''The Wishing Chair'' is the first major-label album by American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

10,000 Maniacs 10,000 Maniacs is an American alternative rock band that was founded in 1981. They have released nine studio albums, six EPs, and five live albums. They achieved their most significant success between 1987 and 1993, when they released four album ...

, released in 1985 by

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

. Recorded in London, the album did not achieve the commercial success some of their later releases would receive, but received mostly favorable reviews and brought the band more visibility than had their previous independent releases. A live concert video of "Scorpio Rising" was produced and received a moderate amount of airplay on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

Track listing

All lyrics by

Natalie Merchant Natalie Anne Merchant (born October 26, 1963) is an American alternative rock singer-songwriter. She joined the band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and was lead vocalist and primary lyricist for the group. She remained with the group for their first se ...

and music by

John Lombardo John Lombardo (born 30 September 1952) is one of the founding members of the American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs and one of the band's most influential members, writing much of its early material. He is also a member of folk rock duo Joh ...

, except where noted.

Original vinyl/cassette release

;Side A #"Can't Ignore the Train" – 2:43 #"Just as the Tide Was A Flowing" (Music: traditional; Lyrics: arranged by 10,000 Maniacs) – 2:25 #"Scorpio Rising" (Music: Robert Buck, Lombardo; Lyrics: Merchant) – 3:06 #"Lilydale" (Music: Buck; Lyrics: Merchant) – 3:11 #"Maddox Table" (Music & lyrics: Merchant) – 3:19 #"Everyone a Puzzle Lover" – 3:17 ;Side B #"Arbor Day" (Music & lyrics: Merchant) – 2:59 #"Back o' the Moon" (Music:

Dennis Drew Dennis Arnold Drew (born 8 August 1957) is the keyboardist for the American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. He has been with the band since its inception in 1981 and is one of three founding members along with Steve Gustafson and John Lomba ...

; Lyrics: Merchant) – 3:32 #"Tension Makes a Tangle" – 3:33 #"Among the Americans" (Music: Buck, Drew; Lyrics: Merchant) – 3:07 #"Grey Victory" (Music: Lombardo, Buck; Lyrics: Merchant) – 3:07 #"Cotton Alley" – 3:23 #"My Mother the War" (Music: Lombardo; Lyrics: Merchant, Michael Walsh) – 3:31

CD release

#"Can't Ignore the Train" – 2:43 #"Scorpio Rising" (Music: Buck, Lombardo; Lyrics: Merchant) – 3:06 #"Just as the Tide Was A Flowing" (Music: traditional; Lyrics: arranged by 10,000 Maniacs) – 2:25 #"Lilydale" (Music: Buck; Lyrics: Merchant) – 3:11 #"Back o' the Moon" (Music: Drew; Lyrics: Merchant) – 3:32 #"Maddox Table" (Music & lyrics: Merchant) – 3:19 #"The Colonial Wing" – 4:02 #"Grey Victory" (Music: Lombardo, Buck; Lyrics: Merchant) – 3:07 #"Among the Americans" (Music: Buck, Drew; Lyrics: Merchant) – 3:07 #"Everyone a Puzzle Lover" – 3:17 #"Cotton Alley" – 3:23 #"Daktari" – 4:23 #"My Mother the War" (Music: Lombardo; Lyrics: Merchant, Walsh) – 3:31 #"Tension Makes a Tangle" – 3:33 #"Arbor Day" (Music & lyrics: Merchant) – 2:59 "The Colonial Wing" and "Daktari" were originally released on the 12-inch single of "Can't Ignore the Train", along with "Grey Victory". "Grey Victory", "Daktari", "My Mother the War" and "Tension Makes a Tangle" are re-recorded versions of songs that had previously appeared on the band's 1983 release, '' Secrets of the I Ching''. ("Tension Makes a Tangle" also appeared in yet another version on the band's very first record, the 1982 EP ''

Human Conflict Number Five ''Human Conflict Number Five'' is the debut EP by American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs, released in 1982 by Mark Records. While the EP also contained the band's own Christian Burial Music imprint, the label itself was fictitious. Bar ...

'', titled simply "Tension", as it was on ''Secrets of the I Ching''.)

Personnel

;10,000 Maniacs * Robert Buck – electric guitar/devices, acoustic guitar,

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

pedal steel The pedal steel guitar is a console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all steel guitars, it can p ...

Jerry Augustyniak Jerome Stanley Augustyniak (born September 2, 1958) is the drummer for the American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. Augustyniak joined the band in March 1983, two years after the group formed. Augustyniak continues to perform with the band ...

– drums *

Steven Gustafson Steven E. "Steve" Gustafson (born April 10, 1957) is the bass guitarist for the American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. He, Dennis Drew and John Lombardo are the only remaining founding members of the group. Drummer Jerome Augustyniak has ...

– bass guitar, electric guitar *

– 6 and 12 string guitars, bass guitar *

– organ, piano,

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

– voice ;Technical *

Joe Boyd Joe Boyd (born August 5, 1942) is an American record producer and writer. He formerly owned Hannibal Records. Boyd has worked on recordings of Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, Nick Drake, The Incredible String Band ...

– producer *Jerry Boys – engineer *Tony Harris – engineer *Barry Clempson – assistant engineer *Jack Skinner – mastering *

– sleeve design *T + CP – sleeve design

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wishing Chair, The 10,000 Maniacs albums 1985 albums Elektra Records albums Albums produced by Joe Boyd