All these years later, In My Tribe is still one of my favorite albums because it’s so unpretentious. It’s not trying to impress you, but that’s exactly what makes it so impressive. “Hey Jack Kerouac” is a shining example of this. A song about some of the Beat generation luminaries, written and sung as if they were just ordinary people. When Natalie Merchant went solo, I think some of this magic was lost. That’s why I’ve always preferred the 10,000 Maniacs catalog more.
“The hip flask slinging madman, steaming cafe flirts, nights in Chinatown, howling at night.”
