in my tribe

10,000 Maniacs had their commercial breakthrough with the brooding brilliance of this socially conscious folk pop sylloge.  After their major label debut 'The Wishing Chair' failed on the charts, guitarist John Lombardo left the band, leaving singer Natalie Merchant as the primary songwriter for 'In My Tribe'.

Speaking of the nostalgic thread in her songs, Merchant says:
"There was definitely more of that on 'The Wishing Chair' album, whereas this one is more concerned with the present. On the last record there were songs about the Cherokee Indian, the origins of labor unions, Arbor Day. This time the references are more contemporary, just to show the audience that what we're doing is very much concerned with the present. I'm getting pretty tired of people coming up and calling us hippies. There were a lot of good things about hippies, but their frame of reference drew too heavily on the past. We're not interested in taking that far back any more. Everything on the album is in the absolute present."  The subject matter on 'In My Tribe' covers such heavy topics as war, the environment, illiteracy, alcoholism, and child abuse.  Merchant says that she doesn't write love songs: "I don't share the usual American desires, needs, fears...I can think obsessively, but not necessarily about other people. I care more about nuclear arms depots than I do about boys."

  

Peter Asher produced 'In My Tribe' with Merchant on Vocals; Robert Buck on guitars, mandolin, and pedal steel guitar; Steve Gustafson on bass; Jerome Augustyniak on drums and percussion; and Dennis Drew on keyboards.  The sessions also included Michael Stipe on vocals,  Don Grolnick on piano; Dennis Karmazyn on cello; Bob Magnusson on acoustic bass; Novi Novog on viola; string arrangements by David Campbell. 'In My Tribe' spent seventy-seven weeks on the US album chart, peaking at number thirty-seven and eventually selling double-platinum. The album was a major staple on college campuses.







http://maniacs.com/

'What's the Matter Here' was co-written by Robert Buck and Natalie Merchant.  The single went to number eighty on the US pop chart and peaked at number nine on the alternative chart.

I'm tired of the excuses everybody uses:
He's your kid, do as you see fit,
But get this through that I don't approve of
What you did to you own flesh and blood.







'Hey Jack Kerouac' is another Buck/Merchant composition.

Hey Jack Kerouac,
I think of your mother
and the tears she cried,
She cried for none other
than her little boy lost
In our little world that hated
And that dared to drag him down.
Her little boy courageous
Who chose his words from mouths of
Babes got lost in the wood.
Hip flask slinging madman,
Steaming cafe flirts,
They all spoke through you.





'Like the Weather' went to sixty-eight on the pop chart and thirty-seven on the modern rock tracks chart.

The color of the sky is grey as I can see
Through the blinds.
Lift my head from the pillow
And then fall again
with a shiver in my bones just thinking
About the weather.
A quiver in my voice as I cry,
"What a cold and rainy day.
Where on earth is the sun hid away?"

Like The Weather by ofdn5226








'Don't Talk' was composed by Merchant and Dennis Drew.

Don't talk, I will listen.
Don't talk, you keep your distance
For I'd rather hear some truth tonight
Than entertain your lies,
So take you poison silently.
Let me be. Let me close my eyes.
Don't talk, I'll believe it.
Don't talk, listen to me instead,
I know that if you think of it,
Both long enough and hard
The drink you drown your troubles in
Is the trouble you're in now.
Talk talk talk about it,
You talk as if you care
But when your talk is over
Tilt that bottle in the air,
Tossing back more than your share.





The cover of Cat Stevens' 'Peace Train' was removed from the American release after he made comments as Yusuf Islam in support of Ayatollah Khomeini.

 


'In My Tribe' 
full album:





All songs written by Natalie Merchant, except where noted.

"What's the Matter Here?" (Robert Buck, Natalie Merchant) – 4:51
"Hey Jack Kerouac" (Buck, Merchant) – 3:26
"Like the Weather" – 3:56
"Cherry Tree" (Buck, Merchant) – 3:13
"The Painted Desert" (Jerome Augustyniak, Merchant) – 3:39
"Don't Talk" (Dennis Drew, Merchant) – 5:04
"Peace Train" (Cat Stevens) – 3:26
Omitted in later releases
"Gun Shy" – 4:11
"My Sister Rose" (Augustyniak, Merchant) – 3:12
"A Campfire Song" – 3:15
"City of Angels" (Buck, Merchant) – 4:17
"Verdi Cries" – 4:27