice and a brilliant sense of melody and lyricism. When you’re looking at records from the 70s, it’s a rare thing to have good songs besides the single. It’s even rarer for the deep cuts to stand head and shoulders above that single. But that’s exactly what Gather Me achieves.