By: Clea Simon
"Internationally electronic folk? I don't know. It's all rock 'n' roll," says guitarist John Lombardo. "To me it sounds real straightforward."
Tracked down in the middle of a hectic touting schedule, Lombardo takes a few stabs at describing 10,000 Maniacs. To start with there are those guitars, real ringing twelve strings alongside some steel pedal - for which Lombardo is joined by Robert Buck. Then there's the occasional music hall touch of Dennis Drew's keyboards. Drummer Jerry Augustyniak and bassist Steven Gustafson bounce things along with a slightly Caribbean accent. Over all, dancing dervish Natalie Merchant lays on a rich smoothness of folk vocals. And tunes; real melodies, hold it all together. Maddy Pryor Visits Jamaica with R.E.M.? Fairport Convention meets Echo and The Bunnymen?
"In a way it's incredible that music has gotten so complex that a group doing what we do - which is incredibly simple - is thought of as complex," continues Lombardo. Rich, rather than complicated, seems the best adjective for the group's Elektra debut, The Wishing Chair.
Producer Joe Boyd captured that full instrumental sound for the record, just as he did with Fairport Convention, a solo Richard Thompson and, most recently, R.E.M. "But it wasn't just the folk rock. We were really interested in the historical import of what he's done. He produced the first Pink Floyd single."
Two indie albums, Human Conflict and the Secret of the I-Ching, had started the buzz that attracted Elektra. But an even earlier demo tape trapped Boyd. "He thought the songs were really interesting," recalls the guitarist. "But that the production was terrible." The ensuing London recording sessions seemed natural.
"We didn't want one of those hot '80s producers, with a huge drum sound - as if people couldn't figure out how to dance on their own."
The only thing missing from the disk is the reggae kick that still surfaces live, and first characterized the band when it emerged from small Jamestown, New York, in 1981.
"It wasn't a conscious decision." the guitarist explains. "We do listen to a wide variety of music. And I guess Natalie doesn't feel too comfortable with reggae, as if we're borrowing a form that isn't legitimate for us".
"There is a continual evolution of the band's musical style. A lot of the sounds on the album are what we're trying to achieve in the live show." But next album, he concedes, will have "more of that aggressive sound you miss."
Live, the band shoots more sparks than this delicate record would indicate. Singer/lyricist Merchant rebounds off bandmates in her feverish dancing. All six look hooked into a somewhat rare. real rock 'n' roll energy.
"Being on stage is more or less the reason we put up with this lifestyle. All day long riding in vans, moving equipment, not being able to having relationships." This winter will see another swing through Boston, then England, Germany, Holland. No video, no holidays, but 10,000 Maniacs doesn't need them. That's the rock 'n' roll simplicity of it all.