Earth Pressed Flat

10,000 Maniacs | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 18, 1999)
• Original Release Date: May 18, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Bar/None Records
• ASIN: B00000IIRX
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #146,909 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A confident step forward, June 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Earth Pressed Flat (Audio CD)

It is difficult for a band to move forward after the departure of its lead sing. Such is even trickier when the departed lead singer had, in the eyes of many, eclipsed the rest of the band in terms of visibility.

So it was no surprise when the Maniacs first step out from under Natalie Merchant's shadow with "Love Among the Ruins" that things seemed a bit awkward.

Well, with their second post Merchant release the band takes a great confident step forward. The songs are better, and the album is more cohesive. The music flows with more ease, and Mary Ramsey's vocals (which actually aren't radically different from Merchant's) come through with a self assurance that sometimes seemed lacking on LATR (but was present on her two pre Maniac albums with John Lombardo under the moniker John & Mary).

So if you were a 10KM fan when Natalie was on board, and disappointed a bit with "Love Among The Ruins" be sure to give "The Earth Pressed Flat" a try. You are in for a real treat!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars May be the best 10KM release to date, May 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Earth Pressed Flat (Audio CD)

10,000 Maniacs have come back with a roar on the release "The Earth Pressed Flat". It combines the feel of previous albums like "In My Tribe" and "Our Time in Eden", yet adds in distinction all its own. The first single from the album, which is the title track "The Earth Pressed Flat", is a catchy pop song that will surely be a hit. A unique aspect of this album is the use of short "fillers" between each song. They range from quick musical snippits to rap. It's a little odd, but somehow it works. You have to listen to this album from beginning to end, over and over, because you feel like you are taking a musical journey. As much I liked "Love Among the Ruins", I like this even more. "The Earth Pressed Flat" will have fans asking "Natalie who?", as Mary Ramsey has solidly taken the band forward.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life Goes On Nicely Sans Merchant, October 9, 2005

By 

Romell (US of A) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Earth Pressed Flat (Audio CD)

I've been a big fan over 10,000 Maniacs for over 20 years, yet one thing that has never ceased to amaze me are those people who seem to worship Natalie Merchant as if she and she alone *WAS* the band. Looking over some of the negative reviews for this solid album suggests that many of these people are here.

Merchant was undeniably a charismatic front woman for the band. Her wonderful vocals, her sharp song writing, and her energetic stage presence played a huge role in taking a band with such unseemingly likely commercial potential into a platinum selling act. During her tenure the band made three superb albums ("The Wishing Chair," "In My Tribe," and "Our Time in Eden") and she deserves much credit for them.

But just because she left t is no reason to dismiss the band as irrelevant. If anything Ms. Merchant's woefully uneven solo career has proved that the band too had a hand in its own success and had it not been for the fact that this album was on a small indie label the restrained promotional possibilities, this album would have been a much bigger hit than it was. It is certainly an improvement over the band's first post-Merchant album to pleasant, but safe "Love Among the Ruins."

Here we have songs that stand out -- "Glow," "Beyond the Blue," "Once a City," "Ellen" and a lovely cover of the old Fairport Convention/Sandy Denny (both a big influence on the bad since the early days) number "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" are just a few of them and all are sung by Mary Ramsey who vocally can easily go toe to toe with Merchant. Anyone who takes a little time and has a little bit of an opened mind will find that the band did not fall by the wayside with the departure of Merchant.