After self-funding and releasing their 1982 debut EP and studio album, Human Conflict Number Five and Secrets Of The I Ching, respectively, 10,000 Maniacs not only found themselves with a manager, Peter Leak, but through his efforts, a recording contract with Elektra Records.
1985's The Wishing Chair would receive moderately favorable reviews, reaching a silver sales certification. Despite this, the Maniacs would yet to achieve any Billboard Hot 100 singles, instead staying primarily popular among college radio stations.
Right from the starting gate, this is definitely absent of the charm that made Secrets Of The I Ching unique. This is straight up folk rock, whereas its predecessor felt experimental, rooted in reggae. It somewhat kills the momentum high I was on with my previous Retro Spin and was a bit disappointing.
Truthfully, the album got lost for me in background noise, with only one track, Just As The Tide Was A Flowing, standing out as memorable. Mind you, I use the term "memorable" lightly, as at this point, after hearing the whole album, I don't honestly remember it.
It would turn out that I am not the only one who was disappointed with the change in musical stye. So too was co-founding member, Lombardo, who departed in 1986. He would join up with Mary Ramsey, forming the folk act, John And Mary.
Remaining members, Natalie Merchant, Robert Buck, Dennis Drew, Steve Gustafson, and Jerome Augustyniak would return to the studio to release 1987's In My Tribe, the Maniacs highest selling, and commercially successful album to date.
Overall, so far I'm getting about what I expected from 10,000 Maniacs, which is not much at all. They're not a bad group; they're just not hit singles good. For the most part, their tunes are forgettable, and that in and of itself is their biggest flaw.
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