I remember when I first heard the music of 10,000 Maniacs – back when I was a wee lad. The voice of Natalie Merchant seemed to emerge from a time long ago. She sang the songs of benevolent spirits, haunting voices full of longing, strength, passion and depth. Since the Maniacs’ first records, she has had many different course changes, though none more interesting than her new release, Leave Your Sleep, her first studio album since 2003. In it she sets to music the poems of some famous and forgotten writers including E.E. Cummings, Robert Louis Stevenson, Christina Rossetti, Edward Lear, Ogden Nash, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and Robert Graves. The music and words settle over you like an ancient spell and stay with you like a late morning dream. Check out this live version of Nursery Rhyme of Innocence and Experience, a poem by British writer, Charles Causley.
You can check out more music videos from the album at her site by clicking here. You can also check out her performance at TED:
Give it a try. It’s at once full of new wonder and reminiscent of times past. H/T to Wanda for the TED link.
