Disco de 10,000 Maniacs: “Hope Chest - The Fredonia Recordings 1982-1983”

This is really interesting stuff. There seems to be a lot of different influences here, while later 10KM releases have a more concise feel, as a whole. Hope Chest is more varied. I'm not going to pretend I know what those sounds are (except for the obvious reggae influence in several of the songs), but I do know there're a lot of them. It's the sound of a band experimenting and it sounds good. There's a certain raw edge here and the lack of production values only adds to that energy.

However, as some have noted, this might just be for diehard 10KM fans. The main reason for this, I think, is that the sound and the songwriting are a little rough around the edges; meaning, a lot of what Natalie sings is slurred mostly because the words aren't always timed perfectly to the music. The effect is rather as if Natalie is singing in a foreign language (which she actually is, when the odd Latin phrase pops up). You can see how she slurs many words and phrases when you try to follow the lyrics on the lyric sheet. This could possibly put off the casual listener.

My suggestion for anyone wanting to sample the Maniacs is to start with The Wishing Chair (my favorite) or In My Tribe, then on to Blind Man's Zoo and Our Time in Eden (and then possibly on to Natalie's solos), then back to Hope Chest. I think it could be something of an experience to hear Hope Chest after hearing their more finely tuned records. Well, it was for me, anyway. It's also interesting, I think, to compare the four songs on Hope Chest ("Grey Victory", "Tension[Makes a Tangle]", "Daktari" & "My Mother the War") to their rerecorded equivalents on Wishing Chair.

For the reviewers who expected this to be a typical 10,000 maniacs album, I can understand why you would view this as a less than appealing novelty. This is anything but 10,000 maniacs and anything but typical.

But I disagree with the idea that this album should only be purchased by the very ardent completist. That is an injustice for this very sincere effort.

I've never been a 10,000 maniacs fan(which is probably why I enjoy this album so much), but this could be considered a very different band. This is an album of influences and youthful idealism. This is protopunk, The Clash, Blondie and antiwar poetry. If 10,000 maniacs would have stayed the course and continued this type of music they would have a very different legacy today.

I stumbled on this fortuitously, I hope it will find others who will appreciate it as I do.

"the hope chest" is the only 10,000 maniacs album that i can fully enjoy as an album. the beautiful spontaneity of natalie's youth is so apparent and shining that after hearing "the hope chest" one is ruined for the stenciled drudgery of their subsequent releases. for me, this is the only album in which i can realize, and hear in the music, the passion which this young woman felt for her ideas.

I own a couple of the early vinyl records that 10,000 Maniacs self-released. The tracks on this CD come from those early records. The tracks on this CD sound great and don't differ noticeably from the original vinyl mixes. This original line-up of the band, including both Natalie Merchant and John Lombardo, would only release "The Wishing Chair" LP/CD after these recordings before John left the group.

(For those of you who are hardcore fans of the band, I think it's interesting to note that the mix, or recording, included on this CD of "National Education Week" differs significantly from the mix the band released on vinyl as a B-side to "My Mother The War". About one third of the music and vocals are missing, and a keyboard part has been added to the beginning of the song.)

While many are quick to dismiss the Maniacs' older material, Hope Chest provides a document of history. Never again would the Maniacs play with this youthful exuberance again. Sure, the writing isn't fantastic and there are traces of unprofessionalism here and there... But this music is simply amazing. I encourage you to open up your ears (as the title of a Maniacs bootleg would say) and give this record a chance. After loving Our Time In Eden to death when I first purchased it (my first 10,000 Maniacs record), I travelled backwards in the Maniacs' catalogue (excluding MTV Unplugged, which I bought after The Wishing Chair) to find that while their form was probably the best around the time of Blind Man's Zoo, the music here simply does not sound tired or worn out, unlike the majority of MTV Unplugged. This record has some amazing songs, including "Planned Obsolescence," "Katrina's Fair," the awesome "Poor de Chirico," and the quirky but oddly beautiful (much like Ms. Merchant herself, especially back then) "Orange." Also worth noting is John Lombardo's vocal performance on the haunting "Anthem for Doomed Youth." One cannot call oneself a Maniacs fan without first delving into their sprightly and gorgeous past.