Customer Reviews

In My Tribe (US Release)

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In addition to being the band that launched Natalie Merchant's career, 10,000 Maniacs were among the best of the late 1980s college rock groups that gained popularity in the wake of R.E.M.'s success. "In My Tribe" was the Merchant and Company's best album, containing the ace single "Like the Weather," and accompanying material that is just as strong. Other highlights are the child abuse take "What's the Matter Here," the tribute "Hey Jack Kerouac," and the catchy "Don't Talk." Unfortunately, the band pulled their wonderful cover version of Cat Stevens's "Peace Train" off of subsequent pressings of this album after Stevens's coversion to radical Islam and his support of Ayatolah Khomeni's call for Muslims to kill author Salmon Rushdie for publishing "The Satanic Verses." While I support the band's thinking, it robs the album of one of its best performances.

Overall, an excellent record that sounds as fresh today as when it was released in 1987.

This really is an amazingly good album, filled with depth and passion and shaped by one of music's most distinct, compelling voices (Natalie Merchant). I actually bought this album long ago, before I had even heard any 10,000 Maniacs music. The name of the group had a certain appeal to me, and there is something about the cover and its enticing shade of purple that drew me to it. Of course, what matters here is really the music, and I think this album reveals the very heart and soul of Natalie Merchant and the Maniacs. Not yet superstars, all of the musicians poured copious amounts of passion into each and every song, making this music both incredibly enchanting to the ears and compelling to the heart and mind. Merchant's unique voice is a beacon of soul-seeking enlightenment examining themes most artists (as well as most people) often shy away from. For example, What's the Matter Here? focuses on child abuse, Don't Talk addresses a struggling alcoholic, and Gun Shy is a plaintive lament for a world in which soldiers are needed. Cherry Tree, my favorite, is a song about the personal shame illiteracy can engender in a person, and it expresses such passion and joy in the prospect of learning that it could well serve as the de facto theme song for any adult literacy program. Verdi Cries is, quite simply, hauntingly beautiful. It is unfortunate (yet understandable) that the group's cover of Cat Stevens' Peace Train was removed from later releases of the album because I quite enjoy it-it's certainly much better than the original.

About the Weather is really the only song I remember ever getting playing time on the radio, but there are at least half a dozen songs on here that I find even more enjoyable. R.E.M. fans might be interested to know that Michael Stipe lends his voice (albeit rather briefly) to A Campfire Song. I can't get very excited about My Sister Rose, but every other song on the album is simply fabulous. Merchant's devotion to the music is beyond question, considering the fact that she essentially collapsed from exhaustion during the tour that followed this impeccable album's release. It's almost impossible to get tired of any of these songs, no matter how many times you listen to them.

At age 17, I had an old blue VW Beetle with a tape deck, an invitation to visit my older brothers at the University of Alabama, a 2 1/2-hour drive, and this album on tape - recorded from an album. I listened to it all the way down and all the way back, and the stereo at the party that weekend played these tunes.
Now, 16 years later, I still have the tape - worn, cutting out in places. My sister pushed REC by mistake in the middle of "Don't Talk" and now her gasp is stuck in the middle of it - but I still listen. My favorites have to be "Cherry Tree," "Campfire Song," "Like the Weather" (of course), and "City of Angels."
It's the perfect soundtrack to a weekend or a life.

What a gem In My Tribe still is to me! The best thing my high school boyfriend ever did for me was introduce me to the Maniacs more than 10 years ago...and I still love them. This recording marked a crossroads for the group as its first major release...but they shun any categorization with this collection of lyrically strong and beautifully crafted songs, each one a treasure in its own right. This album is still a regular listen for me...even if you own and enjoy the MTV Unplugged performance by this group, which features several In My Tribe songs, you should still own this cd as a body of work. It has its own cool vibe...and you're not going to be able to rock to " Sister Rose" on any other of their cds! What's the Matter Here, Don't Talk, Hey Jack Kerouac and Verdi Cries...this cd is packed with songs that are still my all-time favorites. A soundtrack from the last decade of my life.

I first saw and heard 10,000 Maniacs when they opened for R.E.M on their "Document" tour. The very next day I found someone in my dorm (I was a freshman in college) with a CD so I could make a copy. I wore out the tape and replaced it with a CD. "Verdi Cries" is my second favorite on the album, but the song that is my favorite (and not mentioned by other reviewers) is "Cherry Tree." This simple song about illiteracy is beautiful and touching - it still is fresh well over ten years after release. This is the Maniacs' best album...a musical treasure.

When I originally bought this (at least 10-years ago) I was floored by "What's the matter here" I WAS that little boy. Back in the 60's that was just the way it was. I was the one that was black and blue and bruised all the time, hiding under the bed, running out side to get away from a Father that had major issues. To this day it is hard for me to listen to the song, but it also means very much to me. In some way's it brought closure, and in some ways it brought feelings and memories out that were and are deeply hidden. Natalie Merchant's vocals bring the emotion out in this and all her music. Verdi Cries, Like the weather and Don't talk are my other favorites on this CD. To me, this was a very powerful CD and Natalie Merchant's vocals are simply beautiful!

I have held out reviewing this CD for a very long time. Why? Because I don't know what to say about a CD that touched me very personally and changed my outlook on music and life. There are not very many CD's that sound as fresh today as when they were first purchased over 10 ten years ago. But "In My Tribe" does. The word "masterpiece" is overused, even by me, but it definitely applies to this CD. Every track is powerful lyrically and musically. For me, that power culminates in "Don't Talk." It is Natalie and the Maniacs at their very best. The lyrics never fail to get into my soul. If you have ever felt disillusioned in your life, then this song will speak to you. "Like the Weather" captures the mood of everyone at his or her lowest point, when just getting up in the morning doesn't seem to be quite worth it. Ever wonder about the state of marriage in the world today? Then listen to "My Sister Rose." "Gun Shy" could be about so many in our society today. And the tragedy of child abuse and the lack of resources to stop it get brilliant treatment in "What's the Matter Here." Everyone knows that Natalie Merchant has a beautiful voice, and "Verdi Cries" has the title reaction nearly each time I listen to it--it can move all but the hardest heart and soul to tears. Music does not come any better than this CD. It is a wonder, an amazing display of talent. If you do not own it, you will not be sorry you bought it. It is truly tremendous.

What can I say about this album. I was a senior in high school when it was released and discovered it through my sister while summering in Cape May, New Jersey. I was touched by Natalie Merchants voice and lyrics in the heavily played "Like the Weather" that summer. I feel shades of Debbie Harry's summer song "The Tide is High" when I hear "In My Tribe" It is the most influential and wonderful collection of music I have ever come across, and I own 2 cassettes and a CD now, after wearing out 2 cassetes and a previous CD. I cannot even relate the scope of memories I have intertwined with this album. I can only say that it changed my life, and it made me see music and voice perfectly realized as a spiritual, creative, and societal touchstone. 'In My Tribe' was the soundtrack of the last 12 years of my life.

In My Tribe was released when I was five years old, most of the music I was listening to when I was five has aged, badly, I was listening to whatever was on the mainstream pop/rock stations and sadly in Australia anyway, 10,000 Maniacs was not a band that got airplay on such stations.

Cut to 2003 and I'm watching VH1, Natalie Merchant's "Carnival" comes on and I remember being 13 and staying up until midnight on a Sunday just to hear "Carnival" on Rick Dee's Top 40 countdown. I was intrigued by Merchant in the video clip so I went online to see what I could find out about her, that is when I discovered the exixtence of 10,000 Maniacs, I came on here and decided that after listening to some audio samples and reading other reivews that In My Tribe was probably a good entry point to the music of 10,000 Maniacs.

Boy was I ever right, the album on first listen sounds both of it's time and timeless, Natalie's voice and lyrics are quite unlike anything I've ever heard before, every single song on the album is repeatedly listenable. To someone who had never heard thier music before it still sounded new, fresh and different. I could hear a little bit of every muscial style I had ever been exposed to in these songs, a beginners guide to music in under an hour.

The standout tracks, at least in my mind, are "Hey Jack Kerouac", "The Painted Desert" and "Verdi Cries".

What a treasure-trove of great music this is. The songs are all so good and so unlike one another that this comes off like a greatest hits album. From the opening snare-drum crack of "What's the Matter Here?" to the lovely "Verdi Cries", there isn't a dud to be found. Standout tracks like "Cherry Tree" and "My Sister Rose" pop and sparkle among the more somber tracks like "Gun Shy" and "Like the Weather". The production is crisp and clean without being overdone like a lot of 80's albums. The subtle use of dulcimers and a rickety Hammond organ give the tracks a rustic, homespun sound that was kind of a shock to hear in the synth-drenched 80's, but time has served the songs well; they truly don't sound at all dated. And IMT boasts one of the best songs of its decade, "The Painted Desert", a song so beautiful it hurts. Possibly the best song about regretting life's lost opportunities ever put to music. The band never sounded tighter and Natalies vocals never shone so bright. Her leaving 10,000 Maniacs was one of the worst carreer moves in music history. But here they are, caught forever in a little bubble of time when everything was right in their musical world, and the world in general wasn't such a scary place to be.