10000 Maniacs is an American band formed in 1981 and originally composed of Dennis Drew, Steven Gustafson, Chet Cardinale, Robert Buck and Teri Newhouse. Who will be quickly joined by Natalie Merchant then only 17 years old…
A band that will release a first album "Secrets of the I ching" two years later in 1983, an album with a nice critical success notably thanks to the title "My mother the war".
A promotion that will allow them to sign with the Elektra label the following year in 1984, a label with which they will produce their second album "The wishing chair" in 1985, an album once again with relative success but still a success notably with critics.
They will have to wait 2 more years and the release in 1987 of the album "In my tribe" to finally see their efforts rewarded. Album that will produce their first two hits with "Like the weather" and "What's the matter here", two titles that will be released the following year in 1988.
But the consecration, the real one, arrives two years later in 1989 with the release of the album "Blind man's zoo", album that will consecrate them on a global level notably thanks to the enormous Single "Trouble me".
Success confirmed but not amplified in 1992 with the release of the album "Our time in Eden", album that will still produce two top hits with the titles "These are days" and "Candy everybody wants".
As for Singles, the best arrives in 1993 with their particularly successful cover of the title "Because the night" by Patti Smith, title that will remain as the highest ranked of all their discography.
Other albums and other Singles will be released thereafter but without managing to equal the level of success achieved by the group previously.
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others...) :
80s Decade :
Poor de Chirico 1983
National education week 1983
My mother the war 1984
Can’t ignore the train 1985
Scorpio rising 1985
Just as the tide was a flowing 1985
Don’t talk 1987
Peace train 1987
Like the weather 1988
What’s the matter here 1988
Trouble me 1989
Eat for two 1989
You happy puppet 1989
Poison in the well 1989
90s Decade :
These are days 1992
Candy everybody wants 1992
Eden 1992
Few and far between 1993
Everyday is like Sunday 1993
Because the night 1993
More than this 1997
Rainy day 1997
Beyond the blue 1999
The earth pressed flat 1999
Ellen 1999
2010s Decade :
When we walked on clouds 2013
Triangles 2013
Tiny arrows 2013
She moved through the fair 2015
Dark eyed sailor 2015
Canadee-I-O 2015
Tracks :
1983...from the very first tracks the group's potential is obvious and just waiting to be expressed. To be continued for sure...
1983...success will not be there at the start but it is obvious that all this will end up paying off at one time or another...
1984...the first official Single. It is clear that despite a more than obvious potential there is still a little work to be done...
1985...no significant improvement in the Charts in this new year 1985. But the group is progressing regardless...
1985...he will eventually produce THE title that will start to set him apart from the crowd. Maybe not immediately but we are getting closer to it slowly but surely...
1985...they will have tried everything during this year 1985 but nothing works at this stage. A first part of the decade which will have allowed them to start to make people talk about them...
1987...nothing during the year 1986 and here they are back in this year 1987 in a form that we will call certain. Certain but insufficient once again to allow them to win their first star...
1987...they will revisit here the title of Cat Stevens from 1971 with an obvious will to do well. A good will that will not be enough to make them emerge once again...
1988...we will have to wait until 1988 to finally see all their efforts rewarded. It took them 5 years to get it but this time it was the right one...
1988...a beautiful and BIG year 1988 with two hits in quick succession. The group is finally at cruising speed and it's paying off...
1989...then THIS title arrives ! It is this title that will bring them the long-awaited consecration and at the same time offer them a direct ticket to prosperity. HU-GE !
1989...a sequel that can't compete with the title that preceded it but the essential is done as they say. Everything that comes after will be just a bonus...
1989...as much as the year 1989 had started wonderfully well for them, the end of the year will take place in more or less general indifference...
1989... after that does not mean the end of the adventure, far from it. It could be that the next decade has some very nice surprises in store for them...
1992...we'll lose sight of them again for almost 3 years but what a comeback ! A comeback with a bang with this first global top hit of the year...
1992...and here comes the second one. After their mega hit of 1989, they add here two new prestigious stars of which they can be proud...
1992...a title that will paradoxically pass under the radar but it doesn't matter when you see the 2 huge previous successes...
1993...a year 1993 which starts quietly with this little 'hit'. Nothing comparable in any case with the level of success reached in 1992...
1993...they decide to revisit Morrissey's 1988 title here. It comes from a good feeling but it's hard to match the original, that's for sure...
1993...on the other hand, their revisited version of Patti Smith's flagship title from 1993 will go much less unnoticed and will offer them a new well-deserved prestigious star...
1997... another 4-year hiatus and here they are back once again in luxury cover mode. This time it will be the Roxy Music title dating from 1982 that will benefit from their favors with a particularly astonishing revisited version...
1997...an adventure that will become somewhat complicated later with a complete fall in the Charts. Hard law of the trade...
1999...this will not put an end to the adventure but it is clear that the best years are now behind them...
1999...and yet there is still quality in all of this but it is no longer enough in the face of competition that does not give any gifts...
1999...in the end a great decade which still allowed them to achieve several very big successes...
2013...when we thought we might never see them again, here they are, well and truly back, almost 14 years later...
2013...unexpected return that can only delight the core fans to the highest degree. Unfortunately a return that will only be visible to core fans precisely...
2013...after all, as long as they continue to enjoy what they do, why not try this comeback, especially since in music, as we know well, nothing is ever finished...
2015...they're doing it again 2 years later, telling themselves that a return to grace can never be ruled out as long as we put in the good will...
2015...the problem is that given the musical style of this new opus, the return to the forefront seems very hypothetical to say the least...
2015...this time the adventure will not go any further. An adventure that will have allowed them to leave a significant mark in contemporary musical history, which is already quite an achievement in itself...
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Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :
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