10,000 Maniacs - The Wishing Chair

The beginning of an all-too short career

When Natalie Merchant left 10,000 Maniacs in 1993, she made a huge mistake as far as I'm concerned. Although I do enjoy her solo albums, especially Ophelia and Live in Concert, nothing she has done as a solo artist can possibly compare to the work she produced with 10,000 Maniacs. This album is just one of the too few examples of what a great band they were when Merchant was the lead singer. This album has more of a folky sound than their later releases, probably due to John Lombardo's strong influence on the sound (he wrote most of the music) but this album can rock out as well. Songs like Scorpio Rising and My Mother the War are among the best tracks on the album, along with Lilydale (one of the best Robert Buck/Natalie Merchant compositions, IMO) and Cotton Alley. The only bad thing about this album is the fact that it's hard to figure out anything Merchant is singing. Her voice is sometimes overbearing, like on Arbor Day and Just as the Tide Was a Flowing but that's only a minor complaint since Merchant has gone on to become one of the best vocalists out there, IMO. I highly recommend this album for Natalie Merchant/10,000 Maniacs fans or for those interested in hearing the beginning of a terribly underrated band who deserved to have a much longer career with Natalie Merchant at the helm.
May 14, 2005

folk punk? the Maniacs started out as much more than folk

all these reviews are pretty on target, I've reviewed
this, one of my favorite albums of all time, earlier in
the amazon annals, reading some recent reviews here made
me think though, a lot of people peg this album and the band
at that time as a folk thing....I think one has only to
listen to the angry, punky almost "hard rock" of Scorpio
Rising, or the incendiary My Mother The War (1000 times better
here than on the earlier indie release version compiled
on Hope Chest) with Rob's angry feedback and Jerry's ferocious
pounding of his drum kit to realize this has more to do with
punk or post-punk than really "folk" music. Bob Dylan
never came close to rocking as hard as either of these two
songs. The quieter, lovelier songs on the album are
certainly closer to what most of you guys have in mind by
saying "folk", this was the more Fairport Convention, Sandy
Denny, Nick Drake-inspired material on the album. Even
Fairport Convention never rocked that hard as "Scorpio
Rising." An earlier Maniacs song "Death of Manolete"
is similar, rocking out with Rob's feedback and a heavy
groove, whilst Natalie's thoughtful telling of the legend
of the fall of the great bullfighter Manolete is not lost
in the chaos! My point is that this mix of punk, folk,
groove, dance, reggae, and traditional music was what
set the band apart at their inception, and until their
breakup. The band has slagged this album off and Joe
Boyd's production of it (or lack thereof), but it's an
undeniable testament to their powers that the album can
go from the sheer fury of Scorpio Rising (my head is shaking
violent) to the pastoral, yet reflective sadness of the likes of
ode-to-a-cemetary-and-its-inhabitants "Lilydale" (it's a hollow ground). The latter covers the same ground as The Smiths' later
song "Cemetary Gates" with a lot more subtlety and less
pretentiousness. A LOT LESS. The songs are brilliant,
Natalie's voice never better, or more raw yet in command...
and I fear no lineup of her solo bands will ever come close
to matching the raw power, on most nights, than the Maniacs
and Natalie live. You had only to witness, as I did in
1990 on the Hope Chest Tour (the band doing mostly the earlier
material) to realize what that power, unbridled, was like.
I, for one, miss that band and that power. If you don't
own this album you cannot really be a Maniacs fan.
I can't recommend a record more highly. I'm just glad I had
the chance to see the Maniacs live on many occasions
from 1986-1991 or so, and cherish The Wishing Chair
as evidence of their sheer brilliance, even though
the likes of Blind Man's Zoo or Our Time In Eden, though
worthy efforts, get less frequent airings in these parts....
The Wishing Chair has had enormous staying power, which
to me, must mean something about it is very special.
Most of my CDs collect dust after a few years, but not this one.
(Scott Briggs, NYC) November 30, 2004

A classic album

If you like them you have to have this one. The only thing that it suffers from is some below average production on some songs - just a case of inexperience. October 24, 2004

Brisk, cheerful, folky-pop by top maniac Merchant and crew

The novelty of 10,000 Maniacs song are its brisk poppy folk rhythm in bite-sized three to three and a half-minute tidbits, of which there are fifteen on The Wishing Chair. The songs are more poetry rather than mere songs. Here are some of the highlights.

"Scorpio Rising" starts with a crash of guitars, and is an exhortation for someone to be more honest, calm, and restrained. She says "trust is/the greatest human error/empty/used me as a vessel/ruthless/you're not known for subtlety." So, "amaze me now" she demands.

"Just As The Tide Was A Flowing" is a song with traditional music about a young woman lamenting her life as a lonely wife of a sailor, who's "widowed by the sea." There's a nice folky cant to this song

"Lilydale" is an interesting song about how two friends find solitude in reading gravestones at the cemetery, away "fronm the noise of the street." "There's a stillness here thankful found" she sings.

"Back O' The Moon" is simply danceable and cheerful song about someone who exhorts her older friend Jenny, whose "mood is never giddy" and who'd "rather pout", that there's so much more to life, to explore the back of the moon, that part we never see, i.e. the road less travelled. My favourite song here.

"Maddox Table" is the story of a hard-working woman who fancies herself the spitting image of an ox: "at Maddox Table a yoke was carved for my neck". And what for? "Not just for smokes, spirits, candy and cologne/but for automobile keys/cash in the bank/and the deed on a place called home."

"The Colonial Wing" is like a painting displaying the spoils of the British Empire, including ivory tusks, "raw silk and spices by the barrel load", which she summarizes as "a world wide rampage/rampage of greed."

The use of the Maniacs' poppy dancing melody draws a question mark in its applicability of "Grey Victory". With the lyric "Enola Gay had made a casual delivery", guess the subject of the song? The horror of Hiroshima is portrayed well: "neighbours lay beside each other/each other unknowing/faces scorched of all familiar bearing/too few hands/wounds for closing." Merchant gives a cynical ending for us all: "Here we stand at the door to Gold Atomic Age/Don't spoil your faces with worry/trust in earth bound kingdom come."

"Among The Americans" is about another somber subject: the Trail of Tears. "Come the small black book/come the brandy cask/one strange disease/the well worded paper/signed by the drunken hands of thieves/and suddenly they were told to leave." And who is the villain? "Jaksa Chula Harjo", the Cherokee name of Andrew Jackson. The bitter condemnatory ending goes: "Gone the way of flesh/turned pale and died/by your god's decree/for he hated me."

"Cotton Alley" is a fond reminsicence of a girl who remembers the boy who played pranks on her, such as tying her laces together, putting spiders in her hair, the things boys do to girls they like but can't admit. She says "say sorry/let it be the word you mean."

"Daktari" sports an African/South American dance rhythm, with words spoken quickly with the rhythm. "My Mother The War" sports a fiery guitar and pounding drums. Inbetween verses, the guitars squeal and wail, accompanied by a prominent bass.

The remainder of the songs sport the upbeat folky music, with lyrics that at first glance appear as poetry to be recited, but that work amazingly well with Natalie Merchant's unique voice, quickly sung. The subjects veer from serious to nostalgic, even if the music is very festive. October 18, 2003

Still in my cd player

I bought this album on vinyl when it first came out, and the cd version is still in my cd player today. Absolutely one of the greatest folk rock albums of all time. April 12, 2003

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