Recently rediscovering 10,000 Maniacs and Natalie Merchant

I was delighted to recently find:

Verdi Cries (1987) – A younger Natalie Merchant with very accessible lyrics, on the piano with a string ensemble. I love combinations like this.

Photograph (1993) – I’m also a huge fan of R.E.M. It turns out Michal Stipe and Natalie Merchant were once lovers.

Motherland (2001) – This reminds me of leaving San Francisco.