Motherland (Natalie Merchant album)

Last updated
Motherland
NatalieMerchant Motherland.jpg
Studio album by
Natalie Merchant
ReleasedNovember 13, 2001 (2001-11-13)
RecordedJune 15 – September 9, 2001
Studio Allaire Studios (Shokan, New York); Clinton Studios (New York City, New York); Sunset Sound and Cello Studios (Hollywood, California).
Genre Blues, folk rock [1]
Length58:22
Label Elektra
Producer
Natalie Merchant chronology
Live in Concert
(1999)		Motherland
(2001)		 The House Carpenter's Daughter
(2003)
Singles from Motherland
  1. "Just Can't Last"
    Released: September 2001
  2. "Build a Levee"
    Released: 2002
  3. "Tell Yourself"
    Released: 2002
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 79/100 [2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Billboard (Favorable) [3]
E! Online B+ [2]
Entertainment Weekly B [4]
Jam! (Favorable) [5]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]

Motherland is the third solo album by Natalie Merchant, released in 2001. It was her last studio album released on Elektra Records.

Contents

The album is musically eclectic, varying from Middle Eastern violin–reggae beat fusion "This House Is on Fire" to 10,000 Maniacs-sounding "Tell Yourself". Folky "Motherland" precedes stylistically Merchant's next album, The House Carpenter's Daughter .

Originally, "The End" was supposed to appear on the album instead of "Not In This Life." Merchant noted that:

I'd take out one song, 'Not in This Life,' she said, referring to a midtempo meditation on love, because it seems frivolous to me now. And I'd put back a song called 'The End,' which probably would have gotten me in trouble. Part of the lyric goes: 'That'll be the end of war/ the end of the law of Bible, of Koran, Torah.' I really wanted to put it on the record, but I felt there was so much serious material already that I chose something lighter, for balance. [7]

The album is dedicated to the victims of September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks upon the United States. However, the recording was finished two days before the event, so the songs are not influenced by it. The event has still affected people's interpretations of the lyrics. Additionally, the cover was changed at the last minute to accommodate the post-9/11 world.

Her original concept for the photograph on the album cover was a picture of children in a field wearing oxygen masks:

We shot these kids in upstate New York on Sept 10. And then we were going to reshoot on the 11th. Of course we canceled the session. The day I brought the pictures into the city, there were articles on the run here for Cipro and gas masks. I was getting pressure, anyway, from the record label, friends even, that the image was too controversial. So finally I gave in.

A photograph of a demure-looking Ms. Merchant was used instead.

The title song was later covered by Joan Baez and Christy Moore.

Track listing

All songs written by Natalie Merchant. [8]

  1. "This House Is on Fire" – 4:42
  2. "Motherland" – 4:44
  3. "Saint Judas" – 5:44
  4. "Put the Law on You" – 5:01
  5. "Build a Levee" – 4:46
  6. "Golden Boy" – 4:10
  7. "Henry Darger" – 4:24
  8. "The Worst Thing" – 5:46
  9. "Tell Yourself" – 5:14
  10. "Just Can't Last" – 4:31
  11. "Not in This Life" – 5:22
  12. "I'm Not Gonna Beg" – 3:40

Personnel

String sections (1, 7, 8)

Production

Charts

Chart performance for Motherland
Chart (2001)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [9] 83
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [10] 11
US Billboard 200 [11] 30

Related Research Articles

<i>Ophelia</i> (album) 1998 studio album by Natalie Merchant

Ophelia is the second studio album by the American singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant, released on May 19, 1998, by Elektra Records. The album was supported by the singles "Kind & Generous" and "Break Your Heart", with the former being the most successful single of the album, reaching the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay Chart. "Break Your Heart" also received single and video treatment. These and the other videos from the album, plus three from Tigerlily, were gathered on a Warner Music Vision home video, also entitled Ophelia. "I love the opportunity to flex my thespian muscle," Merchant quips on it. The album became Merchant's only top ten hit on the Billboard 200, where it peaked at number eight.

<i>Volcano</i> (Edie Brickell album) 2003 studio album by Edie Brickell

Volcano is the second solo album by American singer-songwriter Edie Brickell, released in 2003. The album sold about 21,000 copies as of November 2003.

<i>Lionel Richie</i> (album) 1982 studio album by Lionel Richie

Lionel Richie is the debut solo studio album by American singer Lionel Richie, released on October 6, 1982, on Motown Records. Originally intended as a side project at the suggestion of Motown, it was recorded and released while Richie was still a member of the Commodores; he left the group shortly after the album's release. The first single from the album, "Truly", topped the Billboard Hot 100. Follow-up single "You Are" reached number four, and "My Love" reached number five. The album reached number one on the Cashbox albums chart on December 11, 1982.

<i>All Things New</i> (Steven Curtis Chapman album) 2004 studio album by Steven Curtis Chapman

All Things New is the twelfth studio album by Steven Curtis Chapman. It was released on September 9, 2004, by Sparrow Records.

<i>Be Here</i> 2004 studio album by Keith Urban

Be Here is the fourth studio album by New Zealand-born Australian country singer Keith Urban. It was released on 21 September 2004, through Capitol Nashville. With four million copies sold, the album is not only Urban's best-selling album, but also one of the best-selling albums in America by an Australian artist.

<i>Unforgettable... with Love</i> 1991 studio album by Natalie Cole

Unforgettable … with Love, also known as simply Unforgettable, is the twelfth studio album by American singer Natalie Cole. Released on June 11, 1991, the album includes covers of standards previously performed by her father, Nat King Cole. It was also her debut for Elektra Records, after being given her release from EMI Records.

<i>Martina</i> (album) 2003 studio album by Martina McBride

Martina is the seventh studio album by American country music artist Martina McBride. It was released in September 2003 by RCA Nashville. It was a number one on the country album charts and number seven on the US album charts. The album produced four singles on the country charts: "This One's for the Girls" at #3, "In My Daughter's Eyes" at #4, "How Far" at #12 and "God's Will" at #16. "This One's for the Girls", which featured backing vocals from Faith Hill, Carolyn Dawn Johnson and McBride's two daughters, was also McBride's first and only Number One hit on the Adult Contemporary charts. The album was certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

<i>Bethany Dillon</i> (album) 2004 studio album by Bethany Dillon

Bethany Dillon is the self-titled debut album of contemporary Christian musician Bethany Dillon. It was released on April 20, 2004.

<i>Emotion</i> (Martina McBride album) 1999 studio album by Martina McBride

Emotion is the sixth studio album by American country music artist Martina McBride. It was released in September 1999 by RCA Nashville. The album produced four singles with "I Love You", "Love's the Only House", "There You Are" and "It's My Time" on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The song "I Love You" became McBride's biggest hit single to date after it reached number one on the country charts and peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album ends with two covers, "Goodbye" by Patty Griffin and Gretchen Peters' "This Uncivil War" from Peters' 1996 debut album The Secret of Life. The album was certified Platinum on by the RIAA.

<i>Blake Sheltons Barn & Grill</i> 2004 studio album by Blake Shelton

Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill is the third studio album by American country music artist Blake Shelton. Released in 2004 on Warner Bros. Records Nashville, it is his second album to achieve RIAA platinum certification. The album produced four singles in "When Somebody Knows You That Well", "Some Beach", "Goodbye Time" and "Nobody but Me." Like his previous album, he co-wrote two songs.

<i>American Pride</i> (album) 1992 album by the American band, Alabama

American Pride is the fourteenth studio album by American country music band Alabama, released in 1992 by RCA Nashville. It included the singles "I'm in a Hurry ", "Take a Little Trip", "Hometown Honeymoon" and "Once Upon a Lifetime". "I'm in a Hurry" was a Number One hit for the band, while the other singles all reached the Top Five on the U.S. Billboard country charts. "Between the Two of Them" was later released as a single by Tanya Tucker from her 1994 album Fire to Fire.

<i>Days of Our Lives</i> (James Otto album) 2004 studio album by James Otto

Days of Our Lives is the debut studio album by American country music artist James Otto. It was released in 2004 on Mercury Nashville Records, and its title track was a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts.

<i>October Road</i> (album) 2002 studio album by James Taylor

October Road is the 15th studio album by singer-songwriter James Taylor, released in 2002. The album would be Taylor's last album of original material until Before This World in 2015. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Performance at the 45th Grammy Awards in 2003. The album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with 154,000 copies sold in its opening week, Taylor's best-performing album in the SoundScan era. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA on November 21, 2002, and had sold 1,076,000 copies in the United States as of May 2015.

<i>Saxophonic</i> 2003 studio album by Dave Koz

Saxophonic is the seventh studio album by saxophone player Dave Koz. It was released by Capitol Records on October 7, 2003. The album peaked at number 2 on Billboard Jazz Albums chart.

<i>Memphis</i> (Boz Scaggs album) 2013 studio album by Boz Scaggs

Memphis is the seventeenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Boz Scaggs. It was Scaggs's first solo release since 2008's Speak Low. The album was released on March 5, 2013, by 429 Records. The album has debuted on Billboard 200 at No. 17, and has sold 90,000 copies in the US as of March 2015.

<i>Paradise Is There: The New Tigerlily Recordings</i> 2015 studio album by Natalie Merchant

Paradise Is There: The New Tigerlily Recordings is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant, released on November 6, 2015 by Nonesuch Records. It is a collection of new recordings of the songs from Merchant's solo debut, Tigerlily (1995).

<i>Come Tomorrow</i> (album) Album by Dave Matthews Band

Come Tomorrow is the ninth studio album by the American rock band Dave Matthews Band, and was released on June 8, 2018. The album is their first since 2012's Away from the World.

<i>The Crossing</i> (Paul Young album) 1993 studio album by Paul Young

The Crossing is the fifth studio album by English singer Paul Young. Released in 1993, the album peaked at No. 27 on the UK Albums Chart.

<i>Guardian of the Light</i> 1983 studio album by George Duke

Guardian of the Light is the sixteenth studio album by American keyboardist and record producer George Duke. It was released in 1983 through Epic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in Los Angeles at The Complex, Le Gonks West and Ocean Way Recording. Duke used a variety of keyboard instruments, such as Rhodes electric piano, Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, Korg Polysix, ARP Odyssey, Clavitar Solo, Minimoog, melodeon, melodica, and also Sennheiser and Roland vocoders, and LinnDrum machine. The album features contributions from various musicians, including vocalists Jeffrey Osborne and Lynn Davis, guitarists Michael Sembello and Charles Fearing, bassists Louis Johnson and Byron Miller, drummers John Robinson and Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, percussionist Paulinho da Costa, trumpeters Gary Grant and Jerry Hey, trombonist Lew McCreary, conductor George Del Barrio with a musical ensemble of string instrument players.

<i>Walk Around the Moon</i> 2023 studio album by Dave Matthews Band

Walk Around the Moon is the tenth studio album by the American rock band Dave Matthews Band. It was released on May 19, 2023 through RCA Records. Recording primarily took place from August 2020 to September 2022; the track "Break Free" dates back to 2006.

References

  1. 1 2 AllMusic review
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Critic reviews at Metacritic
  3. ↑ Billboard review – Google book search
  4. ↑ "Entertainment Weekly review". Archived from the original on 2009-04-25. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
  5. ↑ Jam! review [usurped]
  6. ↑ "Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on January 15, 2009. Retrieved 2007-09-04.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ↑ Singer, Barry (July 7, 2002). Natalie Merchant, Accidental Prophet. The New York Times.
  8. ↑ "Motherland | Natalie Merchant". 4 May 2017.
  9. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 185.
  10. ↑ "Charts.nz – Natalie Merchant – Motherland". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Natalie Merchant Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.