Customer Reviews

Wishing Chair

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

They never topped this one. It remains one of the greatest rock albums of all time and certainly one of the most criminally underrated. The six-piece Maniacs on this album showed many different sides and colors - leading some to the conclusion that the album is disjointed; well, what's wrong with that? Who wants to listen to a bunch of clones of the same song? The shifts in style are fascinating - it's sometimes hard to believe it's the same band you were listening to moments before. This album's production is also top-notch - they were lucky enough to have the legendary Joe Boyd, a man known for letting bands sound like themselves. (Nothing he's produced EVER sounds dated...check it out.) It's worth comparing this to the clinical and overly-glossy production jobs that followed on their following albums. Lyrically this is how I prefer to hear Natalie Merchant, too - with words that suggest and evoke. She's drawing pictures rather than preaching and moralizing which would be an irritant on later albums. They tip their hat to traditional folk on "Just as the Tide Was A-Flowing", and their love of the material is very evident here; they also deliver some stormy rockers like "Scorpio Rising" and "My Mother the War", but sadly this marked the end of their edge; they'd never do anything this raucous ever again. The absolute best thing about this album is that they sound like a group without any obvious front man (or woman); it sounds like the ideas came from several personalities. A brilliant, timeless masterpiece from start to finish.

Critics and fans who accuse Natalie Merchant of being too moody and dour need look no further than "The Wishing Chair" to see that there was a time when the girl could rock. "Scorpio Rising," and "My Mother the War" prove it. "The Wishing Chair' documents a young band on the way up -- young, precocious and full of talent. The songs were in large part taken from earlier independent releases from the band. The band never sounded so folky...and never did again. But thats ok, they went on to do great things in spite of the odds. This one is a jewel.

Whoever said above that there's a reason this album is found in the bargain bins just proves my point that what this actually proves is that almost nobody has any taste in good music. Also, most 10,000 Maniacs fans only came into the fold with Blind Man's Zoo, In My Tribe, or egads, the Unplugged album, which is basically fine but ignoring their earlier work is unfair to the band, plus The Wishing Chair is actually an underrated, charming, infectious, affecting, magical, wonderful recording that stands up to any of the band's later works.

This CD, The Wishing Chair, is one of the best CD's I have yet come across. I bought it about six years ago, after Our Time In Eden came out, and I still listen to it often. The Wishing Chair is like a painting or a novel. It's an American dreamscape...songs like "Cotton Alley" and "Can't Ignore the Train" show snippets of small town life, "Grey Victory" recounts the bombing of Hiroshima, "Among the Americans" tells the story of the Cherokee Trail of Tears and "Maddox Table," one of my favorite tracks on The Wishing Chair, tells the story of industrialization and the beginning of unionization without being preachy. And Daktari...try NOT to dance when you listen to that track.

Few albums impress me on a first listen. The Wishing Chair is one of those albums. When I first heard it, I could hardly believe how much I thorougly enjoyed it. The Maniacs' other albums, (In My Tribe, Blind Man's Zoo and Our Time in Eden, all of which I listened to prior to Chair), needed a few subsequent listens before I fully appreciated them, but even in appreciating them I still don't enjoy them as much as I do their first album released under a major label. From the first song "Can't Ignore the Train", I was hooked but it just gets better and better. I love the ambiance this album generates (tones of which can be found in their previous recording which have been compiled in Hope Chest), set by such songs as the ethereal "Lilydale" and the incredible "Back o' the Moon". Probably the best song (or at least my favorite) is "Everyone a Puzzle Lover"; just an amazingly beautiful song. And of course, there're the lyrics by Natalie Merchant, who in 10,000 Maniacs, wrote some of the best lyrics in popular music, in my opinion. Lastly, this album hasn't aged a bit (none of the Maniacs' albums have); indeed it was ahead of it's time.

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.

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.

This album does have its flaws - while the band came up with terrific arrangements, legendary producer Joe Boyd took a ciggy break for most of the album, so the recording is horrible. Nor is it Nat's best vocal era - although she had finally learned to sing in tune, she has rather nasally Wagnerian overtones for many of these songs. Nor is there one great single like "These Are Days" to take it over the top (the fantastic "Back o' the Moon" is still more of an album track). Still, this is the Maniacs rockingest album. The band takes obvious joy in making a beautiful ensemble sound. Also, Nat is nearly at her best lyrically - literate, intelligent, fascinatingly interesting for a young woman of 19. She was writing about things no one else would have thought to write about. A tad "political," but in a broad, interesting sense, not the "telling not showing" that hurt some of In My Tribe's lyrics. These songs are more about people's lives. This album has a very homespun, folky feel to it. Love among the Ruins and The Earth Pressed Flat are natural sequels. Best songs (most of them!): "Back o' the Moon,"(magical) "Can't Ignore the Train," "Scorpio Rising," "Cotton Alley," "Lilydale," "Among the Americans," "Maddox Table," and "Everyone a Puzzle Lover." Oh, and "My Mother the War." Two bass guitars on that last one - was someone listening to Joy Division? Get In My Tribe first, then buy this one.

A litter edgier than In My Tribe, but just as good. There are a couple of clukers (Just As The Tide Was A Flowing), but many more gems like Maddox Table, Grey Victory, and Among The Americans. Who but Natalie Merchant could write brilliant poetry about the A-Bomb (G.V.) that when put to music gives you goose bumps? If you're a 10,000 Maniacs fan, this is a must.

I went to see REM in '85 and the opening act blew me away. It was The Maniacs, of course, and it was these songs that they played. This record still wipes me out to this day and, even though I've loved many of the songs they've recorded since, I don't think they ever topped these. John Lombardo's contribution to the band's sound was huge at the time--seemingly influenced by Fairport Convention and other folk-rock legends-- and his departure accounted for much of their sonic shift. Do yourself a favor and buy this one. It's music at its most joyous and wonderful.