![]() During its supporting tour, 10,000 Maniacs recorded an installment of MTV Unplugged in April 1993 but before it could be released as an album in October, Merchant announced she was leaving the band, stating she "didn't want art by committee anymore." Elektra retained Merchant as a recording artist but dropped 10,000 Maniacs.ġ0,000 Maniacs brought in John & Mary as Merchant's replacement, signing with Geffen Records for 1997's Love Among the Ruins, an album that gave them a Top 30 hit in the form of a cover of Roxy Music's "More Than This." The band moved to Bar/None for The Earth Pressed Flat, a record comprised of leftovers from Love Among the Ruins. Released in September 1992, Our Time in Eden gave the group a number one Modern Rock hit in "These Are Days" while its successor "Candy Everybody Wants" reached five. Once they regrouped, they recorded Our Time in Eden with producer Paul Fox, a record that brightened and expanded their palette. Instead of capitalizing on their burgeoning fame, 10,000 Maniacs stayed off the road in 1991, a decision spurred by Merchant contracting spinal meningitis during their 1990s tour the vocalist spent her hiatus helping the homeless in Harlem. Asher helped bring out the sweeter, tuneful side of 10,000 Maniacs, which was evident on the singles "Like the Weather" and "What's the Matter Here?" which kept the group on radio through 1988.ġ0,000 Maniacs reunited with Peter Asher for Blind Man's Zoo, the 1989 album that featured "Trouble Me," a gentle, reassuring song that cracked the Top Ten on both the Billboard Modern Rock and Adult Contemporary charts, an unusual combination that signaled how the band found a new niche: adult alternative rock. Lombardo left the group shortly after its release-he'd form John & Mary with Mary Ramsey in 1989-and 10,000 Maniacs headed to Los Angeles to record with British Invasion survivor Peter Asher on their next album, In My Tribe. The resulting The Wishing Chair appeared in September 1985 and helped the group gain a foothold in college radio. on Fables of the Reconstruction in this same period. Secrets of the I Ching helped secure the interest of Elektra Records, who signed the band in 1984 and sent them to London to record their major-label debut with Joe Boyd, the Fairport Convention producer who would also work with R.E.M. Once they moved back to Jamestown, they added drummer Jerry Augustyniak and recorded Secrets of the I Ching, a full-length album released on Mark Records in 1983. Following the release of their EP, 10,000 Maniacs relocated to Atlanta, Georgia in hopes of breaking into the city's music scene, a venture that proved unsuccessful. By the time the group became 10,000 Maniacs, the band featured Merchant, Buck, Drew, Gustafson, Lombardo, and drummer Tim Edborg the latter would be replaced by Jim Foti when the group cut their debut EP, Human Conflict Five. ![]() Not long after their inception, vocalist Natalie Merchant started to sit in with the band, as did guitarist John Lombardo. Guitarist Robert Buck, keyboardist Dennis Drew, bassist Steven Gustafson, drummer Chet Cardinale, and vocalist Terri Newhouse formed Still Life in early 1981. Over the years, the group's lineup shifted on occasion but the core members of Dennis Drew, Steve Gustafson and Jerry Augustyniak remained through all the incarnations of the band, both on stage and on record. Merchant left the band just before MTV Unplugged and its accompanying single "Because the Night" gave the group their biggest hit but 10,000 Maniacs soldiered on without her, enlisting the folk duo of John & Mary as her replacement. Over the next five years, 10,000 Maniacs were staples on college radio while crossing over to the adult contemporary charts with the singles "Trouble Me" and "There Are Days," thereby laying the groundwork for the tasteful polish of adult alternative rock of the 1990s. Merchant proved to be a compelling frontwoman for 10,000 Maniacs, helping the group break into the mainstream with their 1987 album In My Tribe. There wasn't a trace of garage rock within 10,000 Maniacs-guitarist Robert Buck favored softer, rounder tones, while lead singer Natalie Merchant sang with an open heart and eccentric enunciation. Emerging from the post-punk underground of the early 1980s, 10,000 Maniacs operated on a parallel path to their compatriots R.E.M., sharing a similar fondness for 1960s folk-rock and possessing a political consciousness that surfaced both in their music and their activism. 10,000 Maniacs had a name steeped in kitschy irony, a quality wholly absent from their gentle, empathetic music.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |