• Artist: 10,000 Maniacs
• Flags: Lyrics are included with the album
• Rating:
• Styles: Folk-Rock, College Rock, Jangle Pop
• Track Picks: "Can't Ignore the Train," "Maddox Table," "My Mother the War"
• Similar Albums: Reaching to the Converted, Good News, Storefront Hitchcock: Music From Demme Picture, Mercury Poise: 1988-1995, Between the Wars, Goes to Moscow & Norton Virginia, Brewing Up with Billy Bragg, Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy, This Is the Sea, & Love for All, So You Think You're in Love, I Often Dream of Trains, Eye, Rattlesnakes, Talking with the Taxman About Poetry

Review

While Natalie Merchant's elastic vocal cords are the obvious centerpiece of 10,000 Maniacs' lilting folk-pop, what becomes apparent early on in The Wishing Chair is that the band would likely dry up and drift away like a dandelion if it weren't for the inventive, wiry guitar playing of Robert Burke. It's Burke's instrument that acts as a constant (tin) foil for the spicy mustard goodness of Merchant's vocal cords, whether he's laying down the Johnny Marr-style spider riffs of "Grey Victory" and "Scorpio Rising," or inspiring a thousand private college-based cover bands with "Maddox Table"'s chorus pedal dynamics. While The Wishing Chair ends up being a little too long, it is nevertheless a sparkling major-label debut, and even bares its incisors a bit alongside more pastoral fare like "Cotton Alley." The shining "My Mother the War" bounces along on a tensile, new wave-inspired groove that even includes what can only be described as a mirthful whoop from the normally opaque Merchant. The majority of The Wishing Chair underpins the sound that came to define the Maniacs and Merchant's later solo flight. But when its hackles are raised, it's like finding out that the teacher's pet smokes cigarettes behind the school bus. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	iTunes	Composers	Performers	Time
Can't Ignore the Train		John Lombardo, Natalie Merchant	10,000 Maniacs	(2:43)
Scorpio Rising		Robert Buck, John Lombardo, Natalie Merchant	10,000 Maniacs	(3:06)
Just as the Tide Was A-Flowing		Traditional	10,000 Maniacs	(2:25)
Lily Dale		Robert Buck, Natalie Merchant	10,000 Maniacs	(3:11)
Back o' the Moon		Dennis Drew, Natalie Merchant	10,000 Maniacs	(3:32)
Maddox Table		Natalie Merchant	10,000 Maniacs	(3:19)
The Colonial Wing [*]	...	Robert Buck, Natalie Merchant	10,000 Maniacs	(4:02)
Grey Victory		John Lombardo, Natalie Merchant, Robert Grey	10,000 Maniacs	(3:07)
Among the Americans		Robert Buck, Dennis Drew, Natalie Merchant	10,000 Maniacs	(3:07)
Everyone a Puzzle Lover		John Lombardo, Natalie Merchant	10,000 Maniacs	(3:17)
Cotton Alley		John Lombardo, Natalie Merchant	10,000 Maniacs	(3:23)
Daktari [*]	...	John Lombardo, Natalie Merchant	10,000 Maniacs	(4:23)
My Mother the War		John Lombardo, Natalie Merchant, Michael Walsh	10,000 Maniacs	(3:31)
Tension Makes a Tangle		John Lombardo, Natalie Merchant	10,000 Maniacs	(3:33)
Arbor Day		Natalie Merchant	10,000 Maniacs	(2:59)

Credits

10,000 Maniacs (Arranger), 10,000 Maniacs (Main Performer), 10,000 Maniacs (Design), Jack Skinner (Mastering), Jerome Augustyniak (Drums), Joe Boyd (Producer), Jerry Boys (Engineer), Robert Buck (Guitar (Acoustic)), Robert Buck (Mandolin), Robert Buck (Pedal Steel), Robert Buck (Guitar (Electric)), Robert Buck (Guitar (Steel)), Barry Clempson (Assistant Engineer), Dennis Drew (Organ), Dennis Drew (Piano), Dennis Drew (Accordion), Steve Gustafson (Bass), Steve Gustafson (Guitar (Electric)), Tony Harris (Engineer), John Lombardo (Bass), John Lombardo (Guitar), John Lombardo (Guitar (12 String)), Natalie Merchant (Vocals), Natalie Merchant (Voices)

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