Motherland (Natalie Merchant album)

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).
GenreFolk 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]
Slant Magazine[7]
Uncut[2]

Motherland is the third studio album by Natalie Merchant, released on November 13, 2001, by Elektra Records.

History

Originally, a song named "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,' 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."[8] "The End" later appeared on Merchant's self-titled sixth studio album (2014).

Two tracks from Motherland, "Tell Yourself" and "Not in This Life", appeared on the television series Felicity and Alias respectively.[9][10] The song "Henry Darger" is about "posthumously appreciated outsider artist" Henry Darger.[11]

Track listing

All songs written by Natalie Merchant.[12]

  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)[13] 83
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[14] 11
US Billboard 200[15] 30

References

  1. ^ a b AllMusic review
  2. ^ a b c d e "Motherland by Natalie Merchant". Metacritic.com. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  3. ^ "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 1, 2001. p. 20. Retrieved November 13, 2024 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "Entertainment Weekly review". Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
  5. ^ Jam! review
  6. ^ "Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 15, 2009. Retrieved September 4, 2007.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ^ "Slant review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved November 7, 2025.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Singer, Barry (July 7, 2002). Natalie Merchant, Accidental Prophet. The New York Times.
  9. ^ "Various – Felicity. Senior Year". Discogs. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  10. ^ "Color Blind." Alias, season 1, episode 7, November 25, 2001. Directed by Jack Bender, written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman. American Broadcasting Company.
  11. ^ "Natalie Merchant: Motherland : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". www.rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on September 12, 2009. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  12. ^ "Motherland | Natalie Merchant". Nataliemerchant.com. May 4, 2017.
  13. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 185.
  14. ^ "Charts.nz – Natalie Merchant – Motherland". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  15. ^ "Natalie Merchant Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
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