Natalie Merchant绝对不是美女，担任10000 Maniacs的主唱十年，是90年代民谣创作女声风潮中的重要声音之一，创作功力不容小觑。
发现并喜欢上Natalie的过程，让我觉得国内专业媒体似乎罹患了偏食症，按理说以Natalie获得的成功，为何这么多年来我竟然都没有听说过呢？
下面是网上抄来的评论，写的比我好。
Merchant的抒怀创作风格，被比拟为流行乐坛的Emily Dickinson (19世纪美国文学界最具影响力的女诗人之一,担任10000 Maniacs的主唱十年，纽约才女歌手Natalie Merchant为质朴动人的民谣添加学院派气质，以”Trouble Me”、”These Are Days”、”Because The Night”等作品跨越全美流行、现代摇滚与成人抒情电台。
Merchant于93年挥别乐团，95年独挑创作行囊发表专辑《Tigerlily》，清新的民谣创作情怀里灌注较为浓郁的情感音质，有点蓝的情绪也变得豁然开朗，一份甜蜜淡雅的成熟性格逐渐成型,专辑本身跟”Carnival”、”Wonder”等单曲，打进Top 20，成为90年代民谣创作女声风潮中的重要声音之一，98年专辑《Ophelia》在商业领域更跃进Top 10，心情唱作呼一下地落入心灵的深渊,创作之余更挺身参加动物权益、家庭暴力、无家可归等社会议题活动。
Merchant用情甚深的抒怀创作风格，甚至被比拟为流行乐坛的Emily Dickinson (19世纪美国文学界最具影响力的女诗人之一，创作多着墨于痛苦与性灵等极端情绪的描述)。
2001年岁末发行专辑《Motherland》请到以《霹雳高手》(Oh Brother Where Art Thou?)电影原声带大出锋头，并曾为The Wallflowers专辑操刀的制作人T Bone Burnett携手寻觅怀旧的草根民谣踪迹，培养20年歌唱情绪与创作才情的Merchant在创作上触及政治现实、社会观与自我内省,甜蜜温柔的歌声小心翼翼的呵护着慨然的告白。
贯穿阿拉伯、北非与雷鬼类型乐风”This House Is On Fire”是在目睹西雅图爆发反世界贸易组织抗议行动与2000年美国总统大选期间佛罗里达州记票事件后所汇聚而成的抗争情绪宣泄，标题歌”Motherland”原有的愤世嫉俗竟在美国911事件后沉淀为对美国梦的悼念；控诉纽约史学展扭曲史实真意的”Saint Judas”与面对男性情感阴险面目的”Build A Levee”请到积极投身人权运动的福音乐团Staples Singers主唱Mavis Staples巩固情绪诉求力量，”Golden Boy”则有对社会暴力事件逐渐泯灭人性本质的省思。
首支鼓舞世人超越人生重担的单曲”Just Can’t Last”、”Not In This Life”跟提醒年轻世代女生要能走出社会所加诸的价值框框”Tell Yourself”回归悦耳流畅的乐风稍稍为堆积的情绪日记降压，”I’m Not Gonna Beg”则是情绪上与曲式上都非常具有传统节奏蓝调精神的自我挑战。
《Motherland》中纷扰不宁的情绪更在作品完工两天后遇到911事件而有了意想不到的发酵,取之于生活观察的创作反过来面对来自现实的冲击，接着就等候你的共鸣指数考验??！
by Jason Ankeny
First rising to fame at the helm of the popular folk-rock band 10,000 Maniacs, Natalie Merchant subsequently enjoyed even greater success as a solo performer as her plaintive vocals and literate, socially conscious songs established her among the preeminent female performers in contemporary pop. Born October 26, 1963 in Jamestown, NY, Merchant joined 10,000 Maniacs at the age of 17, quickly becoming the bands driving artistic force; after a pair of successful independent releases, they signed to Elektra in 1985, and in the years to follow emerged among the most popular acts in alternative rock, shooting into the Top 40 with 1987s superb In My Tribe. However, around the time of recording 1992s Our Time in Eden, Merchant gave her bandmates two years notice, and after the release of 1994s MTV Unplugged publicly announced she was leaving their ranks. Her 1995 solo debut, Tigerlily, debuted just shy of the Top Ten, scoring a hit with the single Carnival; it was followed in 1998 by Ophelia. Live in Concert, recorded at New Yorks Neil Simon Theatre, appeared a year later. A prominent social activist, Merchant also regularly campaigned in the name of such hot-button issues as animal rights, domestic violence, and homelessness. In 2000 Merchant toured with her band and members of progressive folk group The Horseflies performing folk traditionals. She returned with the Motherland LP in 2001. Two years later Merchant left Elektra and formed the Myth America to issue House Carpenters Daughter, a collection of traditional and contemporary folk music performed on the 2000 tour. 2004 saw Rhino release Campfire Songs, a 10,000 Maniacs retrospective, and a year later Merchant tallied her ten-year solo career with Retrospective.