Oh, to be young and alternative again. I used to love 10,000 Maniacs, having seen them 5 or 6 times in concert and having met Natalie Merchant at a couple of shows. (My heart about stopped when she came up to me and remembered my name...) While I still have a serious soft spot for their music, this was a group that made great albums that held together as wholes. So a "Best Of" is probably more for the uninitiated than a long time fan. It sure is nice to have a disc loaded with the best known songs all culled to one CD, with the however obvious title "The Most Popular Recordings."

I'm most heartened that "Verdi Cries" is included on disc one, because it was long a fan favorite at 10,000 Maniacs' shows. Natalie would usually perform this as an encore on solo piano. The first time I saw her play this one as the show closer, I was absolutely mesmerized by its grace. I've never tired of hearing it since. And since "Wishing Chair" and "Hope Chest" are pretty much devout fan recordings only, having selections on both of "Campfire Songs" double discs is a bonus.

So if you're a die hard, then having disc two is what you're really buying this for. I'm glad to have the covers of Bowie and Morrissy, since they are of spiritual kin to 10,000 Maniacs' sound and general demeanor, but "Wildwood Flower" and "Hello There" really aren't a match. Having R.E.M. pal Michael Stipe chime in on "To Sir With Love" works as novelty, but he and Natalie would have been better represented by their duets on "Candy Everybody Wants" or "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville." I'm also glad "Peace Train" made the cut, even if my CD of "In My Tribe" was picked up early on enough to not have lost it after the Cat Stevens brouhaha.

If you're not a die hard? Natalie Merchant was a vocalist that found a certain strength in herself that other mid-eighties women didn't. Much like today, where radio is blanded down by Teen (American) Idols and cookie cutter girl-toys, the radio then was ruled by Debbie Gibson, Tiffany and hundreds of Madonna wannabes. The late Robert Buck also had a truly unique guitar style. He was otherworldly and folkish both at once, and by the time he really found his voice ("In My Tribe"), so had Natalie. They were political in a vague but obvious way ("What's The Matter Here?," "Poison In The Well") while also introspective and personal ("Verdi Cries" and "These Are Days"). Not many bands forge this kind of soundscape that makes others leap to catch up; 10,000 Maniacs are one of the few.

I'll give this 4 stars for the same reason I would give the new R.E.M. "Best Of" set an equivalent rating. There are plenty of good songs here, and there are an even greater amount of classic material to be found on the individual albums. "Campfire Songs" is worth having if time has whittled down your CD collection, otherwise, you likely own most of it already.

Being from Jamestown, N.Y., and an old friend of the band, I can bear witness to the birth of 10KM. In fact, conceivably I
might have even been a member of the group myself, as the members of the embryonic, proto-Maniacs (then Still Life, aka Is There Still Life: Rob, Steve, Dennis, Natalie, etc. w/o John or Jerry) actually invited me to join them as rhythm guitarist
after a couple of jams in my studio at the infamous Broadhead Mills (see Hope Chest's liner notes or the "Pit Viper" clip on Time Capsule). This was, of course, during those heady, post-punk days when the D.I.Y. aesthetic held sway. They didn't seem to care if I could play or not, God bless 'em.
I must say this was a tempting offer. I had just spent a good while trying to form a band with the redoubtable John Lombardo, who is one of my oldest friends. I'm afraid John grew
impatient with my Stu Sutcliffe-like amateurism; it just never clicked. In fact, we got the artist's co-op at the Mills going with band rehearsal space in mind. But these Still Life people
intrigued me: possibly out of necessity, they played mostly original material. I recall thinking that (dearly departed) Rob had such great raw potential...he was unsteady tempo-wise (a better drummer might have helped!), but he had such moments of gonzo guitar frenzy...that you knew he had something. And Natalie was special from the get-go; Dennis should be credited with acknowledging her talent straight away. I have a fond memory of her calling out for Roxy Music at the Mills when I first met her, me blaring out "Do The Strand" on the hi-fi there and her doing her patented dervish dance one afternoon...
I thought, pretty hip for a 16 yr. old...we've got a live one here! Despite all this, I decided not to join and be sensible for a change. I opted to marry my British girlfriend, Susan, and
look for a real job, relocating from Rust Belt blight to sunny
Atlanta, GA.
10KM really took seed one night in July 1981. Before I left
town for good, Still Life had a farewell gig in a subterranean pub called the Gatsby. They invited all sorts of their musician
friends to sit in with them, some "ringers" with pretty fair chops...including John, who played with them for the first time that night I believe. They were breaking up with a bang...even I joined in for some songs, cool covers like "Cross-eyed and Painless" and "Armagideon Time". I'll bet Dennis has a tape of this stuff somewhere in his attic...although I seem to remember a dancer knocking over their reel-to-reel deck with tape spooling out over the dancefloor, so maybe not! It was a great night...and within weeks they were busy forming a new band with John. For one gig they were the Burn Victims, 10,000 Maniacs thereafter. Rob sat out for a time and had to be coaxed back into the fold. The rest, as they say, is history.
I'd like to offer my perspective in contrast with Anthony DeCurtis' liner notes to Campfire Songs. Hey Anthony, if you're
puzzled by that Hedgen's gig, well, I'm the guy who got it for 'em. As I said, I moved to Atlanta in late '81 and I helped to urge the Maniacs to try their luck down here in '82. Through a mutual friend, they hooked up with Johnny "Hib-Tone" Hibbert,
but their initial stay here was fraught with frustration. Gigs like the one at Tokyo Beach, with a sum total of four revellers
including me (I was on their guest list, but I felt so bad for them that I paid the cover anyway!)They got bummed and fled for
home turf, writing some good new material and eventually producing an indie LP. Natalie wrote me asking for help landing a gig here...so I schlepped a tape of their LP around the clubs
like 688 and Rumours, but only Hedgen's bit. As I recall, although it was certainly the Satellites turf, Hedgen's also would book people like Guadalcanal Diary, so it's not that weird. The place wasn't really that empty either; it was their best attended gig to that point...40-50 people probably. It was a memorable gig as Jon King and Andy Gill (of Gang of Four) came to that show...we were tickled as we were big fans of theirs. This was at a crucial turning point for 10KM; afterwards, they got noticed in NYC, got proper management, etc.
I must say that I'm proud that my friends made their mark, that something of note came out of our daft little scene in our shrinking, backwater town. I'm glad that Natalie chose to include a lot of photos featuring John in Campfire Songs; he was a crucial member in those formative years. They were at their best during his original stint, and yes, I concur with Mr.
DeCurtis, they were best experienced live. My own favorite Maniac songs aren't included on this new CD...I like "Puzzle Lover" and "Maddox Table"...and Wishing Chair, with all the local color of WNY, has special resonance to someone like me. I don't discount In My Tribe...it is the most consistant one and deserved to be a hit, Peace Train or not. But I really think they missed John thereafter...I never much liked Blind Man's Zoo...material such as John's Angels of Stone would have pumped some much needed life into that one and he might have helped to talk them out of the lesser material. What a shame.
As far as the rarities go, well, real fans will always second guess any such compilation, and so it goes with me. I'd like to have seen "Don't Call Us" turn up; after all it was a track I spun their way. During an extended visit to the U.K., I taped a segment of John Peel's show and this track cropped up...it amused me, so I sent it to John suggesting they cover it and they did! The song was a student project, sung by kids from near Coventry, I believe, reflecting the dire job market of the day and we from WNY could relate. Digital Dinasaurs was the name of this one-off group. Also m.i.a. are a nifty cover of "Rum and Coca Cola" (problem obtaining the master) and the B-side with Billy Bragg ("Party of God") which I don't know what happened there. And I always loved their Eno cover, "Burning Airlines..."...were there no live recordings available of this one? I dunno.
Nice notes from the various band members...Jerry and Dennis really capture the spirit of the thing. And Natalie's tribute to Rob was touching...he always deserved more credit than he seemed to get.
Natalie was right: we were scavengers all; we were Clash fans all; and we were comrades all.

Even though 10,000 Maniacs are no longer a household name, their music from 1981-1993 has stood the test of time since Natalie Merchant's departure in 1993. After Merchant left the band, Mary Ramsey took over singing duties and the Merchant-less band released two albums without much fanfare. This collection of hits and b-sides appropriately only features songs from the Merchant-era, so if you're a Mary Ramsey fan look elsewhere. The first disc features many of their signature songs like These Are Days, Like the Weather and their live cover of Because the Night. I was quite surprised at the number of songs from their pre-The Wishing Chair days, but they included too many from their In My Tribe breakthrough album. The second disc features b-sides, demos and a few live selections. I suppose the only true rarities are the demo versions of Can't Ignore the Train, Noah's Dove, Circle Dream and Eden, plus the previously unreleased Poppy Selling Man from the early 80's, so if you own a lot of their singles this collection might not be worth it. For those of us who weren't around to witness the impact this underrated band made, Campfire Songs is well worth the investment.

At last here is the long promised "best of" 10,000 Maniacs collection. Apparently all (surviving) band members were involved in one way or another in the process of putting this compilation.

CD1 (17 tracks, 65 min.) collects "the Most Popular Songs" (meaning: the greatest hits, yea!). Thankfully, the songs are compiled chronologically, which, among others, show the amazing musical leap the band took from the early stuff to the first full-fledged album "In My Tribe". It remains the band's best album after all these years, and is rightfully represented by 5 tracks, including the delicious "About the Weather" (Natalie's best moment ever?). "Blind Man's Zoo" gets 4 tracks, including the seminole "Trouble Me". "Our Time in Eden" (the band's biggest commercial succes) gets 3 tracks, including of course "Candy Everybody Wants". "Because the Night" (from the "MTV Unplugged" album) concludes CD1.

CD2 (14 tracks, 49 min.) covers "The Obscure & Unknown Recordings" and is more of a mixed bag. There are some real nuggets here, including the cover of Cat Stevens' "Peace Train" and David Bowie's "Starman" (Natalie continued covering Bowie tracks in her solo career). Lacking unfortunately in the liner notes are details about the dates of these "obscure" recordings.

Overall, this is a very satisfaying compilation, much better than, say, the recent REM "best of" compilation. In case you haven't kept up with Natalie's most recent work, check out last year's independently released "The House Carpenter's Daughter", truly a mesmorising album.

As a long-time fan, the collection on disc 1 doesn't faze me in the least, since I have all their albums and most of my favorite Maniacs songs are not even included here (mostly from the Wishing Chair and Hope Chest). But I must say that it's great too see all the rarities collected in one place, even though over the years I've gathered them all up individually. I was especially happy to see Wildwood Flower and Hello In There included--though the live version of the latter performed with Michael Stipe and Billy Bragg that is on the VHS compilation "Time Capsule" is the one I prefer. Speaking of which, any chance that might be released on DVD with Our Time in Eden stuff included too???