Motherland (Natalie Merchant album)

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

Motherland
Studio album by
Natalie Merchant
ReleasedNovember 13, 2001 (2001-11-13)
RecordedJune 15 – September 9, 2001
StudioAllaire Studios (Shokan, New York); Clinton Studios (New York City, New York); Sunset Sound and Cello Studios (Hollywood, California).
GenreBlues, folk rock[1]
Length58:22
LabelElektra
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
Metacritic79/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Billboard(Favorable)[3]
E! OnlineB+[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB[4]
Jam!(Favorable)[5]
Mojo[2]
Q[2]
Rolling Stone[6]
Uncut[2]

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)

  • Alan Stepansky – cello (1, 7, 8)
  • Elizabeth Dyson – cello (7)
  • Sarah Seiver – cello (7)
  • Jeremy McCoy – double bass (7)
  • Karen Dreyfus – viola (1, 7, 8)
  • Nicholas Cords – viola (7)
  • Vivek Kamath – viola (7)
  • Sandra Park – violin (1, 8), first violin (7), string contractor (7)
  • Sharon Yamada – violin (1, 7, 8)
  • Bruno Eicher – violin (7)
  • Soo Hyun Kwon – violin (7)
  • Ann Kim – violin (7)
  • Lisa Kim – violin (7)
  • Krzysztof Kuznik – violin (7)
  • Karen Marx – violin (7)
  • Laura Seaton – violin (7)
  • Rob Shaw – violin (7)
  • Fiona Simon – violin (7)
  • Jung Sun Yoo – violin (7)

Production
  • T-Bone Burnett – producer
  • Natalie Merchant – producer, package design
  • Mike Piersante – recording
  • Ryan Boesch – recording assistant
  • Kevin Dean – recording assistant
  • Brandon Mason – recording assistant
  • Keith Shortreed – recording assistant
  • Jim Scott – additional recording, mixing
  • Jennifer Hilliard – mix assistant
  • Robert Read – mix assistant
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering at Gateway Mastering (Portland, Maine)
  • Paul Ackling – production assistant, guitar technician
  • Lili Picou – package design
  • Laura Wilson – photography
  • Gary Smith – management

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

References
  1. AllMusic review
  2. Critic reviews at Metacritic
  3. Billboard review – Google book search
  4. Entertainment Weekly review
  5. Jam! review
  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.
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