- Included among the Record Descriptions of Favorite Albums (Part 1).
- With a name like 10,000 Maniacs, you wouldn’t expect a politically motivated folk-rock band with a characteristic female lead vocalist, Natalie Merchant.
10,000 Maniacs – In My Tribe (1987): With a name like 10,000 Maniacs, you wouldn’t expect a politically motivated folk-rock band with a characteristic female lead vocalist, Natalie Merchant. Like Chrissie Hynde of Pretenders, Merchant does not fit the typical female rockstar mode; she is known for eschewing makeup, and for wearing flowing long skirts and having a twirling dance style during performances. As time went on, 10,000 Maniacs became one of the most beloved of the 1980’s rock bands and an illustration that alternative rock is a multi-sided phenomenon. In My Tribe is the band’s breakthrough second album. The opening track “What’s the Matter Here?” reached #9 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart; other singles are “Don’t Talk”, “Like the Weather”, and an excellent cover of the Cat Stevens song “Peace Train”.
Stevens changed his name to Yusuf Islam after he became a Muslim; following his comments in 1989 that seemed to support Iranian calls for the death of author Salman Rushdie because of his book The Satanic Verses, “Peace Train” was dropped from later editions of In My Tribe in the U.S., although the song is on my copy. Other standout songs on the album include “Hey Jack Kerouac”, “Gun Shy”, “City of Angels”, and “Verdi Cries”. Natalie Merchant left 10,000 Maniacs in 1993 after they recorded their seventh album to start a solo career that proved quite successful, with seven albums released starting with her most successful album, Tigerlily (1995). Remarkably, considering Natalie Merchant’s central position in the band’s identity, 10,000 Maniacs is still active and has a new lead vocalist, Mary Ramsey.