"We tried to make it different, and I think we did," Dennis Drew says of the 10,000 Maniacs most recent album, Our Time In Eden. "We approached it differently, and we recorded it differently. We approached it in more of a workshop way," he explains, adding that the group tried to breakdown the form of songwriting that they'd used for so long.

"We tried to get away from the usual toe-tapping, folk rock ditties, and we tried to create something with a little more mystery and a little more music involved."

Recording in different keys - and "unusual keys," their experimentation took them in all different directions. "There were a lot of things that didn't end up on the record, but we used them to inspire us," Drew says. "The first song we wrote, which was Our Time In Eden was credited to all of us. That is quite a departure from other things we've ever written, and it's a good example of what we tried to do."

We caught up with Drew on the Maniacs' recent tour, and we discussed the group's new album and new direction...

What inspired you to do something different?

Drew: "Since the last record, which was about three years ago, we had a lot of time to relax and get back in touch with ourselves. Then when we came together again to work, we wanted to break out of the mold and do something different. We tried to be creative. We've already done Folk/Rock ditties, so we wanted to try something new. The great thing was that everyone was on the same page - everyone wanted the same thing. We all wanted something that was more inclusive more contributions from everyone. Not that we had a problem with our old material, it was just time for a change."

Why was there so much time between your last album and Our Time In Eden?

Drew: "We just wanted a rest. We didn't want it to be a factory where we kept cranking out the old stuff over and over again. We felt it would be a good thing to take a break and renew our energy. We'd just been doing the same thing over and over - tour, write songs, record, tour again. It just went over and over. We finished our tour for In My Tribe in May of '88, and we wrote all the songs for Blind Man's Zoo that summer, and we were back in the studio that fall and back out on tour the following spring. It was just a chance for us to catch our breath and put a little distance between ourselves and our music, so we could see what we were doing."

Doesn't success afford you the opportunity to do that?

Drew: "Exactly. The fact that we sold some records made it possible for us to take the time off. If we hadn't had any success it would have been hard to justify taking the time off. We would have had to get right back out there."

Was your last album multiplatinum?

Drew: "We don't have any multi-platinum albums. It probably sold about a million."

Critics have said that you take yourselves far too seriously. Do you feel that's a valid complaint?

Drew: "I think the last album, Blind Man's Zoo, gave people that idea. That was mostly because of Natalie's lyrics, because they are very serious. But the music is on a different level. But to be honest, yes, we were a little concerned that we did have that reputation of being a very serious, brooding band that dealt with big issues.

"So there was a conscious effort to lighten things up this time. Natalie felt that she wanted to write more up-beat lyrics. Sometimes we'd write this snappy music, and she would write a scary lyric - like Grey Victory. I think she tried to get out of that this time. She wrote more about micro issues than macro issues - more on relationships than world issues."

Is it difficult when there's one person writing, and therefore speaking, for the whole group?

Drew: "Not really, because the music is what we're about, too. The music of the drums, guitars and keyboards - that's the vehicle that the words ride on. On the radio, or first or second listens, people can't even understand the lyrics. So the first feeling anyone gets is from the music. That is representative. of all of us. The second layer - the deeper layer - is Natalie's lyrics. A lot of bands can't function on two levels, but we can."

Many critics never figured you would have the success you have. Most thought you would appeal to a small, very specific audience. Does your mass success surprise you?

Drew: "We always thought we would appeal to people who could read and write, and in America, that number is continually getting smaller and smaller.

"Does it surprise us? I don't know. Sometimes it's hard to see the forest for the trees, because when you're in it, you just keep expecting more and more people to like what you do. We don't have any type of mega-success - that's a misnomer.

"I don't make as much money as a doctor or a dentist or anything like that. I can't afford to buy a foreign car. It's not like we're wildly successful. Three of us still live in Jamestown, in little houses. We have a nice living, and that's all it is. We are in a sense more famous than we are wealthy!