10,000 Maniacs OUR TIME IN EDEN

10,000 Maniacs: Natalie Merchant (vocals, piano); Rob Buck (guitar, sitar, banjo, mandocello); Dennis Drew (accordion, piano, organ, keyboards); Steve Gustafson (bass); Jerome Augustyniak (drums, percussion).
Additional personnel: Mary Ramsey (violin, viola); Bruce Dukov, Ralph Morrison (violin); Pamela Goldsmith (viola); Larry Corbett (cello); Kim Laskowski, Atsuko Sato (bassoon); Charles Fleischer (harmonica); Maceo Parker (alto saxophone); Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis (tenor saxophone); Fred Wesley (trombone); Paulinho Da Costa (percussion).
Recorded at Bearsville Studios, Bearsville, New York.
On their fifth album, 10,000 Maniacs adopt a lush, full sound that more thoughtfully integrates Natalie Merchant's vocals with the rest of the band. The balance also allows her the option to rise above the mix to far greater effect. Throughout the album, keyboardist Dennis Drew shines, especially on "Gold Rush Brides" and on the title track, where his playing adds tremendous depth to Merchant's tales of loss and loneliness.
On both "Few & Far Between" and "Candy Everybody Wants," James Brown's horn section brings a previously absent Motown flavor to the Maniacs' folk-rock sound. The rhythm section provides an extremely sturdy backbone for Robert Buck's subtle guitar playing and understated violins on "Stockton Gala Days," EDEN's standout track. "Jezebel" concludes with a powerful, soaring string section after a long introduction that pairs Drew's keyboards with Merchant's vocals. "The sound you're hearing, the sound you're fearing is the hate that parades up and down our streets," announces Merchant over the distorted guitars of "Tolerance"'s chorus, offsetting the much sweeter-sounding verses. The album ends on the chilling notes of "I'm Not the Man," a wrongfully accused man's first-person narrative set to plaintive viola.

• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Pop