Disco de 10,000 Maniacs: “The Earth Pressed Flat”

10,000 Maniacs have come back with a roar on the release "The Earth Pressed Flat". It combines the feel of previous albums like "In My Tribe" and "Our Time in Eden", yet adds in distinction all its own. The first single from the album, which is the title track "The Earth Pressed Flat", is a catchy pop song that will surely be a hit. A unique aspect of this album is the use of short "fillers" between each song. They range from quick musical snippits to rap. It's a little odd, but somehow it works. You have to listen to this album from beginning to end, over and over, because you feel like you are taking a musical journey. As much I liked "Love Among the Ruins", I like this even more. "The Earth Pressed Flat" will have fans asking "Natalie who?", as Mary Ramsey has solidly taken the band forward.

This album should be receieving so much more attention than it is, I just don't understand it. The Maniacs have returned to what they do best, writing and playing innovative, well layered, musical tunes. Mary's voice is at least as strong as Natalie Merchant's... those who say the band died when Natalie left have not given this album a good listening. I think anyone who has not heard the band since Natalie's departure will be pleasantly surprised, and those who have never heard 10KM at all will be instantly hooked. I know I was.

Contrary to the opinions of many Maniacs' fans, Natalie Merchant did NOT write all the music, and she arranged very little of it. Her best time lyrically was probably the deeply personal era of the Wishing Chair, carrying over into the non-political songs on In My Tribe. Listening to those songs, I felt as though I was riffling through the notebooks of a particularly interesting, intelligent, literate young woman. A fascinating worldview. How annoying when all of the political silliness started to creep in. It was fine that she had viewpoints, but she got a little too much into telling rather than showing. The music on this album recaptures the sound of the band from the mid-eighties - and let there be no mistake, the Maniacs are a great folk-rock band, especially to hear live - and Ramsey's lyrics strike me as close to what Merchant would have come up with in maturity had she avoided the silly politically correct period. I don't think she sings as well as Natalie at her best, but the viola makes up for that. This band is splendid instrumentally. An improvement on "Love among the Ruins."

It's unfortunate that people haven't given the 10,000 Maniacs the opportunity to WOW them since the departure of Natalie Merchant. Though still suffering from "Merchantitis," I'm here to tell you that the band is better without her. Mary Ramsa's "lead" gives the audience a three and one-half octave vocal feast from beginning to end. And she plays the violin too. The band itself is still as sharp and musically together as in their gravy days,and she plays the violin too, just like on those classic 10,000 Maniac albums of yore. The Earth Pressed Flat is one of those brilliant concept albums reminiscent of the 1970s or 80s. Each track is great and you wonder how the next track can be any better, but it is. Especially outstanding are "Smallest Step" and "On and On," in which Ramsay sings like an angel and shows her prowess on the fiddle. If you only have the time or money for 1 CD these days, this one is well worth it. Whether you like to listen to music in your car when you're happy or in your bedroom when you're meloncholy, this CD will speak to you. Give it a listen, you'll fall in love with the Maniacs all over again and with Ramsay for the first time...on the first listen.

With "The Earth Pressed Flat," 10,000 Maniacs proved what many of us suspected but the masses never latched onto: Natalie Merchant needed the band more than the band needed Merchant.

Contrast this superb album (their second sans Merchant, the first being the OK, but meandering "Love Among the Ruins") with Merchant's output since she left the band. She went on this self indulgent route that might have had some promise if it had not gotten so bogged down in this endless introspection. Among her first three studio albums (there was also a superfluous live album in the mix) you'd be lucky to get a single album's worth of material -- the smart and articulate "Carnival" being the highlight. It wasn't until her fourth studio album -- the excellent "The House Carpenter's Daughter" that she came up with an album that seemed to justify her departure from the band.

But the band moved on and came up with a home run with "The Earth Pressed Flat" a good 5 years before Merchant's sole winner. The melodies here are warm and inviting, as are the vocals from Mary Ramsey (whose voice is similar to Merchant's although not without its own qualities) and the musicianship is first rate. There is nary a bum track here and that the public embraced Merchant's solo career while largely ignoring the band she left behind says a lot more about its priorities than it does the merits of Merchant's solo stuff.