by: Phil Jones and Peter Doggett (pages 76-79)

For a band with a distinct, instantly recognisable sound, 10,000 Maniacs have never been easy to categorise. Listen to their debut 12" from 1982, and you'll hear an American new wave band who can't decide if they'd rather be Jamaican or English. That early fusion of white reggae and post-Joy Division rock survived for a year or so, before 10,000 Maniacs were remodelled as a Fairport Convention for the 80s, with the debut Elektra album, The Wishing Chair, pushing vocalist Natalie Merchant as America's most convincing successor to Sandy Denny.

Two years later, in 1987, R.E.M. were the reference point being quoted in the press, as Merchant and the Maniacs unveiled In My Tribe, a startling collection of driving, rhythmic songs with lyrics that were enigmatic and compelling in equal doses.

Blind Man's Zoo in 1989 was widely perceived as a disappointment, mostly because it wasn't a carbon copy of In My Tribe. Then there was Hope Chest, a retrospective of the band's self-financed early efforts, which evaded the question of the Maniacs' ultimate direction rather than solving it.

Our Time In Eden, the band's latest album, is every bit as mysterious and enticing as In My Tribe, although melodically it takes longer to settle in the memory. By way of compensation, its production - courtesy of Paul Fox - makes it the band's most radio friendly offering to date. But what matters are the songs, which for an album officially described as "our most optimistic", deal with a disturbing array of emotional crises and moods.

"There's always been a balance in our work", lyricist/composer Merchant told me, "between something very joyous, which is the sound of the music, and the lyrics, which can have a real sense of foreboding, even melancholy." That's a tension that's apparent across the whole album, as Merchant's lyrics - their imagery full of guilt, deceit and the desperate need to escape emotional straitjackets - debunk the band's most energetic, free-flowing music to date.

"In the past, the way we worked was always very structured," Merchant explains. "I'd come in and ask for specific bass and rhythm parts in a song that I could already hear in my head. This time, some of the songs were written in a workshop kind of environment, which could involve completely changing the arrangement I'd imagined. We came in and did rehearsals five days a week - setting aside several hours for jamming, for instance, picking a key at random and simply coming with a total barrage of sound. It was very liberating."

Other changes to the core 10,000 Maniacs sound on Our Time In Eden involved recruiting Fred Wesley and the James Brown horn players for several tracks, and also experimenting with a wider palette of instruments, from Hammond organ to electric sitar.

But it's Merchant's lyrics which remain the band's most enticing element. Though she's working in the singer-songwriter tradition, she steps subtly outside the convention which insists that all songs have to be confessional pieces of autobiography: "I've always written in the first-person, but disguising myself in other characters," Merchant says. "And sometimes I'm not personally in the songs at all. When I use the word 'I', I'm not necessarily writing about myself." That doesn't make Merchant uninvolved: as she explains about one of the album's most powerful tracks, Jezebel, which portrays a marriage in the final stages of disintegration: "I've never been married or divorced, but I've certainly had ringside seats at my mother's divorces, so I've been an intimate witness to the event."

CONFLICTS

Elsewhere, in songs like If You Intend and Noah's Dove, Merchant denies the implication in the lyrics that she's writing explicitly to one particular friend: "I was partially singing to myself, though I thought it would be too convoluted to present the songs that way. I think everyone has a multitude of people inside them when they face decisions. The conflicts in my own head are way more severe than any I've had with other people."

Bizarrely, Merchant has been criticised in the past for being both too blatant and too obscure in her lyric-writing, which suggests someone is missing the point. Given that background, it's tempting to read complex metaphors into comparatively simple songs, like Candy Everybody Wants. "That's a satire," Merchant explains. "I am really disgusted with television in the United States - like an 81-year-old friend of mine says, 'Television is the ruination of our nation'! Who are these people who decide what goes on TV, what qualifies for the nightly news? It's as if we might drop dead if we're not constantly stimulated, or even worse, we might stop buying the products they want us to. I stay away from TV as much as possible, but when I do watch, I'm just astounded at what's going on. It's such an alien cultural force - it's like it's not my country anymore."

"What's optimistic about this album," Merchant concludes, "is the possibility that we can change"; and the first single from the set, These Are Days, turns that simple hope into a poetic metaphor, which highlights the fleeting nature of existence: "I love archways and doorways," Merchant says, "especially when you're walking through a garden. It's a way of marking the physical presence of time: you're not the same person you were when you walked through. You died in that second, and then were reborn."

If it's not stretching the metaphor too far, Our Time In Eden performs the same function for 10,000 Maniacs, who emerge on this album a rekindled flame of the inspiration shown in their earlier work.

PHIL JONES charts the band's journey from then to now.

In the not-too-distant past, anyone searching for records by 10,000 Maniacs at record fairs or through classified ads in this magazine found life very frustrating. The discs weren't that rare, but that few dealers seemed to be aware of the demand. Today, all that's changed. The records are much easier to find, but the prices are steadily beginning to reflect the band's growing popularity.

STILL LIFE

10,000 Maniacs started life in Jamestown, New York, back in 1981. Originally called Still Life, they apparently played their first live show under the dubious monicker of the Burn Victims. The line-up at that time was Jerome Augustinyak (drums), Robert Buck (lead guitar/devices), Dennis Drew (keyboards), Steven Gustafson (bass/guitar), John Lombardo (rhythm guitar/bass) and Natalie Merchant (vocals). Persuaded that the Burn Victims might not be the most attractive of names, the band considered various alternatives, including Dick Turpin's Ride To York and Christian Burial, before settling on the equally unpleasant 10,000 Maniacs, the title of a popular splatter movie.

Christian Burial survived in another form, becoming the band's record label, and later their publishing company. It was on Christian Burial that the band's first recordings were issued: the five-track 12" Human Conflict #5 and the Secrets of the I-Ching album. The former was released in early 1982 via Mark Records in a limited edition of 1,000, and showed the influence of U.K. new wave bands like the Gang Of Four and Joy Division, as well as the band's fondness for reggae. It bears scant resemblance to their later work, although the strongest track, the rhythmic, organ-driven Planned Obsolescence, has survived in the band's live set to this day.

The first 10,000 Maniacs full-length album, Secrets of the I-Ching, followed in 1983 again via Mark, but this time in a run of 2,000 copies. It was a big step forward from Human Conflict. Disparate influences were still in evidence, but a distinctive 10,000 Maniacs sound was beginning to emerge, notably on the poppy opening track Grey Victory and the reggae-influenced Katrina's Fair. Natalie Merchant's lyrics were often florid and obscure, but also at times inspired and poetic, notably on The Death Of Manolete, a thoughtful meditation on the changing values of a community. But the album's centre-piece, and the track which first brought them to a wider audience, was the six-minute closer My Mother The War. On this song, Natalie's lyrics showed remarkable maturity, with their allegorical portrayal of war as an old woman in a bloodied shroud. The music thrillingly reflected the portrayal, from the creepy opening bass-line to the heavily treated drone of a guitar. John Peel played the track so much that it was released on a now very scarce 12" single, the band's first U.K. release.

The two original Christian Burial releases are virtually impossible to find now, even in the States (and sell for around 45 apiece), but both were reissued in 1984 on the Press label, and found their way into the U.K. - in fact, a few copies were actually pressed here, it seems. Once again, these records were only available in small quantities - hence the high prices today.

BOOTLEG

1988 saw the appearance of a shoddily packaged bootleg of Secrets of the I-Ching. This lacked both the superb artwork (by John Lombardo and Natalie Merchant) and insert of the original. The sleeve even lacked a track listing. It was apparently the work of a sound engineer on the original album, whom the band subsequently took to court. He also seems to have been responsible for another album which cannot have been well-received in the 10,000 Maniacs camp. Entitled Evening In Torpor, this largely unlistenable avant-garde work features the presumably unauthorised vocals of Natalie Merchant, coolly described on the sleeve as "everyone's favourite maniac".

To satiate the demand for their earliest releases, and to fill the long gap between Blind Man's Zoo and the new album, 10,000 Maniacs issued the retrospective Hope Chest in 1990. This LP combined tracks from both the Christian Burial releases, newly remixed by Joe Barbaria, and with a fascinating sleevenote by Grace Galloway detailing the early history of the band.

In 1985, the band signed to Elektra Records and recorded their major label debut, The Wishing Chair, in London, with Joe Boyd at the controls. Both Boyd and the band have since described the liaison as a mismatch but despite the reservations of both parties the album makes it clear that here is a band bursting with ideas and confidence. The music has a unity and flow that their earlier recordings merely hinted at, while the arrangements, which mix instruments like accordion, mandolin and pedal steel guitar with the usual guitars and keyboards, are bold and varied. But it is Natalie Merchant whose words and vocals dominate the album, as they have done the band's subsequent work. A good idea of her range can be gained by listening to Just As The Tide Was A-Flowing and Scorpio Rising, which follow each other on side one of the album. The former is an English folksong, which the band learnt from Shirley Collins. Scorpio, a great stage favourite, is a full-tilt Blondie-like rocker. Lyrically, Natalie was still to begin tackling the grand subjects of later albums, but her vignettes of small-town America like Can't Ignore The Train and Cotton Alley, and her forays into American history, Among The Americans and Maddox Table, show her range as a writer.

The U.K. singles taken from the LP pose severe problems for the collector. The first 7", Can't Ignore The Train, is relatively easy to find, but still commands an E6 price tag. The 12", which features two extra tracks which recently surfaced on the U.K. CD of The Wishing Chair, is much scarcer and sells for 12. The second single, Just As The Tide Was A-Flowing, was scheduled for release, but seems not to have reached the shops. Demos presumably exist, since it was reviewed in the pop press and played on the radio. The third single, Scorpio Rising, certainly did appear, and despite the fact that it did not have a picture sleeve, still sells for 6.

SPIN

The U.S. magazine Spin is the source of one of the earliest 10,000 Maniacs promos to appear. It includes an excellent live recording from 1986, plus a fascinating interview with Natalie and John Lombardo. Among the things discussed are the band's early days as a live act, when a trip to Rochester, New York state seemed exotic. It wasn't long before trips to Europe became commonplace. Collectors should note that the live recording includes a track listed as Sometimes, which has yet to turn up anywhere else. The whole package sells for about Y30.

Despite, or perhaps because of, the success of The Wishing Chair, the man described by organist Dennis Drew as the band's "musical dad", guitarist John Lombardo, left during 1986. As a result, the other musicians, notably guitarist Robert Buck, had to play a much larger part in the writing and arranging, and this teamwork paid off magnificently on the third 10,000 Maniacs album, the awesome In My Tribe.

From the opening drumbeats of What's The Matter Here? to the piano and strings which close Verdi Cries, the album is a delight. Unlike The Wishing Chair, which has been accurately described as a folk-rock album, the songs of In My Tribe are unmistakably pop songs. According to Natalie Merchant, this is precisely what the band intended. They also wanted to produce a professional-sounding LP, and to this end recruited soft-rock doyen Peter Asher, who had never worked with a band before. The marriage paid off handsomely.

To accompany the album, Elektra produced a fascinating promotional album, which features Natalie Merchant in conversation with Lenny Kaye, discussing eight of the album's twelve tracks. This is an essential item for any collector, and sells for 30.

Peace Train, the first track to be lifted as a U.K. single, sank without trace, despite the appearance of a limited edition in a booklet sleeve. The follow-up, Don't Talk, came in a 12" x 7" wallet, featuring various inserts. It took the third single to get the band the radio play they deserved, but with the release of What's The Matter Here?, fate played a cruel trick. This track was the obvious first single, but it was held back because of the success of Suzanne Vega's song Luka, also about child abuse. When it finally saw the light of day in the U.K., it coincided with the Hungerford massacre, when an unknown gunman ran amuck in an Oxfordshire village; and radio producers suddenly became wary of playing records by a band with a name like 10,000 Maniacs. Elektra gave the record the status of being the band's first CD single, but all to no avail. A final despairing attempt to produce a hit saw the release of the commercial Like The Weather, but despite spawning the band's first video, a decidedly strange one produced by Adrian Edmundson of 'The Young Ones', it failed too.

Although the singles weren't successful, the album sold well, thanks to several U.K. visits by the band. Any thoughts that 10,000 Maniacs might be just a studio outfit were immediately quashed by the energy of their live shows. Inevitably, Natalie Merchant was the focal point, but of equal stature were Robert Buck, with his guitar pyrotechnics and interesting dress sense, and the powerhouse drumming of Metallica fan Jerry Augustinyak.

In My Tribe was the record which finally established 10,000 Maniacs as more than just another cult band. The combination of upbeat pop melodies with serious lyrics has rarely been so well-handled. The 12 songs cover such lightweight topics as child abuse (What's The Matter Here?), homelessness (City Of Angels), illiteracy (Cherry Tree) and the impact of army life on Natalie's own brother (Gun Shy). This did have the possibly unfortunate effect of saddling Natalie with the mantle of Spokesperson of her generation. It seems that this was a mantle she was content to wear, if the follow-up is any guide.

Critical opinion seems to be unanimous that Blind Man's Zoo fell some way short of expectations. It would have needed a remarkable record to emulate its predecessor (which Rolling Stone magazine voted No. 65 in its list of Best Albums of the 80s). However, the band did display worrying signs of complacency. Some of the arrangements were bland and lacking in colour, and the lyrics veered occasionally towards the didactic, as on The Lion's Share and the cacophonous Hateful Hate. But the band's ability to underscore a serious message with an upbeat arrangement was still to the fore on songs like You Happy Puppet and Poison In The Well. One of the best tracks represented something of a departure. Featuring just Natalie's voice and Robert Buck's guitar, Dustbowl was a bleak portrayal of life on the breadline. As always, however, the best is saved till last. Jubilee featured a small chamber quintet backing Natalie's hair-raising tale of a religious fanatic, whose racial hate leads him to burn down a local dance-hall where black and white mix freely.

Two songs were issued as U.K. singles. The first was Trouble Me, which came in 7", 12", CD and limited edition CD with an elephant-shaped pack. The standard CD seems to be scarcer than the elephant pack, but sells for less. For the second single, Elektra really went to town. The remarkable Eat For Two came in 7", 10", 12" and CD formats. Fans weren't being exploited, since a bewildering array of different tracks were on offer. In the U.S., though, things were rather different. Trouble Me had a different B-side to its U.K. counterpart (The Big Parade), and was also the last single by the band to come out on vinyl, Eat For Two following the now standard policy of cassette and CD only. A third single, You Happy Puppet, was also issued there.

Worldwide, surprisingly few interesting promos and variants seem to have surfaced. U.S. promos, at least for the In My Tribe and Blind Man's Zoo material, are relatively common. The 7" promos start at 4 and the 12"s at E6-Y8. Eat For Two is so far the only 10,000 Maniacs single to feature a picture of the band, this being a West German promo. Both the Blind Man's Zoo singles have appeared in rather dreary Spanish art sleeves, again featuring promos. More enticing, perhaps, is a 12" promo issued in Brazil by WEA, featuring Don't Talk, along with tracks by three other artists. Elektra have also issued a 7" promo in Argentina, which couples What's The Matter Here? with Tracy Chapman's Fast Car. In a plain sleeve, this sells for œ6.

After a lengthy tour to promote Blind Man's Zoo, 10,000 Maniacs issued Hope Chest, and promptly set out on tour again - highlighting the early material from that album in their shows. There was then a long pause in their career, broken by the new album, and the single These Are Days, which has been issued in two CD single formats both containing cover versions unavailable elsewhere, of songs by Tom Waits, David Bowie and (closest perhaps to the stereotyped idea of the band's image) Jackson Browne.