In My Tribe is the third studio album from the American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. Released on July 27, 1987, by Elektra Records, it was their second major-label album and their first to achieve large-scale success. John Lombardo, Natalie Merchant's songwriting partner on previous albums, had left the band in 1986, and In My Tribe saw Merchant begin to collaborate with the other members of the band, most notably with Rob Buck.
Artwork
The front cover designed by Kosh of the CD edition is a black-and-white photograph of children with bows and arrows in an archery class,[1][2] a theme used by record and cassette editions with different covers.
In a contemporary review, Rolling Stone's J. D. Considine wrote that "with In My Tribe, the group has finally come into maturity. It isn't simply that the songs are richer and more resonant this time around; the band itself seems to have grown."[8] In 1989, Rolling Stone ranked the album number sixty-five on their list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s, summing it up as "a poetic, heartfelt message about social concerns such as alcoholism, child abuse and illiteracy."[9]Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times largely praised the album, in particular Peter Asher's production, which he felt made the band "more forceful and accessible" and brought Merchant's vocals to the foreground. While he also felt the band were recycling musical ideas from departed guitarist John Lombardo, he stated that "the advances in Merchant's singing and lyrics—both are more intimate and assured—help offset the problems of over-familiarity."[4]Robert Christgau of The Village Voice was critical of Merchant's "nasal art-folk drawl", but added that "by deprivatizing her metaphors, she actually says something about illiteracy, today's army, and cruelty to children."[7]
In a retrospective review, AllMusic reviewer Chris Woodstra wrote that "the album proves powerful not for the ideas [...] but rather for the graceful execution and pure listenability."[3]
