Natalie Merchant

Country of origin:

U.S.

Type of music generally:

Alternative pop

Status:

Most recent album, Retrospective 1995-2005 (compilation, 2005); most recent studio album, The House Carpenter's Daughter (2003)

See also:

The Official Natalie Merchant site

The Ectophiles' Guide entry for 10,000 Maniacs

Comparisons:

10,000 Maniacs, Innocence Mission (voice similar to Karen Peris's)

Covers/own material:

Own

General comments:

Natalie is another artist that has proved to me through every album she's released, that she is incapable of generating anything other than excellence. (jsutton@rahul.net)

Natalie Merchant is a significant lyricist. (woj@smoe.org)

For me it's Natalie's voice that comes close to being my favourite thing! Accordingly, while I love everything Natalie is doing, for me 10,000 Maniacs lost a bit of lustre after her departure. (afries@zip.com.au)

Comments about live performance:

Natalie Merchant's set at the Lilith Fair was a little erratic, but contained some of the most stirring moments of the evening. I can always count on her to pull something out that will move me to tears. I don't know her solo stuff, and she didn't play any 10,000 Maniacs tunes, but had a lot of great moments. I thought the complicated and meandering arrangements didn't work that well in a festival environment, but it was great to watch her working the crowd. (neal)

personally, i thought the show was all right. natalie merchant has never been a favorite of mine, before or after the split with the maniacs. i was surprised by how much i enjoyed the show we saw when she was supporting tigerlily—that one was very up-tempo (there were so many people dancing in the balcony that i thought it was going to collapse), but the low-key mood of this one wasn't too bad either. it didn't change my opinion of her in any way, but i didn't run screaming from the theater either. ;) (12/98, woj@smoe.org)

Recommended first album:

Either one

Recordings:

• Tigerlily (1995)
• Ophelia (1998)
• Live (1999)
• Motherland (2001)
• The House Carpenter's Daughter (2003)
• Retrospective 1995-2005

Tigerlily

Release info:

1995—Elektra

Availability:

Widely available

Ecto priority:

Essential—at least in the opinion of this highly biased editor :) (afries@zip.com.au)

Group members:

Natalie—vocals, piano, organ, vibraphone
Jennifer Turner—guitars
Peter Yanowitz—drums
Barrie McGuire—bass

Guest artists:

Katell Keineg and a number of others

Produced by:

John Holbrook

Comments:

It's the album 10,000 Maniacs would have made had Natalie stayed with the band. Nothing ground-breaking musically or lyrically, mellow pretty much throughout, Natalie's in fine voice (though she's being way too articulate for my tastes these days—I could actually understand what the songs were about without looking at the liner notes...sigh, how the mighty have fallen :). Lots of reminiscences to songs like "I'm Not The Man", "How You've Grown", "Circle Dream" etc. from Our Time In Eden. I love it, but I would run out and buy a tape of Natalie reading the Jamestown Classified Ads and love it too. :> If you weren't a fan of Natalie Merchant before, this album probably won't convert you. If you liked where 10,000 Maniacs were going with Our Time In Eden, then chances are Tigerlily will be a worthwhile purchase. Tigerlily doesn't win awards for originality or innovation, but in its own quiet way it's an excellent album. Musically most of the songs are very mellow—the only ones approaching upbeat are "San Andreas Fault" and "Carnival". Lyrically there are no outward social commentaries, but quite a few stories and a fair bit of introspectiveness: Natalie ponders her lot in life and wonders if it's all really been worth it.(meth@smoe.org)

Despite mediocre reviews, on first listen this album sounds quite engaging and quite classically Natalie. Although the drum track on the first song has got to be one of the most cliched in music today.... (damon)

Generally quiet and uncompelling but well-performed. I love Natalie's work, but found myself getting bored with the CD by about halfway through. The songs all seem good, but I wish she's mixed up the tempo a bit more. Natalie is still great though, and I really like a track called "Where I Go", along with "Carnival" of course, as well as the first two tracks. (carnivore@bigfoot.com)

Perhaps it wasn't her best effort, nor a pure work of art (as many other debut solo albums have been), but still very enjoyable. (bill@wagill.com)

The top album, for me, of '95 has to be Natalie Merchant's Tigerlily, which is simply stunning. I love it to bits and can't stop listening to it! (garrick@area51.upsu.plym.ac.uk)

Ophelia

Release info:

1998—Elektra

Availability:

Widely available

Ecto priority:

Essential—at least in the opinion of this highly biased editor :) (afries@zip.com.au)

Group members:

Too many to list!

Guest artists:

Karen and Don Peris (of Innocence Mission), N'dea Davenport, Yungchen Lhamo

Produced by:

Tod Voss

Comments:

I've listened to it 5 times and I have to say that it's grown on me a lot. My initial impression was that the album really never gets going, but now I don't think it really needs to. The one-word capsule description I could give would be "languid". The album is very much like Tigerlily in that respect, but musically it is much different. There is a very heavy emphasis placed on strings and orchestration, and the result is very nice. I especially like the "reprise" of "Ophelia", which rounds out the album as a quasi-hidden track and is basically a string quintet instrumental of the first and title song. Natalie Merchant's voice and singing style are the same as ever. However, I really can't imagine her having any chart-topping hits with any of the songs on this disc (which of course isn't necessarily a bad thing). Jennifer Turner doesn't appear on this album, which is a bummer, but there are some notable guest appearances...I hate the packaging, though. I can deal with the environmentally-friendly cardboard digipak, but the photos on the cover and all the way through it are just stupid. And there's no lyrics, which I always find annoying.I don't know exactly why, but I just *like* what Natalie Merchant does, usually no matter what she's doing. As with Tigerlily, I don't think she's going to win any new fans with Ophelia, but if any other old-timers are like me, they're going to be quite pleased with this one as well on general principle. (meth@smoe.org)

Picked up Natalie Merchant's Ophelia, which sounds pretty good, kinda reminds me of Blind Man's Zoo I think...I must say I don't care for the packaging, I'd much rather have a jewel case than one of these cardboard sleeves...but then I've got a bunch of jewel cases I bought at the computer store. I'll stick it in one of those...so much for attempts to be ecologically sound. (sspan)

why does Natalie remind me of Sarah McLachlan on some of the songs here? (Riphug@aol.com)

Well, I've always been on the outer edge of Natalie Merchant fandom, but I think the photos in the Ophelia packaging are hilarious. I always thought Natalie was too serious for her own good, so I'm glad to see that she can lighten up. Also, I think those photos are supposed to be all the personas in the song "Ophelia".
     I've never been overwhelmed by Natalie before, but the strings have hooked me on this album. I like it quite a bit. And I agree that the "Ophelia Reprise" is wonderful. Makes me wonder what Natalie could do with an instrumental album. (mageeol@ro.com)

Anything she does will be my favourite as long as it has her voice on it :). (afries@zip.com.au)

Live

Release info:

1999—Elektra—62444-2

Availability:

Wide

Ecto priority:

Recommended for Natalie Merchant fans

Group members:

Natalie Merchant—vocals and piano

Guest artists:

Erik Della Penna—guitar
Gabriel Gordon—guitar and backing vocals
Peter Yanowitz—drums
Graham Maby—bass
Elizabeth Steen—keyboards
Doug Stringer—percussion
Susan McKeown—guest vocals

Comments:

There is also a DVD version of this disc with a different track listing (Elektra 40214-2).

This live CD doesn't really add any new insights, but hey, it's more Natalie—for an addict like myself that's enough to celebrate. (afries@zip.com.au)

Some good old tunes ("Dust Bowl Days", "Gun Shy") and Katell Keineg's "Gulf of Araby" with Susan McKeown make this a keeper. (NNadelS@aol.com)

Motherland

Release info:

2001—Elektra—62721-2

Availability:

Wide

Ecto priority:

Highly recommended

Group members:

Natalie Merchant—vocals, piano, Rhodes piano

Guest artists:

Elizabeth Steen—Hammond organ, mellotron, Wurlitzer piano, piano
Gabriel Gordon—electric guitar, E-bow electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocal
Erik Della Penna—oud, banjo, electric guitar, classical guitar, acoustic guitar, lap steel guitar, bazouki
Graham Maby—bass
Matt Chamberlain—drums, percussion
Van Dyke Parks—accordion
Patrick Warren—pump organ, chamberlain
Mike Elizando—acoustic bass
Greg Leisz—acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin, 12-string guitar
David Ralicke—tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, trombone
Keefus—piano, Hammond organ, keyboard
Bob Glaub—bass
Carla Azar—drums (live)
Sandra Park—violin, string contractor on "Henry Darger"
Sharon Yamada, Lisa E. Kim, Bruno Eicher, Karen Marx, Ann S. Kim, Laura Seaton, Fiona Simon, Jung Sun Yoo, Soo Hyun Kwon, Krystof Kuznik, Robert T. Shaw—violin
Karen Dreyfus, Nick Cords, Vivek Kamath—viola
Alan Stepansky, Sarah Seiver, Elizabeth Dyson—cello
Sandra Church—alto flute
Guy Klucevsek—accordion
David Krakauer—clarinet
Chris Tedesco—trumpet
Jeremy McCoy—bass
Mitchell Estrin—bass clarinet
Tony Kadleck—trumpet
Philip Myers—French horn
Mavis Staples—vocal
Katie Goldberg—vocal
Kate Daley, Kelly Daley—Vivian Girl's voice
Stephen Barber—arrangements and conducting
Daniel de la Calle—Spanish lyrics to "The Worst Thing"

Produced by:

Natalie Merchant and T Bone Burnett

Comments:

Natalie Merchant's new cd Motherland is excellent. It starts out with 3 very strong tracks (the Middle-Eastern/reggae influenced "This House Is On Fire"; the country waltz "Motherland". "Saint Judas" has a kind of southern soul feel. I love the use of the mandolin and banjo on the second and third tracks, especially the banjo solo at the end of the third. Natalie's voice works in many different styles, but even she can't pull off a torch song. At least she doesn't on the 4th track, "Put the Law On You," not for me. The album bounces right back though with "Build a Levee." The last 4 tracks are great up-tempo pop ballads. I only wish they were interspersed more with the slower-paced songs in the middle (tracks 6-8).
     Does this not sound very enthusiastic? I think it's a great album; I might have ordered it differently. I've had it about a week now and have played part or all of it every day. The first three tracks and the last four are particularly strong, but there's really only one bad track. If you liked Ophelia you'll like this too. (JoAnn Whetsell)

The House Carpenter's Daughter

Release info:

2003—Myth America Records, PO Box 170, Bellows Falls, VT 05101—MA-1026

Availability:

Wide

Ecto priority:

Highly recommended

Group members:

Natalie Merchant—vocals

Guest artists:

Erik Della Penna—guitar & lap steel
Graham Maby—bass
Gabriel Gordon—guitar
Richie Stearns—banjo
Judy Hyman—fiddle
Elizabeth Steen—organ, piano, accordion
Allison Miller—drums
The Menfolk—backing vocals

Produced by:

Natalie Merchant

Comments:

This is Merchant's homage to folk and traditional music, and as such, it threatens to suffer under an anthropological earnestness. However, the sounds are lovely and autumnal: violins, tentatively plucked banjos in a way that wouldn't sound out of place in PBS or NPR special. The striking thing is Merchant's voice. It no longer has the lithe, little-girl lilt of the past. She sounds older, her voice crackles. There's a matronly gravitas, and an understated passion, that runs through her readings of these songs. Highlights include the Fairport Convention tune "Crazy Man Michael" and the murder ballad, "Diver Boy." (ethereal_lad@livejournal.com)

I saw her perform most (if not all) of these songs live during her folk music tour in 2001. It was an amazing show, and I'm glad she decided to finally release some official versions. (cyclic_despair@hotmail.com)

Nice take on some old folk songs. Can't go wrong with a voice like Natalie's. (edcole@halcyon.com)

A lovely collection of traditional folk tunes. (tanisha-taitt@yahoo.com)

A stunning combination of old-timey and contemporary folk, perfectly suited to Natalie's voice (or maybe it's the other way around), wonderful instrumentation. I particularly love the darker songs like "Diver Boy." (JoAnn Whetsell)

Thanks to Andrew Fries and JoAnn Whetsell for work on this entry.